Auditory Processing Disorder - Pittsburgh,PA

Hi S., I definitely would recommend calling the county to get your daughter into early intervention. My 3 year old receives speech through the intermediate unit currently, and he is getting testing and evaluations done next week through the Widener University Child Assessment clinic. The problem with Auditory Processing Disorder is the ONLY one who can diagnose this is an Audiologist and they cannot test for such disorder until the child is around 7 or 8 years of age. If you are looking to get your child evaluated for possible delays, early intervention does NOT diagnose and the only one that can diagnose is a developmental psychologist. A pediatrician cannot diagnose developmental delays/ disorders. As already stated, the wait for a developmental psych. is incredibly long. I am fortunate enough (through very generous family members) to get an appointment rather quickly, but it is all out of pocket. I wish you the best!

If you log on to the Pennsylvania Department of Education website and go to the search bar and type in "Early Intervention", you should find some information on who to call. I think there's a number on there for CONNECT. It's an 800 number and you can submit a request for a referral for Early Intervention services. I just did this a few weeks ago for my youngest and they were SO helpful and kind on the phone. I have already had the 'intake' meeting where the coordinator came to the house to get my daughter's history and I had to sign some paperwork. Next week the evaluator comes and works with her to see if she qualifies for any services (she had MANY ear infections in the first year of life-now has tubes-but I am concerned that she might have lost some ground in terms of hearing and speaking correctly). They said they would do the eval and tell me on the spot if she qualifies.

I am a special education teacher and I have worked with school-age students with Auditory Processing Disorder. A speech and language therapist would be really helpful if this is what she is dealing with.

S.,
Our Admin Asst at work has a daughter with diagnosed auditory processing disorder. I know it took her quite awhile to get diagnosed as it is not as common as other disorders and at the time, not as much was known about it. She is much better with written instruction than spoken, so she has received some wrap around services throughout school. Email me if you'd like to get in touch with her and I'll try to connect you with her.
On an encouraging note: Her daughter just graduated from high school and has been accepted into college with plans for the medical/nursing field.

S., congratulations. It feels good to have some sort of explanation! I am a special education teacher. Do you live in PA? If so, CALL YOUR INTERMEDIATE UNIT now! If not, call whatever early intervention services your state offers. They will evaluate, recommend a plan of action, and provide all therapies... FREE!

I think it's best to have her evaluated by a developmental ped. & or a neurologist in your area- sometimes the wait can be outrageous so I'd get on the phone ASAP. In the meantime I'd go through your county early intervention to have her screened.

Best of luck to you!