(Central) Auditory Processing Disorder

​Some possible symptoms likely to be seen in the general population of children with APD are:

A comprehensive multidisciplinary approach led by an audiologist is important to identify APD.

An Audiologist will first carry out tests to rule out peripheral hearing loss and middle ear pathologies. A background of the family, educational qualifications, social emotional concerns, behavioural and medical history are helpful in the assessment battery.

A number of tonal and speech tests are then carried out to assess auditory memory, discrimination and other auditory processes which include the binaural integration, binaural separation, temporal patterning, temporal processing and binaural interaction skills.

Some of the symptoms of APD are similar to that of other learning disorders such as language delay, attention deficit disorders, cognitive delay and dyslexia. As a result, the audiologist may recommend a referral to other professionals to determine whether another disorder is the root cause of the child's difficulties and/or whether the child has APD. These professionals may include speech-language pathologists, educational psychologists, paediatricians and occupational therapists.

​Management plans are tailored jointly between the audiologist and speech-language therapist to suit individual auditory processing deficit profile. These may include some or all of the following:

Direct Intervention

Speech-language therapists provide therapy activities that directly target the auditory processes that the child has difficulty in, and at an appropriate level of difficulty. At least one family member is encouraged to attend the therapy sessions with the patient because successful remediation requires consistent practice. Where appropriate, computer-based programmes may be recommended.

Compensatory Strategies

Some of these include the development of listening strategies to avoid auditory fatigue and improving language skills to improve understanding of degraded auditory signals.

Environmental Modifications

Some modifications in the classroom may be sufficient to help some children listen and process better. Preferential seating in the classroom to allow for additional visual cues may help a child with APD. Cutting down on background noises by closing the door or using a classroom with friendlier acoustics may also be recommended. The child may also benefit from an assistive listening device (FM system) that allows the child to hear the teacher directly whilst cutting out background noise.