Auditory Processing Disorder

Do you or your child have difficulty understanding speech, follow verbal instructions or distinguish speech in noisy environments? Does your child have academic difficulties which may include poor spelling, poor reading and trouble understanding information presented verbally in the classroom?

If so, an evaluation for Auditory Processing Disorder or APD may be needed. APD is a disorder which affects how the brain recognizes and processes sounds and words. The disorder can affect anyone and is estimated to appear in as many as 5 to 7 percent of school-age children, with boys diagnosed twice as much as girls. There is a lot of confusion that surrounds the disorder and it can appear simultaneously with conditions such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, so it is important that those with CAPD symptoms get evaluated by an audiologist for proper diagnosis.

Some signs and symptoms of APD include:

• Difficulty listening or learning auditorily
• Problems following multistep directions
• Difficulty with reading, spelling, or academics
• Problems filtering out background noise
• Hypersensitivity to or reduced tolerance for noise
• Frequent mishearing or misunderstanding of speech
• Difficulty understanding muffled, fast, or distorted speech
• Problems remembering what was heard
• Problems distinguishing between similar speech sounds
• Difficulty organizing verbal information
• Problems with oral and written expression