This past week Kerri has been undergoing a series of tests to confirm her diagnosis and start therapy and recommendations for an IEP for school. In a few days she will be undergoing testing for a visual disability and for dyslexia.
Kerri is also being referred for other testing and therapies to deal with her coordination issues, but our primary focus right now is to target the more immediate issues that are affecting her ability to learn and hear clearly.
We already knew Kerri was brilliant, but the test confirmed that. She scored extremely high on language comprehension and above average on all her other tests when they were done in a very quiet, sound proof room. So we confirmed that her intelligence and comprehension is not really the problem. Kerri's ability to comprehend was greatly reduced when minor background noise was introduced to the test. And when there is loud noise, Kerri says it hurts her ears and she covers them with her hands.
We learned that Kerri definitely has CAPD - Central Auditory Processing Disorder. It basically means Kerri cannot process the information she hears in the same way as others do, which leads to difficulties in recognizing and interpreting sounds, especially the sounds composing speech. Hence her severe phonological delay. And it probably was caused by the lead poisoning she had in China. So we finally have a confirmation of what I have been telling her doctors all along. Mamas listen to that gut of yours, mine has never been wrong!
Kerri's phonological delay has greatly improved with years of speech therapy, which she is continuing to receive. Additionally, she is now going to start therapy for the CAPD. In the meantime, we have pulled Kerri from Kung Fu, and are focusing on all the different therapy sessions. But Kerri is an unstoppable force to be reckoned with, and will continue to pursue extracurricular activities like Girl Guides and sports until she is ready and able to go back to her Kung Fu training.
So we are starting to get some solutions. And that is a very positive thing.
Life with Kerri is in process.