Auditory Processing Question: Janice

[Guest guest]

When you talk about tube surgery helping our kids I agree but in our

case we would have known more about anesthesia options as we still

fight for things before we had the surgery BUT hve gotten so much

since it and even I don't think it was dietary. With that said, I can

see a budding AP issue in my daughter. It has always been there. She

does well in school and is a great one on one learner, etc. but I

don't see her responding to a directly asked question ever in a group

setting. I was like this too and somehow survived. In the past she

has not had a ton of ear infections but her, my son, and my hubby

have trouble excreting ear wax. Her ears have been orange, like the

wax, forever and only recently normalized. I think for her it may

just have been allergen but I do get concerned about pernanent damage

and was wondering what exactly you are referring to. She will be

going to NACD with her brother for a homeschool program and I am

following up with an ENT but just wanted you to expand on this if you

could.

>

> The Gang at NACD ask anyone with a child with any type of auditory

processing issues to do a milk elimination trial as well as to get

tympanograms on a regular basis to determine causation.

>

> Our children did not end up without the ability to 'hear' for no

reason. To reiterate the thoughtful piece below, the most common

cause of an non-airborne allergen or intolerance with may affect the

Ears, nose & throat is cows milk. Ask any ENT!

>

> Now, 3 years ago before I became enlightened about auditory

processing, I would have said this: " My child doesn't have hearing

issues, I have taken him to the audiologist many times and he has

always passed the test with flying colours! " Yes, my child ALWAYS

passed the tests but in reality, he couldn't hear everything he

should have been hearing. The audiologist screening is just that....

a screening. I believe someone on this board posted that the English

language is based on over 10,000 tones and there is no way that an

audiologist tests for this. This is why so many of our children have

seen such success with programs such as The Listening Program (TLP)

or other auditory integration programs.

>

> One quick way to tell if your child has some type of auditory

processing issues is by testing them with digit spans. Here is a

link to an article that explains digit spans and how to test. Look

specifically at auditory digit spans. If you have any questions,

please ask the board since there are many of us who do digit spans

with older kids or sequences with younger kids to work their auditory

memories.

>

> http://www.nacd.org/more_information/journal/learninghow.html

>

> If your child not performing the digit spans or sequences

according to his/her age level, then you should be seeing a red

flag! There is a problem and you need to find out why. Your child

is not 'processing' auditory information as he/she should and the

underlying cause is the root to remediation! Now, quite often that

cause stems from 2 sources: a physical problem with the ears or an

environmental problem with the ears. Any physical problems with the

ears should be addressed by an ENT. An environmental problem with

the ears indicates congestion of some type. Congestion can result

from infection or it can result from an allergen or an intolerance.

I know of no other methods that cause congestion to the ears. If

anyone else does, they can chime in here.

>

> If you have chronic congestion resulting from infections, your ENT

will probably suggest Tubes. This should be suggested as the child

is now at a point of becoming permanently developmentally delayed as

result inadequate hearing. If you have experiences with ear

infections of more than 3 in a year, tubes should really be

considered. If you have congestion that is not from infection, then

this is indicative of an allergen or intolerance that the child is

exposed to. You need to find it and GET RID of IT! This may be

inconvenient but believe me.... it is far more inconvenient to have a

developmentally delayed child; particularly one that has lost the

ability to follow instructions in a school room, drools all of the

time, falls all of the time because his vestibular network has been

compromised, etc. etc. For many of our children milk sensitivities

are a ROOT CAUSE for a lot of problems. Those problems do not go

away until the cause of all the trouble is removed.

>

> We have learned a lot in the last 10 years and I hope that we have

made some progress that future generations can benefit from. Those

of us who have milk compromised children will tell you..... things

don't get better until you remove the intolerance! I did well over

10 years of therapy with few gains.... please do not go down my

pathway without at least investigating this possible issue with your

child. Yes, a special diet can be a pain in the neck but if your

child begins to get better, you do see its worth.

>

> So....

>

> If ALL of our children have speech issues and possibly as much as

50-80% have auditory processing issues, would it not make sense to

perform a milk trial to just see if this could be a cause of your

child's issues? In particular if your child has poor auditory memory

and sequencing, it is absolutely worth the 3 weeks of milk

deprivation, imo!

>

> Personally, if it is the root cause of your child's auditory

issues, it is the most beneficial 3 weeks you will ever have spent.

If it is not the cause of your childs auditory issues, then you can

pencil it off the list and move on to the next item that you need to

investigate. But at least you will know!

>

> This is the last I want to say of this subject. I feel well

qualified to speak here as my son is one of those who did NOT get

better until we removed the intolerance. I gave the therapy plenty

of time to kick in..... 10 years of continuous therapy to be exact!

The improvements were minimal until we dropped the milk. My son was

told he would be in special education 'forever'. With the home

program that NACD supplied, we eliminated milk and within a year he

reentered the regular classroom. No vitamin E, and no fish oils

during this period. Today, it really doesn't matter which vitamins I

give him.... if I give the child milk or ice-cream, he is quite

ill.... period. No exceptions.

>

> So.... had I just continued on without trying this, my child would

have been handicapped forever. I am so glad that we are delving

deeper and determining how to truly make him better medically as well

as getting better therapy that is specifically directed towards his

needs. I'm running out of time. I trusted the 'traditional'

approach for too long and it did nothing but let me down.

>

> Janice

> Mother of Mark, 13

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> [sPAM][ ] Reasons to eliminate milk

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> There was question about eliminating milk and how you would know

if

> this was an issue for your child? I did some searches on potential

> reasons why one would eliminate milk from a child's diet.

> Here is the links and information I gathered.

> Hope it helps,

> Tina

>

> Children prone to ear infections:

> http://surefoodsliving.com/2007/07/16/ear-infections-and-milk/

> So, back to ear infections. According to pediatrician Dr.

Greene, " Of

> the kids who are prone to ear infections (about 1/3 of kids),

> allergies are the underlying cause about 1/3 of the time. Cow's

milk

> is the most likely non-airborne culprit. Presumably, it causes

> inflammation of the Eustachian tubes - the tubes that normally

keep

> the ears clean and drained. It can also change the nature of the

> secretions. "

>

> Ears and allergies

> http://www.thenewhomemaker.com/earinfections

> *Allergic Causes* Otitis media is commonly associated with colds.

> Since colds and allergies can have the same physical effects on

the

> ears and nasal passages, many experts suggest that allergies are

the

> culprit behind some cases of otitis media. If a food allergy is

> suspected, eliminating milk and milk products, chocolate, tomatoes

> and tomato products, citrus, sugar, wheat, and/or eggs from your

> child's diet may be helpful.

>

> Information on milk allergy and milk intolerance

> http://www.allergysa.org/milk.htm

> Milk contains many protein fractions (allergens) that cause

allergic

> reactions. The two main components are whey and casein, and an

> individual may be allergic to either or both. The casein is the

curd

> that forms when milk is left to sour, and the whey is the watery

> fraction which is left after the curd is removed.

>

> http://www.asehaqld.org.au/Leaflets/is_it_really_milk_allergy.htm

> Information on Milk allergy, milk intolerance, and lactose

> intolerance.

>

> Information on symptoms of milk allergy or intolerance.

> http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/T032100.asp

> The protein in cow's milk is what provokes the allergies. Because

> milk is a species-specific protein, cow's milk is suited to bovine

> intestines. Exposure of human intestines to bovine protein may

cause

> irritation and damage to the intestinal lining, allowing these

> allergenic proteins to be absorbed into the circulatory system.

The

> immune system recognizes these proteins as foreign and attacks

them,

> causing the usual allergy symptoms of wheezing, runny nose, or a

red,

> rough, sandpaper-like rash, especially on the cheeks. Milk

allergies

> are often the underlying cause of repeated colds and ear

infections,

> due to fluid building up in the respiratory passages, sinuses, and

> eustachian tubes of the ears. Milk allergy has been implicated in

> subtle behavioral changes, such as irritability and nightwaking.

>

> There are degrees of lactose intolerance, depending on the supply

of

> lactase in the gut. Some children and adults can tolerate one

glass

> of milk, but not two or three; or they can drink milk with a meal,

> but not separately on an empty stomach. Many can tolerate yogurt

and

> cheese, but not milk as a beverage. (The lactose in fermented

yogurt

> is somewhat predigested.) Lactose intolerance is more common than

> allergy to the protein in milk. Allergic symptoms usually involve

the

> skin and respiratory systems, whereas lactose intolerance is

limited

> to abdominal symptoms.

>

> Behavior and allergies

> http://borntoexplore.org/allergies.htm

> Can Allergies Cause Behavior Problems?

>

> Asthma and allergy symptoms

> http://www.newstarget.com/010443.html

> In Get Healthy Now, Professor Null explains a milk allergy's

changing

> symptoms: " Even if the symptoms are not the same, the underlying

> allergy may be. A child who has suffered milk-associated asthma,

for

> instance, may have severe acne as a teenager. The milk allergy is

> still there, but its symptoms have moved to a different organ

system,

> often misleading the patient and physician into thinking that the

> original allergy has been outgrown. " According to Alternative

> Medicine, up to half of all infants may be sensitive to cows'

milk.

> As a result, symptoms of an underlying milk allergy may start as

> early as infancy, only manifested as eczema, a symptom that may

> remain later on in childhood and adulthood. Furthermore, in

addition

> to asthma and eczema, an underlying milk allergy may manifest as

> bronchitis, sinusitis, autoimmune disorders, frequent colds and

ear

> infections and even behavioral problems.

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