Can anybody explain to me what neuropsychology is?

shegirl

teabag29 wrote: »

shes always been different im afraid, even before the abuse. A paediatrician said she had characteristics of adhd at 3 but too young to diagnose. Her learning has always been poor as has her ability to get on with other childre. She really doesnt know the alphabet and none of it is down to her not wanting to as her marks for effort are always eceptional....infact out of the whole of year 7 last year she got a certificate for the child who put in the most effort. Her memory has come back at age 5 which is prob why she cant remember the alphabet, she can mostly get as far as K but then cant remember. She has no clue about months either.

The reason i was thinking asd is because of her social interaction skills, she has all the signs except the imagination sector as she has a great imagination. She has many issues, she wont bath, clean her teeth or brush her hair, she wont touch or eat anything soft, she rarely drinks and i have to promt her, she hates wearing socks, flaps her hands when excited, cannot get on with kids her own age but gets on great with adults and young kids, can be very poor behaved, has no sense of danger, no empathy at all, takes things very literally (i.e. if i were to say hop it she would hop ), doesnt understand social rules, sarcasm or jokes..... acyually the list is endless but you get the jist.

School say her levels dont warrant a special needs school (shes age 5 memory, 7.4 yrs reading, 7.6 yrs spelling, 6yrs decoding, overall learning 7th percentile) but they have such a high level of sen they wont give her anymore than 1 hours literacy help in a small group of 8 or 9 a day.

What age did she appear different...before the abuse?And in what way?

I'm asking because in another thread you say she was removed from you for 9 months at the age of 2 due to the abuse that occured from your partner,so she would have been rather young before the abuse had happened to have actually shown much if anything.

At 3 she could already have been experiencing attachment disorder due to the previous seperation.

Is she defiant?Does she lie?Is she agressive?Seek attention? etc etc

Apart from trying to get her diagnosed,what do you do and what help do you seek to try and deal with each of her issues?Sometimes it can be quite easy to focus more on trying to find a root problem without thinking about each part of a child individually,and I think to get the best you need to look at each bit,what causes each one and what works for it not only to assist it but it could help in finding if there is an underlying cause.

I think you've mentioned before that she says she hears voices?

moggymutt

Sorry to say this, but the school sounds appalling. There should be no need for a special school if the present school has a decent SEN dept. We have an excellent SEN dept, with many children as academically weak as your daughter, and they have enjoyed school, because they have 1 to 1 care, and spend most of their time in the SEN dept.

Go on the internet, look up the last inspection report for the school, and see when their next inspection is due. The inspections are by ESTYN in Wales, I'm not quite sure if its Osfted in England- I'm sure somebody can put me right. Possible google the schools name with inspection.

It is Ofsted if you are in England.

teabag29

mucklebones wrote: »

Have you considered home education? My daughter is starting school next year and although she is extremely likely to get a statement (process has begun) I have told them she will not go without it. And even then if its not tailored to her absolute needs she wont go. She is extremely vunerable and I obviously want to protect her.
I can see by your posts you are desperately seeking answers, which is what us mothers do when we know something isnt right. I really hope you get some soon xx

I have been looking into this alot in the past 3 months but when i mentioned it in the last caf meeting everyone around the table said no thats a bad idea, she will lose her social skills ...i think they are forgetting she doesnt have any. The 2 things thats holding me back are that i have my toddler at home so wondering how that would work and also the only break i get so to speak is when she is at school, she can be very badly behaved and it gets very difficult (all our food has to be locked away, windows locked etc) to manage sometimes so i dont know how it would work if i had her at home all day or if she would co-operate with me, she gets very frustrated and will not sit still for long (she rarely sleeps for more than 5-6 hours a night) and has poor concentration. Nothing occupies her for more than 5 minutes

wingobins

My heart goes out to you, I cant imagine how frustrating it must be for you & your DD. I have a daughter who lacks in social skills and low self esteem and it's an endless effort trying to help her which is nothing compared to what you must be going through but I can see you're doing the best you can for her. I agree with what the others have said about involving SENCO in the meetings and if needed...the police. This is more than bullying!! Make sure you write down everything that's happened in school and even write to the local paper & mp if nothing is done about it. Sorry I cant help much but I wish your dd the very best of luck and hope you manage to get your lovely dd back to herself again xx

teabag29

shegirl wrote: »

What age did she appear different...before the abuse?And in what way?

I'm asking because in another thread you say she was removed from you for 9 months at the age of 2 due to the abuse that occured from your partner,so she would have been rather young before the abuse had happened to have actually shown much if anything.

At 3 she could already have been experiencing attachment disorder due to the previous seperation.

Is she defiant?Does she lie?Is she agressive?Seek attention? etc etc

Apart from trying to get her diagnosed,what do you do and what help do you seek to try and deal with each of her issues?Sometimes it can be quite easy to focus more on trying to find a root problem without thinking about each part of a child individually,and I think to get the best you need to look at each bit,what causes each one and what works for it not only to assist it but it could help in finding if there is an underlying cause.

I think you've mentioned before that she says she hears voices?

Well she was late in her milestones, she skipped crawling and bum shuffled. She didnt walk until age 18months and that was holding onto furniture. Her speech was vertually non existent until around 2.5 when she started to string words together and then went on to have speech therapy. She would get very frustrated if she didnt get her own way (stairgates stopping her escaping really annoyed her) and she would headbutt herself or bite herself and chuck things. When she did walk it was on tip toes and she couldnt stand having a wet or dirty nappy on even for a few seconds, she would rip it of and smear it on the walls. She was very hyper and also very clumbsy....as the years have passed she has got worse. The stealing began around age 3, just from the fridge at home but food became very important very early on for her. Her lack of concentration and inability to get on with other kids have been highlighted right from nursery age

shegirl

teabag29 wrote: »

I have been looking into this alot in the past 3 months but when i mentioned it in the last caf meeting everyone around the table said no thats a bad idea, she will lose her social skills ...i think they are forgetting she doesnt have any. The 2 things thats holding me back are that i have my toddler at home so wondering how that would work and also the only break i get so to speak is when she is at school, she can be very badly behaved and it gets very difficult (all our food has to be locked away, windows locked etc) to manage sometimes so i dont know how it would work if i had her at home all day or if she would co-operate with me, she gets very frustrated and will not sit still for long (she rarely sleeps for more than 5-6 hours a night) and has poor concentration. Nothing occupies her for more than 5 minutes

As a temporary measure it wouldn't necessarily be the bad idea they think it is.I'm not suggesting you do it but just to put you at ease in a sense...

My son is 12,nearly 13,and severely autistic with 'severe learning disability' (common sense and daily wise he's a complete wally LOL but otherwise he's very intelligent...programmes computers even,you wouldn't believe it if you met him as he's like a toddler and only just out of nappies,barely recognisable speech etc etc!) and his last special school (profound and 5-19 schooling) turned out to be awful,despite his last year there involving him having his own classroom,his own 3 staff and budget etc etc.

I pulled him out of school the day they stood back and allowed him to headbutt a metal doorframe to the point he actually knocked himself out!! That was the 3rd week back in September 2010. He only started a new school (still has his own room and staff etc) at the end of September this year..

I spent a year home educating him,driving myself insane (dad is only home weekends) as my word life with a severe autistic is as rigid as it gets:rotfl: and have only seen friends a total of 6 times since september last year due to this.BUT,despite the fact I would've gone bonkers if it wasn't for me being an annoyingly stubborn positive lil thing,it done him the world of good.He felt more comfortable,we've worked on emotions,obviously the educational side too but don't get yourself so swallowed up in just education either.(I notice you mention all the 'educational' things you do with her but don't let it just be that,at any point,even now,she needs more than that.) I also made sure I spent even more on bloomin taxis to take him to places where there would be other kids,just to keep him used to them and give him the chance to be alongside them.(more than he got at school tbh)

Anyway,that's a positive view of what can happen if you needed to remove her for a while,I would always leave it as last resort though and maybe you should discuss things with your PP as,ideally,it should be something to do while waiting for a new school.

To add to that,if she does have attachment disorder,perhaps if this was to happen that would be the perfect opportunity to actually fix it and that could make a huge difference to her all round.But,you should talk to her psychologist first.

teabag29

shegirl wrote: »

Is she defiant?Does she lie?Is she agressive?Seek attention? etc etc
She lies about everything constantly, she can be defiant but other times she can be so loving and well behaved and very helpful, almost a split personality that can change like the wind for no apparent reason.

Apart from trying to get her diagnosed,what do you do and what help do you seek to try and deal with each of her issues?Well i have got all the agencies involved which has been a long hard battle. Initited caf meetings and currently fighting to get her help at school. At home I do supervised reading and homework with her every night. I play games with her that are education orientated like scrabble. I also play a game each night to try and improve her memory where i ask her to go upstairs and get me an object, then when she brings it i make it a bit harder and keep it going e.g go upstairs and get my slippers for me plz and then go to your room and get your dressing gown. She is finding more then 2 instructions hard to remember but persistence will pay off (i hope). Also i am clear on boundaries and i will punish when she has done wrong as i feel this is important.

I think you've mentioned before that she says she hears voices?

Yes this has been an issue, she has said she hears people (like me or her dad) calling for her so she comes running to us but nobody has called her yet shes adamant she hears her name being called

lindseykim13

teabag29 wrote: »

I have been looking into this alot in the past 3 months but when i mentioned it in the last caf meeting everyone around the table said no thats a bad idea, she will lose her social skills ...i think they are forgetting she doesnt have any. The 2 things thats holding me back are that i have my toddler at home so wondering how that would work and also the only break i get so to speak is when she is at school, she can be very badly behaved and it gets very difficult (all our food has to be locked away, windows locked etc) to manage sometimes so i dont know how it would work if i had her at home all day or if she would co-operate with me, she gets very frustrated and will not sit still for long (she rarely sleeps for more than 5-6 hours a night) and has poor concentration. Nothing occupies her for more than 5 minutes

Please do get im touch with a local home education group as most school authorities know very little about home ed! I have 3 children who aren't in mainstream school and they are much more social that i ever was at school. Plenty of home ed kids have special educational needs- i know lots, the parents find their child relaxes and calms once removed from the system of pressure and essp bullying.
Home ed groups meet weekly in most areas and are a great support if you are even considering it. It's worth looking into and speaking to other parents who have been through similar experiences.

Either way i would not send my child to that school again until they sorted these thugs out. Good luck.

MrsManda

I saw a neuropsychologist in September. Basically they're psychologists who also understand how the brain works and how things such as personality, behaviour and physical symptoms can be affected by internal changes in the brain structure/chemistry as well as outside influences.

As Glaswejen said, the brain changes can be inherent or caused by external influences such as physical injury, diet, drugs, alcohol, ill health.

Because they have a greater understanding of neurology they may be able to find an underlying cause to symptoms which standard psychologists cannot. This potentially means the neuropsychologist can develop a more effective course of treatment.

mucklebones

teabag29 wrote: »

I have been looking into this alot in the past 3 months but when i mentioned it in the last caf meeting everyone around the table said no thats a bad idea, she will lose her social skills ...i think they are forgetting she doesnt have any. The 2 things thats holding me back are that i have my toddler at home so wondering how that would work and also the only break i get so to speak is when she is at school, she can be very badly behaved and it gets very difficult (all our food has to be locked away, windows locked etc) to manage sometimes so i dont know how it would work if i had her at home all day or if she would co-operate with me, she gets very frustrated and will not sit still for long (she rarely sleeps for more than 5-6 hours a night) and has poor concentration. Nothing occupies her for more than 5 minutes

There are home education groups that get together for social interaction so i wouldnt be too worried about that. From what I can tell school hasnt really been beneficial to her for socializing infact from the fact she is being bullied and at a different developmental age to her peers in some area it could be making her social skills harder to work at? Im having this debate with the early years team involved with my daughters care at the moment, thankfully her OT and speech therapist understand where Im coming from when I say Im concerned about her starting school next year with 4-5 year olds when her developmental age is only 2-2.5 years old at a push. Its hard to see where she is going to make progress, but Im open to thier idea that because she tends to learn from mirroring behaviour she might progress from being around mainstream kids her age. Back to your daughter ..(sorry waffled on)

I think I mentioned this once before on your thread, but I really think your daughter might benefit from seeing an OT to rule out some sensory issues. It would seem she could have difficulties here from what you mention, and sometimes having sensory problems can present itself in behaviours that are difficult to modify. She may also benefit from therapies which could aid more calmness and help her sleep better.