Auditory Processing Disorders: In Detail

Auditory Discrimination

The Skill: The ability to notice, compare and distinguish the distinct and separate sounds in words. This skill is vital for reading.

Difficulties you observe

• Learning to read
• Distinguishing difference between similar sounds. Example: Seventy and seventeen
• Understanding spoken language, following directions and remembering details
• Seems to hear but not listen

Types of Helpful Strategies:

• Practice rhyming, segmenting words into syllables, segmenting compound words, sound-blending and using similar sounding words (like obvious/oblivious).
• Talk to student at a slow pace.
• Give student one task at a time.

Auditory Figure-Ground Discrimination

The Skill: The ability to pick out important sounds from a noisy background.

Difficulties you observe

• Distinguishing meaningful sounds from background noise
• Staying focused on auditory information being given. Example: following verbal directions

Types of Helpful Strategies:

• Provide seating near audio source. Example: front of the class or near a video monitor
• Eliminate unnecessary background noise during tasks. Example: TV, stereo, outdoor noise

Auditory Memory

The Skill: There are two kinds of auditory memory:

• Long-term auditory memory is the ability to remember something heard some time ago
• Short-term auditory memory is the ability to recall something heard very recently

Difficulties you observe

• Remembering people's names
• Memorizing telephone numbers
• Following multi-step directions
• Recalling stories or songs

Types of Helpful Strategies:

• Offer written material to accompany lectures.
• Strengthen note-taking skills.
• Provide visual cues to differentiate information-for example, using different colored chalks to emphasize the most important material on the board or hand signals when moving on to another topic.

Auditory Sequencing

The Skill: The ability to understand and recall the order of words.

Difficulties you observe

• Confusing multi-digit numbers, such as 74 and 47
• Confusing lists and other types of sequences
• Remembering the correct order of a series of instructions

Types of Helpful Strategies:

• Provide written materials to accompany verbal instruction.
• Use images or gestures to reinforce understanding and memory of a sequence or list.  

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