Auditory Processing Disorder is a neurological processing problem with sound and language. The child will struggle to process the information coming in through hearing and reading. They have normal hearing and can hear sounds just like other children, but they struggle to comprehend, especially in noisy busy environments. Symptoms can range from mild to severe and it is often misunderstood because many of the symptoms and behaviors can correlate with other problems, like ADD. It affects about more than 5% of children. With therapy, children with Auditory Processing Disorder can be completely successful in life, and do great in school. See below for a list of
Auditory Processing Disorder Symptoms:
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- Difficulty understanding long sentences.
- Difficulty hearing all of the steps in a set of instructions.
- Struggles to hear the person speaking to them in a busy room.
- May have been taken for a hearing test with suspicion of a hearing impairment.
- Might catch the meaning of a sentence, but not the emotion.
- Has problem recalling information recited to them, like a phone number.
- Cannot repeat something back word-for-word.
- Or, can repeat instructions back perfectly, but does not comprehend them.
- Has to whisper sentences as they write them.
- Keeps starting over with the ABC song when writing the Alphabet to find where they are.
- Stops in the middle of sentences and reads it to see where they are at.
- May have articulation problems that slow reading.
- Can sound out a word like ‘b-a-tt-le’ but fails to see the text is talking about a battle.
- Has difficulty fusing syllables into whole words. Choppy reading and missing syllables. Example: Reads ‘com-pre-hen-sion’ like ‘compression’.
- Stalls when trying to say simple words when speaking. Struggles to find the word to use.
- Problems organizing words into a clear thought when speaking and writing.
- Has to sound out simple site words over and over again.
- May have been tagged with ADD, but can spend hours at Legos or something done with the hands.
- Prefers to play alone.
- Gets easily upset at authority figures, like teachers or parents due to frustration understanding their commands and emotions.
Symptoms can vary from person to person and no two children are the same. They rarely exhibit all of the symptoms. But just a few symptoms can inhibit their reading, attention, social skills, confidence, family relationships, behavior and much more. Your child may also display different symptoms than the ones listed above. Despite your child’s diagnosis, these interventions can make a huge difference. Try Auditory Processing Activities for 3 months. If they do not improve, you may want to see an Occupational Therapist that specializes in childhood development.
