Auditory
processing disorder (APD), also known as central auditory processing disorder
(CAPD), is one of the specific learning disabilities which can be the basis for
eligibility for an individualized education plan. CAPD is believed to be a weakness in the ability to cognitively
process verbal or 'auditory' information. Typically, such students perform well
with visual or 'hands-on' activities, but struggle to understand or recall information
presented verbally. This is not due to poor hearing, but rather to a weakness
in the brain's ability to fully or efficiently process auditory information.
This complex problem is estimated to affect about 5%
of school-aged children.
The
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders presents the
following example of APD: “ … the request ‘Tell me how a chair and a couch are
alike’ may sound to a child with APD like “Tell me how a couch and a chair are
alike.” It can even be understood by the
child as ‘Tell me how a cow and a hair are alike.’ ”
The
frequency of such errors increases with the presentation of complex
information, and in noisy environments, such as classrooms.
According
to the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASLHA), a diagnosis of APD
can only be made by an audiologist, and most assessments require students be at
least 7 or 8 years old.
In “Nature
of Auditory Processing Disorder” Moore, Ferguson, Edmondson-Jones, Ratib and
Riley present results from a study of 1469 children in Great Britain. The battery
of assessments included the Children’s Auditory Processing Performance Scale (CHAPPS).
Students’ cognition and AP skills were compared to caregiver’s evaluation of
children’s listening and communication. The findings suggest that presenting
symptoms of APD were largely unrelated to auditory sensory processing and that
APD is primarily an attention problem that, incidentally, often improves with age.
Moore et al
conclude that APD in children is primarily a result of poor engagement with
sounds, rather than impaired hearing. “First, the symptoms currently labeled
APD may not be attributable to a primary, bottom-up, sensory processing problem,
but may have their origins in higher-level, top-down, control of listening.”
This study
has significant implications for the diagnosis and treatment of APD and to date
has been cited in 23 scholarly publications.
References
Moore, D.R., Ferguson, M.A.,
Edmondson-Jones, A.M., Ratib, S., Riley, A. (2010). The nature of auditory
processing disorder in children. Pediatrics 126:2 e382-e390,
