Auditory Processing Disorders: By Age Group
What you should know about auditory processing disorders:
- Auditory processing disorders are often referred to as central auditory processing disorders (CAPD)
- Auditory processing disorders can occur without any kind of hearing loss
- Auditory processing disorders affect how the brain perceives and processes what the ear hears
- Like all learning disabilities, auditory processing disorders can be a lifelong challenge
- Many of the difficulties that are experienced by people with auditory processing disorders are also common to people with attention deficit disorders
- Auditory processing disorders may run in families
- Auditory processing disorders can affect a person's ability to interact socially
- There are different types of auditory processing disorders, each affecting different aspects of auditory information processing - see "Auditory Processing Disorders in Detail" for more information
Auditory Processing Disorders at Different Ages
Many people experience problems with learning and behavior from time to time, but if a person consistently displays difficulties with these tasks over time, testing for auditory processing disorders by trained professionals should be considered.
Early Childhood
Common difficulties include:
- Learning to speak
- Understanding spoken language
- Separating meaningful sounds from background noise
- Remembering stories or songs
- Staying focused on a person's voice
- Unusual sensitivity to noise
- Confusing similar sounding words
- Difficulty in understanding speech.
Accommodation and modification strategies:
- Keep directions simple - only tell your child one step at a time
- Give directions both orally and visually - show your child what you mean
- Speak slowly - especially when your child is hearing information for the first time
- Maintain eye contact while speaking
- Limit background noise when teaching new information or giving directions
- Provide specific opportunities to practice skills that build vocabulary, rhyming, segmenting and blending words.
School-Age Children
Common difficulties include:
- Remembering and following spoken directions
- Remembering people's names
- Sounding out new words
- Seeming to ignore others when engrossed in a non-speaking activity
- Understanding people who speak quickly
- Finding the right words to use when talking.
Accommodation and modification strategies:
- Combine oral teaching with visual aids
- Ask that teachers and others make it physically, visually or audibly clear when they are about to begin something important so that nothing is missed
- Have a note-taking buddy who will make sure that information was understood
- Request seating close to teacher
- Have child repeat back information or instructions to build comprehension skills and make sure messages are understood correctly.
Teenagers and Adults
Common difficulties include:
- Talks louder than necessary
- Remembering a list or sequence
- Often needs words or sentences repeated
- Poor ability to memorize information learned by listening
- Interprets words too literally
- Hearing clearly in noisy environments.
Accommodation and modification strategies:
- Find or request a quiet work space away from others
- Request written material when you attend oral presentations.
- Ask for directions to be given one at a time, as you go through each step.
- Take notes or use a tape recorder when getting any new information, even little things.
Support NCLD's Work - Donate Now
Reprinted with the permission of the National Center for Learning Disabilities. © 1999-2009 National Center for Learning Disabilities, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Take Action
- this article with friends and family.
- Have a question about Auditory Processing Disorders? Ask it here.
- Publish your work on education.com.
