Our 8-year old son, who was just diagnosed last month, also has a learning disability (Central Auditory Processing Disorder). Now, it seemed to me the odds of the same person having a chronic illness (particularly an auto-immune disease) AND an LD were kind of slim. So, I asked on my LD list, and got several responses saying their child has both an auto-immune condition and an LD, and some have more than one of either or both. And, I found an article which stated that children with diabetes are basically twice as likely to have a learning disability as non-diabetic children.
So, if you don't mind sharing, how many with T1 also have an LD of some sort (dignosed or suspected)? If you're more comfortable e-mailing me privately, please do so at Hueyhome@msn.com.
I have read that there appears to be a slight link between Autism and Diabetes. For example, at the very small diabetes camp I work at we have 3 or 4 autistic campers. Oddly enough there is also a link between celiac (common among diabetics) and autism. I know that autism isn't really considered to be an LD but thought you might find this interesting. Best of luck dealing with all of this. I am sure your son has a bright future ahead of him.
i have a "lanuage arts" and math learning disability...and a speaking impediment(i pretty much just had an accent..but they sent me to a speech therapist at the school for two years..where i would leave in a fit of tears because i would roll my "R"s like she told me to...but she'd yell at me that i wasn't doing it right...I was 6!)...but my family has never agreed with that diagnosis. when i was in grade 1 they tested me at school, and i was JUST below average for my age..so they said i had a learning disability..schools get extra funding for every student with a learning disability. i went to the "resource room" and barely learnt anything..was kept doing lessons about three grades or more LOWER than my classmates(in grade 5..i actually had a spelling test with the words "cat, dog, mouse" no joke). in grade 7, my teacher refused to send me and another student to the class every afternoon and i actually got As and Bs on my report card for lanuage arts! they tested me in highschool when i was having trouble in math, and i was about three or four grades below my classmates. so i was in grade 10, but i actually had a vocabulary of a 7th grader. all because i was slightly below average they labelled me for life and pretty much ruined my self-esteem in elementary school and so forth.
Hi Batts,you are one smart girl,I have read many of your post and had to remind myself that you are not older.I would bet you could do anything in life that you set your mind to.As far as lables,wish little children never heard them.
Thanks, ladies, for responding to my querie. I don't know if our son's LD and T1 are related, it just seemed like incredible odds for one kid to be hit with two such considerable challenges. The strength that has been required of him every day just to do the things that have come "naturally" for his brothers, plus conquering T1 on top of it... is he going to a force in the world to watch out for!
Hi Batts,you are one smart girl,I have read many of your post and had to remind myself that you are not older.I would bet you could do anything in life that you set your mind to.As far as lables,wish little children never heard them.
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i've been told by many people, including counsellers i've been sent to for various issues that i'm "wise beyond my years". i blame sometimes seeming older than i am on having diabetes and a struggling a one parent family situtation my whole life. it makes you realize things a lot sooner than some of your peeps =P
Hi Batts,wise is good! and you are still plenty young in age and words.I still laugh about one thing you posted using some choice words,ha,well letters that stand for them,it took me back for a second.Then I thought if she would come to my house and say those same words to my teen,she would get it and accept it with a smile.Thank you for all you say,it's been a help to me.
Hi Monique,I hope all is well,I follow your post.I was not good with the twiiter thing,so this is like twitter on slow time,ha,more my speed.Today my plans are to go back through your post to find some books you mentioned that I would like to read,Take Care
I am not sure that the two are related. I don't have any learning disabilities. The only thing that I can see would impair a kids attention span is if they were high or low during school. I think the cases you mentioned are purely coincidental but I am going to research this more to find out. I have some researcher friends that I am going to email about this as well.
I am not sure that the two are related. I don't have any learning disabilities. The only thing that I can see would impair a kids attention span is if they were high or low during school. I think the cases you mentioned are purely coincidental but I am going to research this more to find out. I have some researcher friends that I am going to email about this as well.
To be continued.
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Hey, Gina,
Thanks for looking into it. I know that some LDs are exacerbated by "poor energy management" by the brain; not able to modulate the available mental energy to keep attention focused for extended periods of time, or having mental energy un spurts of hyperactivity followed by crashes. I can definitely see how blood sugar levels could play a role in that type of difficulty, making existing processing issues worse. I know our son has had blood sugar issues for several years, because I can remember times when he became frantic for food, and it had to be a "real meal"; no snack would do. And, he certainly has more difficulty with certain aspects of the CAPD when his BS is too low; most of the time he can deal with moderate levels of auditory chaos, but when his BS starts dropping, all of a sudden he gets way overstimulated, in addition to feeling the drop. Gotta catch those lows quick :)
Anyway, thanks again for your interest. Based on feedback so far, it seems a minority of people have both, but it's one of those questions my hungry little brain has been chewing on :)
It's interesting that you bring up this point, I had a similar experience to Batt's in elemtary school. In grade 1 I was tested because I couldn't read at the same level as everyone else in the class so for yrs I was put into remedial classes until I was in grade 5 and they didn't really help me.
Then when I was in college one of my professor's found I was having a very difficuilt time with the reading she would assign and the papers I would write for her class. She had asked if I had an LD and I said no, but she wanted me to go and get tested in case I needed extra help. Well I didn't go for the test the 1st time it was booked because I didn't want to be labeled with an LD. But as the semester went on I was finding reading and writting of papers and classes like chemistry so hard that if I missed one word the professors said I would be so lost.
So I finally went for the testing and found out the I have an amazing memory for fine details, but when it comes to things like math or language I have a very hard time with them. So in the next yr. of college I had recieved a computer and programs to help with the learning and to make studying easier(but no one every showed me how to properly use them). So I had to get a tutor for math, and for language classes and I had someone to reread all of my papers before I would had them in. Just because when I usued to write them it sounded much like and elemtary school aged child had wrote them, and when I was writting them what I would like I had put on paper is what my brain would see and read, until someone would point them out to me.
It was a fustrating time and I felt much like someone had told me that I was "stupid" and couldn't comperhend what was being asked of me. And when I asked the "experts" if there was any assication between my diabetes and my LD they said that there can be. They said with all of the high's and low's that we have it damages the brain and sometimes the brain can repair them or even reroute some of the electric impluses that run through the brain, but if the brain can repair or reroute then it can mean that the capicaty for some of abilities of the brain can be diminshed. They said the same thing about long term memory to.
Please somebody speak on this-CJ,-damage to the brain,repair,some ability deminished,in the long term too,all that makes me nervous,Can this be avoided by good control? will this happen if sugar is not in good control,my worry is showing I know...I need to work on that.
Thanks for the response. I correspond with a number of parents with kids who have LD's, including our neighbor whose daughter has CAPD as our son does, and they often express a similar frustration with getting their kids the help they need. Did anyone give you a specific diagnosis?
I don't think diabetes itself can cause a learning disability, but could certainly exaserbate the symptoms. I'm more curious about the auto-immune process itself, the variety of auto-immune diseases that can occur, and any connection with LD's, especially challenges with sensory processing and the autism spectrum.
And, there was no mention of brain damage during my class on Wednesday. The DE talked about the long-term damage that can be caused by high BS, including neurological damage, but that occurs over years of consistently high BS, and seemed to involve extremities rather than the brain itself. The brain almost always gets what it needs first, with other areas of the body showing stress first.
It sounds like you've got it together, CJ. Don't let anyone tell you you're stupid :)
As I told CJ, there was no mention of brain damage in my D class last week, and most complications are as a result of chronic high BS, over a period of years of poor control. I'm sorry if my questions have caused unnecessary concern. I was just being curious :)
HI MO and CJ, -Which is very smart,and the reason I grabbed you so fast for my friend list-to have on standby to help me, Mo,You know it's a mom thing,Protect,Protect,alert that goes off.My daughter told me once her friend had ADD and she thinks she has it Too,but I never had her tested and 4 got about it till this post,now I think if she ever brings it up again,I will have her tested.Is ADD connected with d ?
i dont have any learning disabilities, more of the opposite. i dont study for tests at all usualy but get As. but my little sister has dislexia, but she is reading and working at grade level(or veerryyy close) after just one year of going to a dislexia school.
I'm not sure anything's connected, but just checking out possibilities... I'm sure you've got your learning challenges figured out, but if you'd like to be pointed to some additional resources, let me know :)