What is Auditory Processing Disorder?
Auditory Processing Disorder is defined as a disorder wherein the brain does not properly process the information sent to it through the auditory pathways. In simpler language, someone with auditory processing disorder (APD) hears fine but their brain simply struggles to process what they hear. The signs that a child has APD usually are noticeable at a young age. The child may have a hard time paying attention in a noisy situation, may have difficulty remembering a few directions at once and/or discriminating minute differences in words and sounds. All of these symptoms can do much to frustrate a child and this may come along with a sense of insecurity and social isolation by their peers.
Sometimes children with symptoms of APD are misdiagnosed as ADD, ADHD or PDD (Pervasive Developmental Delay) because the symptoms are similar. However, it is important to know that Auditory Processing Disorder is not a disorder of attention or communication. It is simply an inability of the child’s brain to properly process the sounds it hears.
Symptoms of Auditory Processing Disorder
Children with APD will display a number of these symptoms.
How Can I Evaluate If My Child Has APD?
If you suspect that your child may have APD because he/she seems to be ignoring you, loses attention easily or has any of the other symptoms of APD, you should make an appointment with an audiologist for an evaluation. An Audiologist is a hearing doctor who can make sure that you child indeed hears well and that it is not his/her hearing at fault, it is the APD causing the problem.
How to treat Auditory Processing Disorder
It’s crucial to know that there isn’t one all encompassing method to treat Auditory Processing Disorder. Despite stories of miracle cures that abound on the internet, the treatment of APD is a very specifically individualized treatment. It does not matter how successful a specific therapy method might have been for a different child, that method may not be as effective or even effective at all for your child. That being said, the way to ensure that your child receives successful and effective treatment is to have him/her diagnosed by an audiologist.
There are three main areas that treatment of this disorder usually zeroes in on: 1) changing the environment in which the child learns or communicates in, 2) Using higher-order skills to help counteract the which skills are affected by the disorder, and 3) to help remedy the auditory deficit itself. The main goal of modifying the child’s environment is to improve his/her access to information that has been presented auditorily. Some suggestions might be the use of electronic devices which can assist in listening (Assistive Listening Devices-ALDs), suggestions for the teacher to improve their way of giving over information, as well as other techniques of changing the learning environment so that any child who has APD can focus his or her attention on the message being sent both in school and at home.
Compensatory strategies are usually suggestions for helping the listener strengthen their central resources ( which are their language skills, problem-solving skills, memory, attention span, as well as other cognitive skills) so they can be put to use to overcome the disorder. Additionally, some of these compensatory strategies aim to teach the child with Auditory Processing Disorder to know that the the responsibility for their listening success or failure is theirs and that in order to see success, they need to take an active role and be a willing participant in constant daily listening activities in different settings with varied active listening as well as problem-solving techniques.
Lastly, the direct treatment of APD seeks to remediate the disorder itself. There is a wide variety of activities that are used as treatment to address an individuals specific auditory deficits. Some might be computer-based, others may involve individual training with a therapist. In some cases, a program based at home is more appropriate while in others, the child may need to go to therapy sessions in his/her school or at a local clinic. It should be emphasized again that because each case is different, there isn’t a blanket approach that will work for all children with APD. Like all types of intervention for Auditory Processing Disorder, the type, frequency, and intensity of therapy, will need to be very specific and programmed for the particular type of auditory disorder that is that the child has.
The success that therapy will have on a child with APD can’t really be determined in advance. While some children with this disorder may experience complete “cure” of the difficulties of APD or seem to “grow out of” it, yet other children may retain some degree of deficit from the disorder their whole life. However, with good and timely intervention, all children who have APD can learn to become active participants in their own listening, learning, and communication success rather than a helpless victim of an impairment. When the disorder is diagnosed expeditiously and taken care of in the right way, a child can overcome this obstacle to succeed in any environment.