APD

Auditory Processing is “what our brain does with what the ear hears” (Jack Katz).

Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) is a difficulty in processing what you hear, and it can be detected / diagnosed in adults and children older than 8.

Important

APD is different from deafness. A person could have normal hearing and difficulty understanding what is being said.

Even adults diagnosed with APD who have probably found ways to compensate somewhat for their difficulties can still benefit from APD treatment.

SIGNS OF APD:

can’t follow a conversation with more than one person talking at the same time
can't understand jokes or double meaning
inattentive and easily distracted
doesn’t answer promptly when called or has to be called several times before they do
delivers mixed up messages or gets events and words mixed up when telling a story or a joke
‘mirrored’ writing or gets letters/sounds mixed up (e.g. ‘pall’ instead of ball)
bad handwriting
difficulty with right and left
memory problems
child who is very active or very quiet
difficulty making friends with children from their own age-group
difficulties at school (English and/or Irish and/or Mathematics)
difficulty learning how to read/write
can’t understand/interpret what they read

NOTE: THESE SYMPTOMS MAY BE PRESENT IN OTHER PATHOLOGIES THAN APD

What to Do?
If you or your child are experiencing a number of these symptoms, it is recommended that a complete Hearing Assessment including tests that assess the Auditory Processing with a specialist Audiologist is carried out.

APD diagnosis
There are different skills involved in processing what you hear.

Different tests are carried out to identify which of these require attention.

APD treatment
The APD treatment should be multidisciplinary, including professionals such as Speech & Language Therapists and Psychologists.

Once the skills that need attention have been identified, the audiologist or speech therapist will work with the patient to strengthen these processes.

For example, were a person to have difficulty processing speech in background noise, appropriate activities can help them develop strategies to deal with or overcome their difficulty.

If the patient is a child, as well as working with the audiologist, parents will be asked to perform exercises with them at home.

NOT APD