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Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) is defined as a breakdown of auditory information beyond the physical ability to hear, at the level of the central nervous system. In other words, CAPD occurs when the central nervous system has problems processing information that comes through listening. Research suggests that 3% to 20% of children have CAPD, and that a significant number of those children also have attention issues, along with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Although children with ADHD, autism, pervasive developmental disorder, and other global deficits may demonstrate poor listening skills, they do not necessarily have CAPD. Other disorders such as these often affect a child’s ability to attend to and interpret auditory information because they usually affect the same areas of the central nervous system. This can make the differential diagnosis quite difficult. However, CAPD is not a symptom, nor a result of global deficits (Bellis, n.d.).

Children with CAPD display several behaviors similar to symptoms associated with sensorineural hearing loss. For example, children with CAPD often demonstrate significant difficulty in the presence of background noise. In addition, they may have difficulty recognizing subtle differences between sounds in words or may have difficulty with interpretation of longer strands of auditory information, such as verbal directions. In school, children with CAPD may have difficulty spelling, reading, and understanding information presented verbally in the classroom. In addition, these children may demonstrate a significantly higher performance in classes that don’t rely heavily on listening (Bellis, n.d.). These behaviors may become apparent in the early school years, such as kindergarten or first grade, or at a later stage of the child’s life. This is likely due to increased academic demands placed on children in the elementary grades.

To diagnose CAPD, an audiologist administers a variety of tests that require the child to attend to a variety of signals and to respond to them via repetition, pushing a button, or in some other way. Most CAPD assessments require the child to be at least seven years of age because younger children do not have the advanced brain function to interpret auditory stimuli of each assessment.

Speech-language pathologists help to treat children with CAPD and incorporate goals targeting the child’s strengths and weaknesses. It is important to provide the child with a quiet environment, especially when listening to important information and completing homework tasks. In addition, it is important to have the child keep a visual day planner and write down important information as soon as it is presented. Parents and caretakers should decrease their rate of speech when talking to the child and allow more time for the child to answer questions. Furthermore, it is extremely important to follow any goals and/or recommendations set up by the child’s audiologist and speech-language pathologist.

-Kristen Meaney, M.A. CF-SLP