A Progressive approach to aid in dealing with Auditory Processing Disorder

I added a YouTube video which shows a progressive type of treatment for APD (along with many other disorders) Called Interactive Metronome (IM). IM is an intensive computer based program used to improve a child's processing abilities that affect attention, motor planning, sensory processing and sequencing. There are specific goals that a person utilizing the therapy of IM tries to reach, they are:

          More independence with self-care activities

·         Better performance in sports and leisure activities

·         Attention to related to daily function

·         Focus on academic performance and ability to follow directions

·         self esteem and social skills are improved

         

Interactive Metronome is utilized by seeing an Occupational Therapist who uses this program to tailor a treatment plan specific to each child's needs. The computer asks the child to match a rhythmic beat with synchronized hand and foot exercises. The child is given feedback through headphones that tells them how "on beat" they are. This feedback guides the child and helps improve their timing and ability to plan actions. Generally it is done 2-4 times a week for an hour at each visit.

 See the video link 

http://www.youtube.com/embed/xOo54Cs6Ju0?rel=0&autoplay=1

Two different types of Auditory Processing Disorder.....

With several different ways the brain processes auditory information I researched two types of APD, although a person could have one or the other many people have both types of APD.

The first is Auditory Discrimination, this is the skill to acquire the ability to notice, compare and distinguish separate sounds in words. This skill is crucial in order to learn to read.

Below are many difficulties a person with APD can run into:

Learning to read

Trying to understand the differences between similar sounds. Such as seventy and seventeen

Trying to understand follow directions and remember details

A person with APD seems to hear but not listen

Ways to help:

Practice rhyming, sound-blending and using similar sounding words like obvious/oblivious

Talk at a slow pace.

Have one task at a time given to a person.          

The second is Auditory Figure-Ground Discrimination, this is the skill to have the ability to pick out important sounds from a noisy background.

Below are some difficulties a person with APD can run into to:

To distinguishing meaningful sounds from background noise

To have the ability to stay focused on auditory information being given.

Ways to help:

Provide the person with APD seating in the front of the class or near a video monitor

Try to eliminate unnecessary background noise during tasks.

Parents are always saying “be a good listener” to their children, but can you Imagine you just can’t! How difficult to learn if, you have to “learn how to learn”. Another normal reaction by parents is ‘Why don’t you listen?’ ” The truth is. “They were listening, but they weren't hearing the right thing.”

Usually, a child with APD has normal hearing but the brain interprets what it hears as if there were a delay or distortion to the sound. This in turn makes it difficult for the child to comprehend what has been said and therefore he/she is not able to retain the information, thereby affecting their short-term memory. So, although your child may be hearing everything that is said, he/she may be struggling to process the meaning of it.

Children with APD will often have trouble focusing on schoolwork, multi-task instructions and surprisingly even every day socializing. Children tend to retreat in social scenarios so as not to make any mistakes that will permit them to be ridiculed. Their self-esteem can be greatly affected. 

This is the regular process of hearing:

This is what happens in a child/adult with APD:

Share This Page

Print This Page

ADVERTISEMENT

Advertise With Us

A bit of history:

Research on Auditory Processing disorder began in 1954 with Helmer Myklebust who studied APD in children. The study suggested APD was separate from language learning difficulties, and that it was connected more to the neurological findings in the brain. It took over twenty years for the process to catch on, and in 1977 a new series of studies focusing on APD began. Actually the tests currently used today to detect APD are from those studies. At this time it started the understanding, causes, and treatments of APD.

Some signs and information:

There are many signs that can be easier to recognize in a child rather than in an adult, just due to the fact they are just beginning their academic career. First there are behaviors:

Mishearing

Problems following direction

Problems following oral direction

Distracted by any background noise

Poor organizational skills of verbal material

Oral and written expression problems

Remembering what they hear

Learning to read

In Adults and High school students some things that can affect the outcome of their daily living are:

Continues to spell incorrectly

Avoids reading and writing tasks

Trouble summarizing

Weak memory skills

Works slowly

Cannot grasp abstract concepts

There is no clear definition of Auditory Processing Disorder, but there are points that are agreed upon to diagnose it more easily, People who have been diagnosed with APD have a breakdown in receiving, remembering, understanding, and using auditory information. As I pointed out earlier, they do have adequate hearing abilities, although a child's ability to listen is definitely impaired. All in all, there are definite neurological issues that occur with people of all ages who are diagnosed with APD.

Below is a very interesting you Tube link that discusses common symptoms in APD:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iabuAiYZVxI

.

Sources:
1. Wikepedia
2. www.everydayhealth.com/kids
3. National Center for Learning disabilities

Auditory Processing Disorder is a breakdown of auditory information beyond the physical ability to hear, at the nervous system level. This is a neurological defect which affects how the brain processes a language. Could you have Auditory Processing Disorder? Many times APD (Auditory Processing Disorder) is misdiagnosed it is often confused with attention problems. So how does it affect you? Possibly at times you have been told something and the message gets lost when you try to act on it, or if you are easily distracted and cannot follow through on a many step problem. The name APD has contains the word auditory in it which would make you think it requires hearing loss to have the diagnosis of APD, but many people have perfectly normal hearing. Having a hearing loss is not a requirement for the diagnosis. Some of the characteristics of APD would be, problems following direction, issues reading, remembering what you hear, a major dilemma is distraction from background noise. Now that there is a possibility you could have APD what to do? You can see an Audiologist there you will have several tests which will help with the diagnosis. If you are a child APD will be very different from Child to Child, so a team will use a battery of tests to assess the weak areas and decide on what would work best. The team can include Audiologist, Speech pathologist, psychologist, Teachers, Doctors and Family. Look for the next blog for some history and treatments for APD……..