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Health & Fitness

Central Auditory Processing Disorders Information For Parents and Teachers

Elissa Murnick, Neighbor

Written By: Elissa Munick M.S. CCC-SLP Certified Speech Language Pathologist, Director Murnick Speech & Language Associates

Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD), is a complex problem affecting about 5% of school-aged children. These children who are impacted can't process the information they hear in the same way as others because their ears and brain don't fully communicate with each other. Something negatively impacts the way the brain recognizes and interprets sounds, mostly the sounds consisting of speech. Children with CAPD often do not recognize subtle differences between sounds in words, even when the sounds are loud and clear enough to be heard. These kinds of problems usually occur in the presence of background noise, which is a natural listening environment. Therefore, children with CAPD often have the difficulty of understanding any speech signal presented under less than optimal conditions such as their classroom.

 Detecting CAPD

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Children who have been diagnosed with CAPD are thought to hear normally because they can usually detect pure tones that are delivered one by one in a very quiet environment (such as a sound-treated room). Those who can normally detect sounds and recognize speech in ideal listening conditions are not considered to have hearing difficulties .However, the ability to detect the presence of sounds is only one part of the processing that occurs in the auditory system. So, most children with CAPD do not have a loss of hearing sensitivity, but have a hearing problem in the sense that they do not process auditory information normally. If the auditory deficits aren't identified and managed early, many of these children will have co-existing speech and language delays and/or academic problems.

Symptoms of Children With CAPD

· Easily distracted or unusually bothered by loud or sudden noises

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· Noisy environments can be upsetting

· Behavior and performance can improve in quieter settings

· Difficulty following and carrying out oral, multi-step directions, whether simple or complicated

· Have reading comprehension, spelling, vocabulary, writing, or other speech-language difficulties

For more symptoms of Children with CAPD, visit auditory processing information on my website.

CAPD is an often misunderstood problem because many of the behaviors noted above also can appear in other conditions like Learning Disabilities, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and even Depression. Although CAPD is often confused with ADHD, it is possible and quite common to have both. It is also possible to have CAPD and a Specific Language Impairment or a Learning Disability. The causes of APD are unknown. But evidence suggests links to head trauma, lead poisoning, and chronic ear infections. Because there are many different possibilities, even combinations of causes, each child must be assessed individually.

 Diagnosis of CAPD

Audiologists (hearing specialists) can determine if a child has CAPD. Although Speech-Language Pathologists can get an idea by interacting with the child and administering come preliminary testing such as the SCAN-3:C Tests for Auditory Processing Disorders for Children (SCAN-3:C) or the Test of Auditory Processing Disorders (TAPS), only Audiologists can perform Central Auditory Processing testing and determine if there really is a problem. Some of the skills a child needs to be evaluated for Central Auditory Processing Disorder don't develop until the age of seven or eight. Younger children’s brains just haven't matured enough to accept and process a lot of information.  Auditory processing is a developing skill and is expected to improve with age. Therefore, many children who are diagnosed with CAPD can develop better skills with time. Once diagnosed, children with CAPD usually work with a Speech Language Pathologist on areas such as  following multi-step directions  in the presence of background noise and recalling auditory information from a spoken paragraph. The child’s Audiologist will also recommend that they return for yearly follow-up evaluations.

To view problem areas for children with CAPD visit auditory processing information on my website.

Suggestions for Parents of a Child With CAPD

Strategies that are applied at home and school can ease some of the problem behaviors in children that are associated with CAPD. Because it's common for kids with CAPD to have difficulty following multi-step directions in the presence of background noise , for example, these tactics might help:

· Reduce the amount of background noise at home and school.

· Prompt your child look at you when you're speaking to him/her

· Use simple sentences when talking to your child.

· Speak at a slightly slower rate and at a slightly increased volume.

· Ask your child to repeat the directions back to you and to keep repeating them aloud (to you or to himself or herself) until the directions are completed.

For more suggestions to parents of a child with CAPD, visit auditory processing information on my website.

Classroom Strategies For Teachers of Children With Central Auditory Processing Disorders

· Have the child sit in the front of the classroom with his/her back to the window three, but not farther than eight feet away from the teacher, sound source, or activity to maximize auditory/visual information

· Provide the student with a tape recorder or an assignment pad

· Establish eye-contact and get the student’s attention prior to speaking to him/her

· Use key words to help a student listen like “listen,” “get ready,” and “you’ll want to remember this one” when you are about to present key information.

· Provide the student with a partner to help getting assignments down correctly, completing group projects, taking notes, and preparing for tests. Because it is difficult for CAPD students to watch and take notes simultaneously, give students a copy of the teacher’s notes, a study guide, or another student’s notes.

For more suggestions for teaches of students with CAPD, visit auditory processing information on my website.

 Elissa Murnick is a licensed, certified Speech Language Pathologist and the owner of Murnick Speech & Language Associates in Fairfield, CT. She has worked for almost 15 years with children of all ages with a wide range of speech and language disorders in a public and private school setting as well as private practice. For more information about scheduling an evaluation visit Murnick Speech & Language Associates on the web at www.murnickspeechandlanguage.com.

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