Eide Neurolearning Clinic
6701 139th Place SW
Edmonds, WA 98026
ph: 425-742-2218
fx: 425-742-8115
email:
drseide@neurolearning.com
blog:
http://www.eideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com
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Auditory Processing Disorders |
By Fernette Eide M.D. |
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What, huh?' Auditory Processing Disorders need to be looked for carefully, because the biology of 'listening' is an evolving science and symptoms of 'APDs' are easily confused with other conditions that affect learning- such as the attention deficit disorders, disorders of sensory integration, and non verbal learning disorders. Common symptoms of APD include: sound sensitivity (covering ears) or insensitivity (for instance, not responding to name being called), delayed or otherwise impaired speech, forgetfulness with auditory instructions ('a visual learner'), difficulty with phonics, problems with background noise, overwhelmed by crowds of children, and easy distraction with visual or auditory stimuli repetitions. A child with APD may frequently look 'inattentive', saying 'What?' or 'Huh?', and paradoxically be able to repeat back what was heard 'like a tape recorder,' although confusing simple 'listened' instructions. Neuroscientists now know that 'hearing' is a complex & dynamic process which requires the balancing of sound localization & lateralization, timing, ordering, and discrimination of sounds, the recognition of auditory patterns, integration of sound inputs between ears, and ability to auditorily 'close' or complete incompletely heard sounds. Auditory Processing Disorders occur from diverse causes including- familial causes, brain injury, and in association with dyslexia. Brain-based auditory processing disorders are important to diagnose because accommodations in school and changes in teaching & learning strategies can overcome school difficulties. Parents should realize that APDs are a relatively new area of clinical hearing science. Diagnoses are often made in conjunction with several different types of medical professionals including audiologists, speech therapists, and neurologists. Children with central auditory processing disorders have normal 'tone' audiometry. To diagnose brain based difficulties children or s must be tested e.g. for abnormalities of detection re: sound timing , differences between ears, figure-ground (e.g. voice with background noise). Some links to investigate: http://pages.cthome.net/cbristol/capd.html http://www.scilearn.com/alldocs/mktg/10035-952MYoungCAPD.pdf Also a wonderful book is: Terri Bellis' When the Brain Can't Hear. About the Authors: Brock and Fernette Eide are physicians and consultants to a wide range of parent, teacher, and clinical professional groups seeking more information about brain-based difficulties and their solutions. Together they have authored more than 50 articles and they speak internationally for keynote lectures, seminars, workshops, and small groups. The Eides can be contacted through their website at: www.neurolearning.com or by email at: feide@u.washington.edu or drseide@neurolearning.com.
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