Can someone please explain to me what a deficit in receptive language is?

[HIU8]

DS is in private school. However, we just finished with the screening meeting for an IEP via the county public system. I was referred for DS's speech (articulation etc....). A private eval is out of the question for us right now (the private OT is a real strain but we have been doing it for over a yr now and it's helping a lot with DS's SPD). Anyway, the slp for the county mentioned that it sounded like DS needed to be tested with respect to his receptive language. I understand it somewhat--that DS may have issues processing things said to him (he is a visual learner). I just want to make sure I understand what a deficit in receptive language means--is it a stand alone issue or tied to his SPD or other things? Anyone BTDT and can offer some insight?

[sidmand]

DD was behind in receptive (and is now pretty much caught up) and I think it is different when they're littler—she had/has both a receptive and expressive delay and I believe they were tied together.

But I think you'll find it could be a standalone issue or it could definitely be related to his SPD or other things. I don't think there will be a pat answer and it will differ from child to child.

But if he's having trouble processing sensory things that can definitely interfere with processing receptively. Your body is so busy being defensive against sounds/feelings/etc. that your brain doesn't have the ability to isolate what it's hearing and responding to as well.

[ha98ed14]

My DD had a speech delay. She was 30% delayed in receptive and 40% delayed in expressive. Basically it's what it sounds like: a receptive delay means he does not process the words spoken to him as fast or as well as other children his age. If he has no expressive delay, it means he can make himself understood using his words at a level that is normative for kids his age. That's my back of the envelope explanation based on my experience with DD. Her receptive delay got better much faster than her expressive. She is hypotonic, which is why she had a hard time making her mouth work. On the other hand, her ears work fine, no hearing loss, so that part got better faster.

[HIU8]

DS has been making some great strides in OT with respect to gross and fine motor. I wonder if, since he is having a jump in ability, that the receptive language issue is becoming more pronounced (as in one thing getting better while others lag behind until the one thing levels off again)? Either way, DS asks me questions over and over again (the same question) since he doesn't "get" the answer right away. After about the 4th time he will say "oh, I get it". I can see the processing takes longer. I'm hopeful that some speech therapy will help that along so it doesn't suffer so much.

[icunurse]

DS had both expressive and receptive delays and was in ST for 3 years (out for 2 years now). Honestly, at first, I was surprised at how behind he was when they did the testing. Then, between the ST and my work with him, he caught up nicely. I used to tell instructors for classes about his delay and just let them know that he might need something told to him a second time or in a different way. While he hasn't been assessed any time recently, I am guessing he is all caught up, maybe even ahead of most kids. But it was a lot of hard work for both of us.

[ha98ed14]

Does he have fluid in the ear? Don't mistake a receptive delay for an auditory processing delay, because they might not be the same thing. My sister has an auditory processing delay. She had a ton of ear infections as a you child. She basically learned to hear things as though they were under water. At 32, she still mis hears things.

DD hears fine. No ear infections. She was just having a hard time making sense of the meaning of the words. My sister had trouble making meaning of the sounds. I think they are different. But I'm not an expert.

[HIU8]

DS is 5.5. We held him back into pre-K b/c of this and his SPD. He is smart, but his response time is slow and we felt he needed the extra year. I wonder, if we had caught the receptive lang delay earlier, if DS could have gone to K this year? We did start OT at age 4, but with no one to guide us, we are slowly geting DS the help he needs (as we grow and understand the issues).

[egoldber]

Has ever had a test like the WPPSI or the WISC? That woud test his processing speed and working memory, which are important for things like quick recall and short term memory processing. These are two areas where my older DD really struggles and it explains a lot about her and how she learns and processes information. And also why she finds some activities and aspects of school very challenging.

[HIU8]

DS took the WPPSI-III. The write up I have talks a lot about his expressive language abilities. The processing speed index portion does list him as age appropriate. The school psych asked my permission to talk to the person who administered the test (we did it for private school admission info and to just see where he was in general). Hopefully the school psych will be able to shed some more light on it.

[mom2binsd]

Receptive language is a very broad term. In in a nutshell it's one's ability to understand words and their meanings, understanding concepts of place/time/ (up/down/below/inside/between/before/after etc). It looks at the ability to follow simple directions (you have to know what is being asked- "take the glue and put it beside your tote"...if you don't know what your tote is or what beside means you're going to struggle. It looks at understanding meaning within sentences, paragraphs and stories.

Auditory Processing is a little bit different, it's a little more complicated to explain but is more related to your ability to process the sounds and then attach meaning to them, but you can't attach meaning to the them if you don't know what they mean in the first place.

Testing for Receptive language is different from Auditory (or Central Auditory) Processing Disorders.

It can stand alone as a deficit but it is most likely in conjunction with other difficulties, like those you've mentioned.

Hope they are able to explain the test results well, don't be shy to ask for specific examples or clarification.