Low score on the Beery-Butanka VMI test - what does it mean?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: It's just the unwillingness to actually begin writing. He fights the process so much, and hates just getting started, and hates adding any more information or detail than he has to. Once he does it, he's able to produce something in-line with his grade-level peers, so we've always looked at it as him just being really defiant about wanting to write, and being forced to write, but maybe there's something other than his natural defiant tendencies going on here.

Have you gotten a full language assessment from a qualified speech and language therapist? I found that the neuropsychological exam does not provide enough information about language-based problems except in the broadest overall sense.

The full language assessment we got at the Lab School really defined the root of our child's language problems -- both with respect to dysgraphia and the receptive/expressive language deficits. What you are describing sounds to me like symptoms that my child exhibits. In my own child, I attribute these problems to word-finding difficulty, slow processing, difficulty with semantics which makes it difficult to generate examples based on the prompt, receptive auditory and pragmatic difficulties understanding both the explicit and implicit demands of the prompt, and executive functioning difficulties that make it hard to take thoughts in the brain and organize them on paper in a way that facilitates writing.

Consider a deeper language assessment if you haven't already gotten one. I think it cost about $1500.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: It's just the unwillingness to actually begin writing. He fights the process so much, and hates just getting started, and hates adding any more information or detail than he has to. Once he does it, he's able to produce something in-line with his grade-level peers, so we've always looked at it as him just being really defiant about wanting to write, and being forced to write, but maybe there's something other than his natural defiant tendencies going on here.

Have you gotten a full language assessment from a qualified speech and language therapist? I found that the neuropsychological exam does not provide enough information about language-based problems except in the broadest overall sense.

The full language assessment we got at the Lab School really defined the root of our child's language problems -- both with respect to dysgraphia and the receptive/expressive language deficits. What you are describing sounds to me like symptoms that my child exhibits. In my own child, I attribute these problems to word-finding difficulty, slow processing, difficulty with semantics which makes it difficult to generate examples based on the prompt, receptive auditory and pragmatic difficulties understanding both the explicit and implicit demands of the prompt, and executive functioning difficulties that make it hard to take thoughts in the brain and organize them on paper in a way that facilitates writing.

Consider a deeper language assessment if you haven't already gotten one. I think it cost about $1500.

Not the OP, but can you share information on how you pursued this assessment? It sounds helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kennedy Krieger explained to us that research shows that the frontal lobe is the area of the brain that controls executive functioning. Researchers suspect an ADHD brain has problems in this frontal lobe area. Likewise, motor skills such as writing are also controlled in a location of the brain close to the frontal lobe. Not every ADHD child has writing difficulties, however an ADHD child is more likely to have writing difficulties as compared to the general population. That is why the Beery-Butanka VMI test is a good test to perform if a child demonstrates executive functioning difficulties.

My two children with ADHD both tested low on the Beery-Butanka VMI test. KKI calls the issue a graphomotor disorder but the school team calls it dysgraphia. Whatever the label, accommodations such as class notes and extended time have greatly helped our children's performance.

Really interesting. My ADHD child had a brain MRI (for reasons other than ADHD) and it showed some cortical displasia in the frontal lobe. The neurologist said it was hard to say what impact that had, if any, since so few people get brain MRIs.

Not an expert, but I think the research done at Kennedy Krieger is related to PET scan studies not MRI's. The PET shows molecular function and activity not structure. An ADHD brain lights up with colors during the PET scan differently than a non-ADHD brain. An MRI shows the brain's structure but not how the brain is firing during activities.

In your child's case, the neurologist saw a structural issues on the MRI with the frontal lobe. It could be a possible explanation of why your child is exhibiting ADHD symptoms or even an increase in symptoms. I'm not sure if that is typically the case for most kids with ADHD or if there is a lack of research with MRI's and ADHD patients.

However, physical injuries to the brain (for example a concussion) can make a person who previously did not exhibit executive functioning difficulties be impaired. The impairment lasts to the extend the brain repairs itself or can repair itself. Doctors don't know why, but it is also common for an ADHD brain to have a much longer than usual recovery time from any brain injury. They speculate that it is due to the unique wiring and chemical makeup of the ADHD brain.