Struggling to listen: Auditory Processing Problems

By: Basha Ontiveros, M.S., CCC-SLP, Speech & Learning Connections

Some children who struggle with speech, language, reading or learning issues may have an auditory processing disorder.  An auditory processing disorder affects how the brain perceives and processes what the ear hears and is not necessarily the result of a hearing loss. In other words, something goes wrong between the hearing of sounds by the ears, and the understanding of them by the brain.

An auditory processing screening consists of a variety of tests that “stress” the auditory pathways by an altered type of speech signal, making them work harder.  For example, the “stress” may be caused by adding background noise to the speech signal, presenting sounds that are acoustically very similar (ie., such as hat vs. hack), or presenting two different words simultaneously in both ears.  A normal auditory processing mechanism is able to handle a mild distortion of the speech signal while an inefficient system will likely have much greater difficulty. 

By taking a brief look at a child’s auditory processing abilities, a Speech-Language Pathologist or Audiologist can gain much information about whether there may or may not be significant central auditory processing issues that may warrant further testing. In addition, the screening evaluates whether a child has the auditory memory skills for following directions and remembering what is said both at home and in the classroom.  It measures a child’s ability to read and spell phonetically, to manipulate sounds within words, to associate sounds with their written symbols, analyze the placement of sounds within words and blend sounds together to form words.  

Auditory processing deficits can impact every aspect of a child’s life—social, academic, emotional.  Parents are often the first ones to notice that there is a problem. If you would like to determine whether your child has auditory processing deficits, which may be interfering with learning, you should schedule a screening by a qualified professional.  The results of the evaluation will indicate if there are enough red flags present to warrant a referral to an audiologist and if there are speech/language issues present that are having a negative effect on reading, spelling, memory and overall learning. Specific recommendations and strategies will be given to improve classroom performance as well. 

Related Articles:

• What is CAPD?
• Central Auditor Processing Disorder (CAPD)