---
title: Auditory Processing Disorder
---

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Auditory processing Disorder

Auditory processing is the system that transfers and decodes what we hear into what we understand.

 

The ear can hear many different sounds either through air-conduction or bone-conduction. These sounds must be accurately received by the ear, then be sent to relevant parts of the brain to be analysed and acted upon.

What is Auditory Processing Disorder?

Auditory Processing Disorder (APD), also known as Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD), is an umbrella term for a variety of disorders that means that the brain has difficulty making sense of the sounds that it hears.

 

The brain is a complex neurological system so APD will manifest itself differently from person to person depending on the area of auditory weakness.

 

People with APD have a normal ability to hear sounds, but have difficulty understanding what the sounds mean. The brain cannot make sense of what the ears hear because the auditory signal is distorted in some way.

 

Many other conditions in children are made worse by an accompanying auditory processing disorder. Children who have autism, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia, language problems, aphasia or learning disabilities often have concurrent problems with auditory processing.

 

One of the biggest problems experienced by people with APD is difficulty listening with background noise. Often children cannot adequately understand the teacher when there are competing classroom sounds or when they have been given a number of spoken instructions at once.

### APD is estimated to affect around 5% of the population

Signs that a child my have an Auditory Processing Disorder

**Delayed language development**

**Trouble in sequencing the sounds of words**

**Misunderstanding and poor memory for oral messages**

**Poor speech comprehension, often asking ‘what?’**

**Easily distracted by irrelevant background sounds**

**Inability to listen effectively and follow directions**

**Poor comprehension in a noisy environment**

**Confusion when faced with similar sounds: eg. ‘da’ and ‘ba’**

**Difficulty in expressing desires, often blaming the other person for not understanding**

**Poor phonemic awareness contributing to poor reading, spelling or comprehension**

Because APD makes distinguishing speech within noise hard for children, they find it difficult to focus, they get frustrated, their schoolwork suffers and they get tired from trying to listen.

Identifying Auditory Processing Disorder

 It is important to know if your child does have APD so that it can be managed

![boy\_listening](https://www.learnfasthq.com/hubfs/boy_listening.jpg "boy_listening")

APD will not show up on a standard hearing test.

An assessment for APD uses specific tests that are designed to test auditory processing skills in addition to hearing ability.  These tests may involve your child repeating a series of words or numbers, listening to words coming to both ears at the same time, ignoring words from one side while listening to words on the other side or listening to target words while other noise is presented. Because of their complexity, assessments are generally only performed with children who are 7 years or older and are age appropriate.

APD assessments can only be performed by qualified audiologists who have undergone further training. 

What can you do?

The main way we can assist a child who has APD is to make it easier for them to understand what they hear:

|  | Breaking instructions into simple steps and giving the next instruction when the child has done the first one. |
| --- | --- |
|  | Sitting the child close to the teacher so that the teacher's voice is loud compared to the voices of other children. |
|  | Giving the child other ways of ‘getting the message' such as written instructions. |
|  | Encouraging the child to ask the teacher to repeat what has been said if they have not understood, or having the teacher check that they have understood what was said. |
|  | Reducing noise in the classroom as much as possible, particularly when the teacher is giving instructions. |
|  | Having a quiet study place at home. |
|  | Recognising that the child has a difficulty and is not just being naughty. |
|  | The use of an Assistive Listening Device, such as an FM system (now called remote microphone), allows the child to hear the teacher's voice directly even if there is other noise or they are some distance away.   |
|  | Use of the Fast ForWord123 program. Fast ForWord123 is effective for people with auditory processing disorder.  Its digitally “stretched” sounds give the brain more time to process speech sounds (phonemes).  As the student’s auditory processing ability improves, Fast ForWord123 progressively speeds up the sounds to the pace of natural speech.  |

**When the auditory processing issues are corrected, children are then able to make the critical sound-to meaning connections that lead to proficient reading and improved learning all around.**

 [Purchase Fast ForWord123 Here  ](https://learnfast-products.myshopify.com/collections/fast-forword)

Or, complete the form if you would like more information on how Fast ForWord123 can help your child with Auditory Processing Disorder.

![School\_classroom\_hands\_up](https://www.learnfasthq.com/hubfs/School_classroom_hands_up.jpg "School_classroom_hands_up")

## What Our Clients Say

> "Ellen struggles with comprehension at times which is part of her Auditory Processing Disorder. I must say her language, writing, reading and comprehension has markedly improved since doing Fast ForWord123! Her speech and oral language has also accelerated. The change in her confidence has been amazing!"

* **Julie| Victoria***

> "Reading fluency has gone from reading one page reluctantly in 8-10 minutes to now reading one page in a minute with fluency and full comprehension. Anna is finding it much easier to sequence events and can tell jokes in the right sequence."

* **Pam | New Zealand***

> "The teacher has noticed a significant improvement in auditory processing after using the Fast ForWord program."

* **Linda | NSW***

> "Good improvement in concentration and reading prolifically and the teacher has noticed an overall improvement in the classroom… best money ever spent."

* **Anne | NSW***

> "I feel Fast ForWord123 has been of great benefit to Patrick. His language has certainly improved and his ability to now distinguish different sounds within words has been a huge contributing factor in his language development. His concentration abilities have improved greatly. He is far more attentive in class and the benefits of this are obvious. I recommend your program to others.

* **Amanda | Canberra***

> Before I first started your program, I was a very bad reader and speller, but now that I have done it I’m better at reading and writing. I’m very pleased that this program has helped me so much. I have an easier time understanding instructions and I’m so happy that I can read so much better than before.

**Lachlan, 9yo | New Zealand**

> This program has helped me in Maths and other subjects I have trouble with.  I feel it has helped with my reading and my understanding of things during and after classes. I can sound out words heaps better and I think if I do it a bit longer I will get where I’m meant to be in class work.

**Imogen, 12yo | NSW**

> My son's reading fluency has gone from a page of “Babe” read reluctantly in 8-10 minutes to now reading 1 page in a minute with fluency and full comprehension.  He is finding it much easier to sequence events and can tell jokes in the right sequence.

**Amanda | Victoria**

LearnFast Australia & New Zealand

[Follow us on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/LearnFastGroup) [Follow us on Facebook](https://au.linkedin.com/company/learnfastgroup) [Follow us on Facebook](https://www.youtube.com/user/learnfasteducation)