What is Auditory Processing Disorder?
Our world is filled with the sounds of life: the wind rustling through
the trees, the sounds of children laughing and most importantly, our
ability to communicate with spoken language.
How our brains are able to take in this
auditory information and make sense of it
is a very complex process.
Auditory processing allows us to find where sounds are in space, determine what a sound was, discriminate the intricacies of our language
and separate important sounds from non-essential
sounds like noise.
There are many tests available to determine if a
child has an Auditory Processing Disorder. These tests will evaluate specific
brain functions as they relate to the
interpretation of auditory information.
When the test results are further combined with information from other professionals, such as speech pathologist, psychologists and
classroom teachers, an appropriate plan for management can be
completed.
Management of an auditory processing
disorder can be a long-term investment of time and energy by the child’s
family and by those directly involved with the child’s education, health
and wellness.
If you suspect that your child may have an
Auditory Processing Disorder, the thought of beginning such a process may be daunting. There
is also no “crystal ball” to determine the likely
benefit of such testing and management.