Auditory Processing Disorder (APD)

Auditory Processing is ‘What the brain does with what the ear hears’ (Jack Katz). Sometimes the ears and the brain don’t fully coordinate and interfere with the way the brain recognizes and interprets sounds, especially speech, this is Auditory Processing Disorder (APD).

Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) has been defined as the efficiency and effectiveness with which the central nervous system utilizes auditory information.

The skills used include sound localization and lateralization, auditory discrimination, dichotic listening, and temporal processing. In addition, effective auditory processing is associated with other higher-order cognitive-communicative skills including phonological processing, comprehension and interpretation of auditory information, and attention to and memory for auditory information (ASHA, 2005).

APD can affect individuals of any age, and it has been associated with difficulties in a variety of communication and learning arenas.

IMPORTANT!!

APD is different from deafness! A person could have normal hearing and still have difficulty understanding what they hear.

Auditory processing disorders symptoms

An auditory processing disorder checklist of symptoms may include:

Difficulty following a conversation with more than one person at a time
Difficulty understanding jokes and double meanings
Being inattentive and easily distracted (daydreamer)
Not answering promptly when called or being called several times before answering
Delivering mixed-up messages or getting events and words mixed up when telling a story or a joke
Mirrored writing or getting letters and/or sounds mixed up (e.g. pall instead of a ball)
Not being able to follow multi-step instructions
Being too active or too quiet
Memory problems
Difficulty learning how to read and write
Difficulty in school with English, Irish and/or Maths
Difficulty interpreting what one reads

Commonly associated conditions

These symptoms may be present in pathologies other than APD (these are just some examples; other pathologies could have APD as one of their symptoms)

Sensory Processing Disorder
Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD – previously known as Dyspraxia)
Developmental Language Disorder (DLD—previously known as SLI)
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Dyslexia

Auditory Processing Disorder Assessment

The only way to diagnose APD is through a thorough battery of tests performed by a trained audiologist. The patient’s hearing will also be assessed to rule out possible hearing impairment. A child should be at least 7 years old before being tested.

In some cases, a multidisciplinary team will be involved to help with the differential diagnosis and management of Auditory Processing Disorder.

Request An Appointment

{custom-field-lcfi}

{custom-field-ZFDa}

Thank You. We will contact you as soon as possible.