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AUDITORY PROCESSING DISORDER IN CHILDREN MANUAL

Treatment for APD consists of skills training to reorganize and improve the way the brain processes sound, as well as interventions and accommodations in the classroom, in the workplace, and at home. Auditory Processing Disorder TreatmentĪuditory processing disorder is considered a lifelong condition. Patients should be at least 7 years old by the time of evaluation, according to guidelines from the American Academy of Audiology, as the cognitive functions that are involved in testing are usually still developing in younger children 4.

Clinicians also make sure to rule out hearing loss and other conditions that may be causing the symptoms. These tests, for example, may ask patients to listen to tones and identify whether they are high or low, and listen to audio input and repeat back what they heard 10. The symptoms commonly associated with APD, however, tend to fall under the DSM-5’s language disorder diagnosis category.Īudiologists, psychologists, and speech-language pathologists screen for APD using a battery of tests that examine the patient’s auditory discrimination, processing, attention, memory and more 4.

AUDITORY PROCESSING DISORDER IN CHILDREN MANUAL

9Īuditory processing disorder is not listed in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Factors including low birth weight, maternal diabetes, heavy metal exposure, and ear infections may be risk factors for symptoms that present as APD.

acquired (through brain injury, for example).

developmental – having to do with delays in the maturation of the central auditory pathway) or.

Auditory Processing Disorder CausesĪPD’s causes are unclear, but the condition is thought to be either: Still, most contend that APD and ADHD are separate disorders, especially given key differences in executive functioning (EF) skills (APD is not strongly tied to EF deficits, while ADHD is) and the parts of the brain associated with each condition 6. Some experts also believe that APD is simply part of the sensory processing deficits typically experienced by individuals with ADHD (one study that may contribute to this belief, for example, found that children with ADHD who take stimulant medications for treatment do better in hearing and listening tests compared to children with ADHD who took no medication 8). One dated study even suggests that 50 percent of individuals diagnosed with APD also meet criteria for ADHD 7. There is considerable overlap between APD and ADHD symptoms. The same applies to adults with APD, who may show difficulties with telephone conversations, following directions, and other issues in the workplace 5. The symptoms of APD can impact listening and communication skills, and they may make academic success difficult to achieve.

academic difficulties, including poor reading and spelling.

inability to detect subtle changes in tone.

commonly asking for information to be repeated.

problems locating the source of a sound.difficulty hearing speech in noisy environments.Ĭommon signs of APD, according to the American Academy of Audiology 4, include: auditory sequencing: the ability to understand and remember the order of sounds and words.auditory memory: the ability to recall, in the short-term and long-term, information that is presented orally.auditory figure-ground discrimination: the ability to focus on specific sounds in noisy/competing backgrounds.auditory discrimination: the ability to distinguish distinct, separate sounds in words (a necessary skill for reading).Individuals with APD experiences difficulties in these four areas of auditory skill, according to the National Center for Learning Disabilities 3: 2 APD’s symptoms (see more below) also overlap with that of other conditions and disorders, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD or ADD) and learning disabilities. Given these issues, estimates of APD’s prevalence rates vary considerably, from 0.5 to 7 percent of the population and even more.

Auditory processing disorder is typically diagnosed in school-aged children.ĪPD is somewhat controversial – much debate continues among scientists today about diagnostic criteria for APD, and whether it should be considered a distinct disorder at all. People with APD have normal hearing abilities, but their brains have a hard time receiving, organizing, and making sense of sound. Auditory processing disorder (APD), also known as Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD), refers to a condition that impacts the brain’s ability to filter and interpret sounds.