The learning success blog

How do we get auditory processing disorder (APD) – is it something we are born with? To find out, LearnFast interviewed Devon Barnes, speech pathologist and APD specialist.

Key points from the interview included:

• You can be born with it
• There are likely to be students with APD in almost every classroom
• Informed, aware teachers can identify students who may have APD
• This disorder can be related to dyslexia

Are there signs you can look out for at home, that could indicate your child has auditory processing disorder (APD)?

To find out, LearnFast asked Devon Barnes, speech pathologist and APD specialist, and we recorded her answers on video.

Key points from the interview included:

• Does your child often misunderstand what you say?
• Do they have difficulty following an instruction to do a sequence of things
• Rule out a hearing problem by having their hearing checked
• Your child may not be disobedient or oppositional, they just may not be able to process everything you say to them

How is it possible that your child can hear quite well but they don’t understand what they hear? They could have auditory processing disorder (APD).

To get some understanding of this complex issue, LearnFast asked Devon Barnes, speech pathologist and APD specialist to explain in a video interview.

Key points from the interview included:

• “Processing” the meaning of sounds is different to “hearing"
• Hearing happens in our ears
• Processing occurs in our brain
• Auditory processing disorder can look like attention deficit

Fast ForWord programs are proven to develop auditory processing skills. LearnFast recorded a video interview with Devon Barnes, speech pathologist and Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) specialist and asked her explain.

Key points from the interview included:

• Fast ForWord trains multiple aspects of auditory processing including:
  • Auditory discrimination
  • Auditory memory
  • Following instructions
  • Receptive language
    
• Neuroimaging shows physical brain changes after Fast ForWord
• Tests confirm improvements in auditory processing

How can you make life easier for your child with Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) . In this video interview Devon Barnes, speech pathologist and APD specialist gives eight practical tips for parents.

Some of the tips from the interview are:

1. Reduce your child’s frustration by being understanding and compassionate about their difficulty.
2. Make sure you have your child’s full attention before you speak to them.
3. Have your child face you when you speak to them.
4. Keep instructions short
   

What are some of the signs teachers can recognise that may suggest that a student has auditory processing disorder?

LearnFast asked Devon Barnes, speech pathologist and Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) specialist to answer this question, and recorded her answers in a video interview.

Key points from the interview include advice that teachers should look out for students who:

• Have delays in responding to questions
• Often misunderstand what the teacher or other students say
• Are behind others in reading and spelling
• Have difficulty understanding jokes or sarcasm

One of your students has an auditory processing disorder. You know this because they have had a diagnosis by an audiologist or speech pathologist. Or perhaps you suspect that a student has this disorder because you observed their symptoms in the classroom.

Is there anything you can do to help them?  We asked Devon Barnes, speech pathologist and auditory processing disorder (APD) specialist for her advice.

Key points from the interview included

• Seat the student closer to you
• Try to make the classroom quieter
  • Put rubber tips on the legs of chairs
  • Use cork or cloth boards to absorb noise
  • Carpet is great if you can get it into the classroom
• Check often that they understood what you have said
• Use multi-sensory instruction whenever possible 

How can the Fast ForWord program build learning capacity and reading skills for all students, regardless of their ages and current ability?

This short video explains that the neuroscience-based exercises in the patented Fast ForWord programs simultaneously develop thinking skills (memory, attention, processing speed and the ability to sequence sounds, words and ideas) as well as language skills including:

•   Phonological awareness
•  Phonemic awareness
•   Vocabulary
•   Syntax
•   Grammar

You may have heard the term “auditory processing disorder” (often called APD) used in relation to children who are struggling to read or who have learning difficulties.

But what exactly is APD? Does it mean that the child has a hearing problem?

LearnFast recorded a video interview with Devon Barnes, speech pathologist and APD specialist and asked her to clarify.

Cameron didn’t like school - sound familiar?

How can you change that – especially if there is an underlying blocker to learning ?

This blog includes Part 1, 2 and 3 of Cameron’s journey from age 10 being diagnosed with Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) and how he has used Fast ForWord to help himself overcome the challenges of this disability, graduate from high school and start his TAFE studies.

Also included is his television interview from the Channel 7 Sunrise Program.