ADHD and Speech
Since I list ADHD in my top ten reasons to celebrate the book, 'The Late Talker', let's concentrate on ADHD.
Did you know in some samples those with a diagnosis of ADHD have "undiagnosed" speech and language disorders as high as 40% and 50% of the time?
As a mom, I have personal experience ( twice ) with late talkers. One of my late talker boys also has ADHD. Due to a traumatic birth, my oldest son Dakota was in therapy overseen by a neurologist from three weeks old. Dakota also was a late talker, (which we all considered the least of his problems in comparison to his eating and breathing problems) Dakota has been diagnosed by neurologists and developmental pediatricians as having either ADHD, ADD, or CAPD (central auditory processing disorder) numerous times as well (and ADHD "suspected" and pointed out to me by each of his teachers from preschool to second grade... as well as most baby sitters, strangers in the supermarket, and one neurologist who left the exam room for a second to get a pen and came back to find Dakota knocked his entire wall shelf down that I was trying to put back up!)
Even though Dakota has been diagnosed with ADD, due to educational and therapeutic strategies, and without any medication, Dakota is a brilliant gifted third grade student who receives straight A's academically. Dakota is mainstreamed, and classified for his ADHD, and he receives pull out speech therapy two times a week through the school district. Dakota, like Tanner, has benefited from the right formula of Omega 3 and Omega 6 oils. (You can read about that here) Dakota is a true success story and a testament to early intervention. Quite a few doctors have called Dakota the "miracle child" at this point. Perhaps it was part miracle, part therapy, part early intervention, and part brain stimulation. Either way, with or without ADD, Dakota is "normal" now, actually better than normal, and for that we couldn't be happier, no matter how it happened.
- Lisa Geng, President
Cherab Foundation
All Posts about ADHD and Speech:
Comorbidity in ADHD and Associated Outcomes by Dennis P. Cantwell, M.D. “…Communication disorders describe developmental speech and/or language disorders. These children have elevated rates of ADHD. It is also clear that children referred for psychiatric problems and given a diagnosis of ADHD have undiagnosed speech and language disorders in a number of cases, as high [...]
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