Treatments

Auditory Processing Disorder

A child with an auditory processing disorder can have normal hearing, but has difficulty processing and pulling meaning out of what is heard. In short, children with APD can have trouble making sense of what other people say. The brain typically processes sounds almost instantly allowing people to quickly interpret what they hear, but individuals with APD process information with more of a delay. Background noises only worsens this delay by interrupting the signal to the brain for learning and organizing or preventing the information from getting to the brain at all.

To a child with APD, “How are a chair and couch alike” may sound like “How are a cow and hair alike?” This disruption of processing sounds can affect children with APD in different ways.

  • Communication: Children with APD may not speak clearly. The ends of words and syllables that aren’t emphasized may be dropped. Similarly sounding words be be confusing (free apples instead of three apples) beyond what is considered to be developmentally appropriate.

  • Academics: Reading, spelling and writing development may also be a challenge for kids with APD. The building blocks for reading, such as learning vowels and developing phonemic awareness, can be especially difficult. Participating in classrooms that heavily rely on "good listening" or following spoken instructions without visual supports is challenging.

  • Social skills: Kids with APD have trouble telling stories or jokes. They may avoid conversations with peers because it’s hard for them to process what’s being said and think of an appropriate response.

Symptoms of APD may include:

  • Difficulty following spoken directions, especially multi-step instructions

  • Asks speakers to repeat what they’ve said, or saying, “huh?” or “what?”

  • May be easily distracted, especially by background noise or loud and sudden noises

  • Have trouble with reading and spelling, which require the ability to process and interpret sounds

  • Struggle with oral (word) math problems

  • Find it hard to follow conversations

  • Have poor musical ability; Find it hard to learn songs or nursery rhymes

  • Have trouble remembering details of what was read or heard