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Auditory Processing Disorder

Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) affects many school-aged children. These children have difficulties processing information they hear auditorily because their ears and brain don’t fully coordinate. Something adversely affects the way the brain recognizes and interprets sounds, particularly speech sounds. APD is an often misunderstood because many of the behaviors related can also appear in other conditions such as learning disabilities and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Although APD is often confused with ADHD, it is possible to have both. It is also possible to have APD and specific language impairment or learning disabilities.

Symptoms of APD can range from mild to severe and can take many different forms. If you think your child might have a problem processing sounds, consider these questions:

• Is your child easily distracted or unusually bothered by loud or sudden noises?
• Are noisy environments upsetting to your child?
• Does your child’s behavior and performance improve in quieter settings?
• Does your child have difficulty following directions, whether simple or complicated?
• Does your child have reading, spelling, writing, or other speech-language difficulties?
• Is abstract information difficult for your child to comprehend?
• Are verbal (word) math problems difficult for your child?
• Is your child disorganized and forgetful?
• Are conversations hard for your child to follow?

Below are some strategies for auditory memory that are used in therapy to target goals related to APD:

1. Write down important information or words
2. Highlight the important information/words you want to remember
3. Repeat to yourself
4. Picture it in your head-VISUALIZE!
5. Make an association-Think of something that reminds you of what you are trying to remember

Hope this was helpful!

-ToniAnne 🙂