How do the Parents of Children with Psychoneurological Disorders Describe These Ten Basic Symptoms?

For information on testing your child with Psychoneurological Disorders, contact Dr. Paul Cates at 828-435-0670 .

Here are common term used by parents we have worked with: 

1. Hyperactivity or Hypoactivity. “He’s constantly on the go.” “His motor is always running.” “He’s always into something.” “He’s like a little devil.” “I don’t know where he gets that much energy.” “He’s like a bull in a china shop.” “He’s lazy.” “He just sits around.” “He seems to lack energy.” “He runs down toward the end of the day.”

2. Poor Coordination. “He is so clumsy.” “We can’t have any breakable items around the house.” “We never make it through a meal without spilled milk.” “He gets so frustrated because he can’t catch a ball like other kids.” “He’s simply uncoordinated.”

3. Impulsiveness. “He just doesn’t think before acting.” “You never know what he will do next.” “He has a terrible temper.” “He can’t keep a friend because he is such a bully.” “His actions are unpredictable because his mood can change from one minute to the next.” “He’s so accident prone, he’s like a walking accident looking for a place to happen.”

4. Short Attention Span. “He’s a dreamer.” “He can’t concentrate on one thing for any length of time.” “He can never finish a homework assignment.” “He’s a classroom clown.” “He gets such poor conduct grades because he will not conform in the classroom.” “His teacher says he is unteachable because he will not pay attention in class.”

5. Perceptual Disabilities. “He can’t enjoy sports when playing with other children.” “He says he won’t do something when he really means he can’t do it.” “I think he’ll never learn to read.” “He never has learned to work even a simple puzzle.” “Sometimes, he writes letters backwards or upside down.” “He can’t tell the background from the foreground.” “He pays too much attention to detail.” “He can’t tell differences between the words he hears.”

6. Specific Learning Problems. “He does pretty well with most of his subjects at school, but he just can’t learn to do his arithmetic.” “He’s a non-reader; his younger sister can read far better than he can.” “He says he hates school.” “The other kids call him stupid and dummy.” “He seems slower to learn than our other children.” “He can’t spell at all.”

7. Emotionally Highstrung. “He’s so easily upset.” “He’s like a cry-baby.” “He’s not able to cope with normal ups and downs.” “He goes to pieces at nothing.” “He has a dozen panic buttons.” “He is quick to fly off the handle.” “When he doesn’t get his way, he sulks or pouts or has a tantrum.”

8. Speech Disorders. “He mumbles so, you can’t understand him.” “We didn’t think he would ever start talking.” “He twists his words or stutters.”

9. “Soft” Neurological Signs. “He eats with either hand.” “We can’t tell if he is going to be right or left handed.” “He still can’t bathe or dress himself.” “His handwriting is poor.” “He keeps repeating an act over and over again.”

10. Orientation Problems. “He never knows what day of the week it is.” “He gets lost on the way home from school.” “He has not learned how to tell time.” “He doesn’t know his left from his right.”

Spend A Day With Mikey

This is a hypothetical case. Any similarity to a real situation is purely coincidental.

Mikey is eight years old. He is small for his age and has few friends. It is seven o’clock in the morning and Mikey is already in trouble.

Mikey has not yet established good sleeping habits and he still wets the bed occasionally. He had another “accident” last night and now mother is angry. He didn’t get up when he was called and now he must hurry to get ready for school. He can’t seem to get his clothes on properly even when Mother puts them out for him. He arrives at the breakfast table, clothes askew, shoes untied, and hair uncombed. The traditional lecture follows as Mikey gulps his food. He is then hurried to the bathroom to finish preparation for school as the bus pulls up in front of his house.

Mikey ambles to the door but then remembers his books and must scramble to find them. The bus driver is blowing the horn and in his rush to leave the house, Mikey forgets his lunch. As he hurries up the steps of the bus, he trips over the untied shoe laces and falls, spilling his books and papers on the floor. The children laugh at him as the bus driver scolds him for being slow and clumsy. Mikey gathers his things and stumbles to his seat as the bus lurches ahead.

As Mikey settles into his seat, he is angry and embarrassed but covers it by acting like a clown. He teases and heckles the other children until the bus driver must stop the bus and isolate him from the other children. It is getting warm on the bus and the breakfast gulped down earlier makes an unwelcome reappearance on the floor of the bus.

Mikey is now truly humiliated and sits quietly until the bus arrives at school. It is not unusual for Mikey to be sick on the bus so he stays at school rather than returning home. It is now eight-fifteen in the morning and Mikey’s day is just beginning.

Some of the children who rode the bus begin to tease Mikey about falling down and being sick. Mikey retaliates in anger and begins fighting with all his strength. Since Mikey is small, he is easily subdued by the taunters and during the incident his shirt gets torn.

The bell rings for school to begin and Mikey is late again because his books have been scattered in the scuffle. Mikey is late often and receives the standard “late lecture” as he enters the classroom. He slumps into his desk disheveled and defeated, wishing to be as far from school as possible.

Class time presents a new set of problems for Mikey. First, he must produce last night’s homework, which if it has been done, is now either at home in his lunch box, under a seat on the bus, or laying crumpled on the playground. Well, no homework will mean no art class, and art is the one thing Mikey really enjoys and does well at in school. Then it is time for oral reading. Mikey reads very poorly and also has a minor speech impediment which causes him much embarrassment. He stumbles through his paragraph amid the snickers of his classmates and suppressed sighs of his teacher. He finishes and sinks into his seat. He now turns his attention to what he excels in, disrupting the classroom. Despite reprimands and punishment (he has now also forfeited recess) Mikey continues misbehaving until he is sent to the principal’s office.

It is now nearly lunchtime and Mikey remembers his forgotten lunch. He is feeling quite hungry because his breakfast didn’t stay with him very long. As he enters the office, he meets his mother who has just driven fifteen miles to deliver his lunch. She is already angry and when she learns of Mikey’s misbehavior she becomes angrier still. She insists that Mikey be spanked and placed in severe restriction for the remainder of the week and promises further disciplinary action “when his father gets home.”

Grateful to have his lunch, Mikey sits separated from his class and eats slowly. He is only half finished when lunchtime is over and he returns to his classroom. He feels exhausted and falls asleep at his desk. His teacher leaves him alone because he is less trouble that way and he has already lost his privilege to participate in art, music, and recess due to his misbehavior earlier in the day.

When the bell rings for dismissal, Mikey wakes and goes to the bus. He has three tests the next day but has forgotten about them and leaves his books at school. Refreshed from his afternoon nap, he is rowdy on the bus and throws one of his morning antagonist’s books out of the window. This starts another fight and Mikey arrives home with a bloody nose. The bus driver gives a full report to Mikey’s mother and notifies her the Mikey will not be allowed on the bus if one more problem arises.

Mikey is restricted to his room until his father arrives home from work. After having a full description of Mikey’s day, he takes away all privileges and determines to have a look at Mikey’s books. Finding that Mikey didn’t bring any books, Father has Mikey’s supper sent to his room and Mikey is put to bed at six o’clock.

Mikey can’t go to sleep and as he lies in his bed, he begins to imagine monsters and burglars until he is thoroughly frightened. He falls asleep, but dreams disturb his rest, another “accident” occurs, and all too soon it is again time to wake up.

DO YOU KNOW A MIKEY?

CAN MIKEY BE HELPED?

If the answer to the first question is yes, the answer to the second is also yes. We hope that you will begin to find solutions for your Mikey within the following pages. Remember this is only an introduction and is not designed to make anyone an expert with special children.

A Few Learning Disability Statistics:

• Less than 2% of first graders have an organic eye problem (Getman in the PHYSIOLOGY OF READINESS)
• 25% of first graders have a functional visual problem of some sort (estimated by Spache; same percentage as in Harmon’s study in Houston, Texas. W=160,000) (Peoria, Illinois, study indicated 23.8%)
• 40% of fifth graders have a visual problem of some sort (Harmon)
• 67% of eighth graders have some sort of functional visual problem (Harmon) (Peoria study indicated 53.4%) percentages are somewhat higher in high school, college, graduate schools) (Harmon stated that 100% of all military academy graduates were physiologically myopic (nearsighted).
• Informal study of 135 high school boys labeled as remedial readers by their high school in Chicago: out of 7 professionally given tests:

one passed all seven
10% failed one test
30% failed two tests
12% failed six or all seven tests
40% failed the visual pursuits
20% failed near-far-near saccadics
(Illinois English-Reading Newsletter, OSPI)

• 25% of all first graders will end up in a remedial reading program (Spache)
• 40% of all fifth graders will become high school drop-outs with reading and reading associated problems as a prime cause (Kennedy’s 1963 State of the Union Message)
• 25% of all eighth graders will be non-readers upon graduation
• one third of our high school population drops out each year due to reading and reading associated problems being a prime factor (Vice President Humphrey)
• Cost of ignorance yearly is 37 billion dollars (Gardner)
• There are one million or more drop-outs each year
• There were 11-18 million drop-outs during the decade of the 1960’s
• There are 30 million adult illiterates
• Various studies predict higher percentages and numbers for the decade of the 1970’s
• Visual screening devices: (in terms of effectiveness) nellen Chart – 25%
  Keystone Telebinocular – 57% (most effective one) Crinda Study, 1958)
• Getman Foundation found 40% of first graders in Districts 122, 123, had some sort of functional visual problem
• Two-thirds of visual problems of boys and girls in school are caused by schools: flat top, non-adjustable desk tops, double sources of classroom light, insufficient light (Harmon)

Learning Disorders and the Pre-school Child

The time to look for children with what we call learning disabilities is early. By early we mean age 5 or earlier and not until ages 7 – 10 or the preschool age. We can then identify “high risk” children early and give them top priority in looking for learning disorders. To learn how to test your pre-school child, contact us today at 828-435-0670, or you may live chat with us, just click on the orange button on your screen. 

What things might indicate or be suggestive of learning disabilities in a preschool child?

1. Pre-natal and natal history
A. The presence of spotting, bleeding, or toxemia during the pregnancy
B. Precipitate or prolonged delivery

2. Neo-natal history
A. Jaundice
B. Extreme irritability – to the extent that sedation was required
C. Severe feeding difficulty – the infant has a weak sucking or unable to suck and requires assistance with feeding; the infant might also exhibit vomiting or spitting
D. Vasco-motor instability – the infant might have required paradidic external heating; an inability to maintain proper temperature.

3. Post-natal history
A. Environmental instability or disruption, or excessive mobility during the first three years of life
B. Slow development of speech
C. A prolonged retention of infantile speech patterns
D. A delayed body awareness and development

The characteristics which the classroom teacher may note are:

1. Poor visual perception and memory for words
2. Poor auditory memory for words or individual sounds in words
3. Persistent reversal of words, syllables or letters in reading, writing, and speaking
4. Rotation of inversion of letters, inverse sequencing of letters and syllables or transposition of numerals
5. Poor recall for reproduction of simple geometric figures
6. Poor memory for auditory or visual sequence
7. Clumsiness and poor head control
8. Immature articulation
9. Hyper-activity
10. Distractibility

Repeat this phrase to the child one time, slowly and clearly, after explaining to the child that you want him to do as you tell him. In this test we are checking out your child’s verbal comprehension and his ability to carry out directions. Example: Put this book on the table, give me the pencil, and sit on the chair.

Did your child pass or fail the test?

Auditory sequencing: Have your pre-school child say the following numerals in the exact order that you say them. “5-2-4-8” or “3-8-5-2” or “7-2-6-1”. Did your child pass or fail? He should get at least 1 of 3.

Auditory memory span for nonsense syllables: Say to your child each nonsense syllables once (any more would be cheating) and have him repeat them after you:

Diddle dee die (pass or fail?)
Hi ho hum
Reggity jiggity ho
See si so sa
Bing bang skettle skoo
Mumblety jumblety wigglety wum

Teach your pre-school child to speak in sentences: Tell him “I want you to say something for me; I want you to say that ‘I am a big girl. (or boy).’ Then say “I want you to say ‘I went to visit Grandma.'” Then have him say ‘Mother is driving Daddy’s car.’ Then have him say, ‘I am going to visit Grandma.’ Have him say ‘I like to ride on my bicycle for many hours.’ Have him say ‘I love to eat hamburgers and candy at dinnertime.’ If your child hesitates, urge him to try to repeat what you said by asking him to say it. To obtain your true objective you should not repeat the sentences. Your pre-school age child up to 5 years old should be able to say 4 out of the 5 sentences repeating them back to you.

Now tell your pre-school child “I am going to tell you something to do. You listen and do just what I tell you to do.”

1. Show me the table top.
2. Sit down in the chair.
3. Close the door, then bring me that book.
4. Go to the window, then put this magazine on the floor.
5. Put this fork on the table, then close the door, then fold your hands on your lap.

Give one point for each thing your child did correctly. A child of 5 years should be able to do 7 out of 10 commands correctly and in the proper order.  

Learning Disorders and the Kindergarten Child

Some things observed in your child at the Kindergarten level may indicate a need to check out possible perceptual learning problems. Not all of the things that I talk about will be found in any one child nor does the presence of any one of these things, or a few of them, necessarily mean your child has perceptual difficulties. Many of these things will be found in normal children who have no perceptual loss. But any large number of these characteristics may signify some problem in the learning process, from slight to severe, and might require further help if there are learning disorders or learning disabilities.  To learn how to test your kindergarten child, contact us today at 828-435-0670, or you may live chat with us, just click on the orange button on your screen. 

1. Does your child have trouble in putting together simple puzzles of 10 – 15 pieces?

2. Does your kindergarten child have trouble drawing circles, squares and triangles?

3. Does he know what a circle is? A square? A triangle?

4. Does he ever confuse distinguishing large and small? Does he ever question size and shape of objects?

5. Does he ever have trouble with classifying things? Does he put farm animals with fruit? Does he see the likenesses and differences of things?

6. Does he ever have trouble with what is close and what is distant? Below him or above him? Before and after? Concepts like this.

7. Does he over-reach or under-reach for things and thereby miss them? For instance, does he continually spill milk?

8. Does your child feel his chair where he is going to sit before he sits down?

9. Does he continue to hold his hands in the wrong position to catch a ball?

10. Is e clumsy in the sense that he continually misses steps?

11. Does he have trouble walking through simple entry ways? Such as door ways, gates, etc.?

12. Does he continually bump into things because he misjudges the distance from them?

13. Does he seem to get lost in his room or in a building? In his classroom? In the backyard? In the neighborhood?

14. Is he continually forgetting where he is or where he is going?

15. Does he display inaccurate counting from 1- 10 in that he over-counts or under-counts for the number of things that are actually there?

A meeting was held quite far from earth
“It’s time again for another birth”
Said the angel to the Lord above,
“This special child will need much love.”

His progress may seem very slow,
Accomplishment he may not show.
And he’ll require extra care
From the folks he meets way down there.

He may not run or laugh or play
His thoughts may seem quite far away
In many ways he won’t adapt
And He’ll be known as handicapped.

So let’s be careful where he’s sent
We want his life to be content
Please, Lord, find the parents who
Will do a special job for you.

They will not realize right way
The leading role they’re asked to play
But with this child sent from above
Comes stronger faith and richer love.

And soon they’ll know the privilege given
In caring for this gift from Heaven
Their precious charge, so meek and mild
Is Heaven’s very special child.

by Edna Massimilla, Hatboro PA 19040
Poem copyright 1956 – music copyright 1975 – all rights reserved; may not be reprinted without permission of author or publisher: This Is Our Life – P.O. Box 21, Hatboro, PA 19040