Auditory Processing Disorder
My child finds it difficult to hear when it's really noisy! They can't follow instructions well! I always need to repeat myself, and they keep saying "huh". Their literacy performance at school is quite poor.
If these are some questions and scenarios weighing on your mind, your child may have Auditory Processing Disorder.
What is Auditory Processing Disorder?
Our ears are not the only tool we need to hear. We also need our brain to understand and process what is being heard. This is particularly important in noisy environments. When our brain and ears cannot communicate effectively, this can lead to difficulty hearing and understanding speech, even though our hearing is "normal".
If a child has an Auditory Processing Disorder (APD), it means they cannot process what they hear the same as other children.
Other characteristics and behaviours often associated with APD can include:
- Difficulty reading and responding to social cues
- Difficulty following spoken directions
- Using vague language to communicate
- Confusing or mishearing words that sound alike
- Difficulty remembering multiple instructions/sequential commands
- Easily distracted by noise
Why is it important for your child to attend this assessment?
Children with APD can have difficulty learning. Your child may find it challenging to hear the teacher in the classroom, which can cause frustration and confusion.
APD may also affect socialisation, as hearing and ability to communicate is reduced. For example, your child may not hear their friends when everyone is talking over each other, especially if it's noisy. Everything will sound muffled, and they only pick up certain words, not enough to understand the conversation. As a result, they will avoid contributing to the discussion, which can cause social withdrawal and avoidance of group activities.
If diagnosed, you will be given the tools to support your child and help improve their ability in areas where they might be struggling.
Why assess Auditory Processing Disorder at the Hear Today clinic?
Our team of specialist paediatric Audiologists are highly qualified and will provide tailored care to your child and family.
We are flexible with appointment times, as we recognise it can be challenging to attend. The APD appointments are 3 hours and separated into two sessions (see below for more information). While some clinics hold these appointments one week apart, our clinic can offer them the same week, especially for those coming from the outer Perth area.
What happens in an APD assessment? What test do we perform?
Before the appointment, you will be asked to fill in an auditory processing history questionnaire which will help the audiologist identify which situations your child is having difficulty in and which tests to perform. This will also aid in the development of your child's personalised management plan.
During the appointment: Before APD testing it is important to rule out any hearing loss that may be the cause of your child's difficulties and therefore a diagnostic auditory assessment will be performed. This will include otoscopy, tympanometry, acoustic reflex testing and a pure tone audiometry assessment and appropriate referral for medical treatment if required.
The audiologist will direct your child through a series of tests to determine if your child can listen to speech in the presence of background noise, detect subtle differences in sounds and fill in missing parts of words. In these tests your child will simply have to indicate if they can hear certain sounds or speech. To participate in an auditory processing assessment your child must be able to communicate and understand language, have normal hearing and be 6 years of age or older.
The assessment requires 2 appointments of 1.5 hours each. Auditory processing consists of several skills and these appointments allow time for our audiologist to assess each of these skills. We strive to ensure the tests are engaging and we allow time for breaks as needed.
