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.