Auditory processing disorder (APD), also known as central auditory processing disorder (CAPD), is a complex problem affecting about 5% of school-aged children. These kids can’t process the information they hear in the same way as others because their ears and brain don’t fully coordinate. Something adversely affects the way the brain recognizes and interprets sounds, most notably the sounds composing speech.
Kids with APD often do not recognize subtle differences between sounds in words, even when the sounds are loud and clear enough to be heard. These kinds of problems usually occur in background noise, which is a natural listening environment. So kids with APD have the basic difficulty of understanding any speech signal presented under less than optimal conditions.
Auditory Processing Disorder in Early Childhood
Common difficulties include
- Learning to speak;
- Understanding spoken language;
- Separating meaningful sounds from background noise;
- Remembering stories or songs;
- Staying focused on a person’s voice;
- Unusual sensitivity to noise;
- Confusing similar sounding words;
- Difficulty in understanding speech.
Accommodation and modification strategies
- Keep directions simple—only tell your child one step at a time;
- Give directions both orally and visually—show your child what you mean;
- Speak slowly—especially when your child is hearing information for the first time;
- Maintain eye contact while speaking;
- Limit background noise when teaching new information or giving directions;
- Provide specific opportunities to practice skills that build vocabulary, rhyming, segmenting and blending words.
Auditory Processing Disorder in School-Age Children
Common difficulties include
- Remembering and following spoken directions;
- Remembering people’s names;
- Sounding out new words;
- Seeming to ignore others when engrossed in a non-speaking activity;
- Understanding people who speak quickly;
- Finding the right words to use when talking.
Accommodation and modification strategies
- Combine oral teaching with visual aids;
- Ask that teachers and others make it physically, visually or audibly clear when they are about to begin something important so that nothing is missed;
- Have a note-taking buddy who will make sure that information was understood;
- Request seating close to teacher;
- Have child repeat back information or instructions to build comprehension skills and make sure messages are understood correctly.
Auditory Processing Disorder in Teenagers and Adults
Common difficulties inlcude
- Talks louder than necessary;
- Remembering a list or sequence;
- Often needs words or sentences repeated;
- Poor ability to memorize information learned by listening;
- Interprets words too literally;
- Hearing clearly in noisy environments.
- Accommodation and modification strategies
- Find or request a quiet work space away from others.
- Request written material when you attend oral presentations.
- Ask for directions to be given one at a time, as you go through each step.
- Take notes or use a tape recorder when getting any new information, even little things.