How to help my 8 year old - Mixed Receptive Expressive

Hi! My son was diagnosed at 6 years old with Mixed Receptive Expressive Language Disorder. He developed very poor speech, and still sees a speech therapist at school on a daily basis. He is in "special ed" and works with a language therapist and reading specialist daily.

I'm very concerned about my little guy, who is now 8 and realizing that he is different than the other kids. He is labeling himself "stupid", and cries sometimes alone at night. He wants to quit school.

He is making very slow progress in his skills. At the beginning of the school year this year, he tested at around beginning Kindegarten level, and now at the end of the year he tests as though he is about 8 months through the kindegarten year.

Should I buy that "Hooked on Phonics" set? The teachers and specialists think he's no where near ready for such a thing. I noticed that many of you seem to like phonics though.

I need some advice please.

- Lori in Connecticut

I have a 13 year old son who was diagnosed with Receptive Expressive Language Disorder at the age of 5. He is in a very traditional curriculum in a Christian School with no special support. It has been a struggle academically and socially. Thankfully God has blessed him with a sweet personality and he does not seem to know that he has a problem. As a family we worked very hard to help him overcome his disability and he has done remarkably well. Although his issues are pervasive, he has been a B/ C student for 3,4,5, & 6 grades--again, without IEP support.

As far as the Hooked on Phonics, we purchased it and it is a good program....we just never had the discipline to work on it consistently. The Phonics game is also very good.

I would also recommend a phonics based school cirriculuum, ABEKA is very good.

Take a look at his special services...What progress has he made that could not have been achieved with extra time in the classroom. We took him out of a IEP situation because they spent a lot of time away from the academics which he need so much.

Prowland - you are sooo right and I admire what you've done with your son.

LPotter - Hang in there. I didn't have funds to put my son in private school so, what I did was demand that the school system follow the instructions that were listed in my son's report at the time of his diagnosis. I also insisted at the first IEP when he was six that the school NOT pull him out of his classroom and make him feel different than his classmates. What resulted was that the regular classroom teacher decided that SHE didn't have time to do anything special for my son in the regular classroom (which only requred "checking and rechecking" instructions, using eye contact, etc.) and that if he didn't go into a special class, she would only fill out weekly reports on his progress. Miraculously, by the end of the school year....she thought he was doing "fine". And, that she didn't think he needed special support any more. Hmmmm. At that point, I realized that my son would be better served by some good old fashioned "home support". I got on the internet and researched REL and techniques for helping him, I read books, I read and re-read his diagnosis report and instructions. And, I tried to educate my family and my son that all people have a different way that they learn. Then, I worked on trying to show him what HIS was. The best teacher my son had was his third grade year. She was previously a Special Ed teacher before teaching regular ed and all I had to say was, "My son has been diagnosed with MILD REL". She nodded her head and said she's worked with that before. It was an excellant school year and most important - my son enjoyed the year with her. The worst year was in fourth grade....when the teacher called me in to a conference with her and it turned out to be the principal, her , the reading specialist and the special ed specialist with my son's father on conference call. But, both my ex-husband and I were able to stand strong and tell them that there ALREADY has been a test and diagnosis. There are special instructions....and, if they're not willing to follow those simple istructions themselves....don't count on us to fund more testing and special costly supplements. We already do that. The school system let our son down early on and NOW is not the time to try to start testing again. However, I DID offer the school a deal that IF THEY wanted to take him to his appts and pay for the testing this time....I'd be happy to let them do that. They declined my offer , or so I thought at first. My son ended up with B's and C's....never the wiser of our conference. The teacher (unknown to me until afterwards) DID end up calling in a Reading PHD from the local university to test his reading skills. She wrote up a report that she found he was reading SILENTLY at a sixth grade level (two grade levels above). It was only his verbal skills that lacked. Which supported his initial report and diagnosis. The teacher updated me afterwards and said that she NOW understood what was going on. So, hang in there. Gather your BEST information around you and use YOUR judgment on making decisions for your son.

Hi Lori:

My six year old son was recently diagnosed with mixed receptive expressive language disorder. He's our 3rd child of 4. Two older sisters, 1 younger brother.

It been a long haul. Hearing tests, speech therapists, tutoring, psycological assessments, etc. We too, paid for a psyco-educational assement. Now that we have the diagnosis in hand, I can't find much information about this disorder. It seems to be the same information on different web sites.

We will continue speach therapy, private tutoring and working with the school. Is there anything else?

Your last posting was 2003 when your son was 8. Are things better for him? You? Did speech therapy work? Did your son improve or do you continue to wrestle with this disorder?

Your comments would be greatly appreciated.

Michael

Hi!

I have a 7 year old with a dx of Mixed Expressive/Receptive Language Disorder. Until I found this link, I thought this was just some label the doctor made up to appease me, since I pressed for a "label", so we'd know what we're up against. We thought for a couple of years that our son had PDD/NOS because he has so many autism-like behaviors. However, he has always been very affectionate. He also has a lot of sensory issues, but they seem to be diminishing as he gets older.

My question for the rest of you with children with Expressive/Receptive Language Disorder is - what symptoms do your children have and what kind of support/therapy, etc. are you doing? My son is in 1st grade in an integrated program in a public school and is making good progress. I just worry that we're not doing more to help him with social skills. His maturity level is below his peers and he tends to play more with girls who "baby" him. I'm concerned that his male peers will reject him next year or the year after if he is still behind them emotionally. He still takes teddy bears in his backpack as a "security blanket" if he needs comfort.

Now that I have discovered there are others with the same dx, I'd like to compare notes. I'd appreciate hearing from other parents. Thanks!

Patrick's Mom

First of all, I would like to state that this is an extremely informative site, and thank you for being bold enough to share your experiences with others. It helps to know that there are other individuals who are strong enough to share these things.

My nephew, who is 3, has just been diagnosed with expressive receptive language disorder, hyperlexia,and echoalgia. I have been looking for information for my sister- "screening" these sites which have a lot of redundant information and little to no effective problem solving skills and procedures for these children. We are definitely grateful that he has been diagnosed so young, and that there is "hope" which I only put in quotations because it is all a matter of perspective- there is alwaysalways hope.

I have been looking at some information for children who have aphasia, which I understand is actual trauma or trauma related injury to the brain, but from the information I have found, it seems to mimic the same issues and concerns of expressive receptive disorder. Aside from the phonics games, I was wondering if any one has tried these games and treatment options, and if they were successful. I really appreciate your time on this. Please e-mail me with any info you may have- it is greatly appreciated.
megaflytron@gmail.com

My son has been diagnosed a few years ago and I have been having such problems with the school. We live in Connecticut. He does not talk in school so it makes it difficult for them to figure out where he is intellectually. I have papers, reports, and test results saying where he is intellectually but they will not go by those tests. They try to say it is selective mutism and it seems like they are not even acknowledging his mixed receptive expressive disorder. He is with the special ed teacher for 1 hour each day, he goes to a speech therapist but no luck there. I do not know what to do. He hates school, hates reading, and does not even want to go to school anymore. My husband and I are getting really frustrated and it seems like the school is just pushing him forward just so that they really do not have to deal with it.

Hello,
This is quite an old conversation threat, but might anyone who has responded previously to this discussion still be able to interact?

I'm curious to know how your children are doing these days; what therapy, interventions, perspective has helped the most; and what other and any advice you may have to share.

My 9yo son was diagnosed with MERLD 2 years ago. We had gone through (what I feel) a ton of testing and assessments. After ruling many things out, MERLD was it. We have a wonderful language therapist and educational therapist, but I still sometimes wonder if we have missed anything or are doing enough. It doesn't help that relatives continue to say we have NOT done enough; that he's still "odd" and "off"; that we haven't found the right "curriculum;" that our son hasn't made any progress in the last five years (!); etc. etc.

I am seeking help and support from other parents, especially those who have been there before us, and it is hard to find.