Central Auditory Processing Disorder
When the Brain Can’t Hear
Imagine living in a world where a person can hear but don’t comprehend. Imagine decoding every word, every sentence, and every conversation. Imagine a life where a person cannot process information like other person can. Think about having to work twice as hard to retain information. Someone who lives with central auditory processing disorder has this life. “Living with a learning disorder isn’t always easy. As a matter of fact, it is never easy” says Lisa Schmidt (Schmidt). Auditory processing is a term used to describe what happens when a person’s brain recognizes and interprets sounds around them. The ‘disorder’ part of auditory processing disorder means that something is adversely affecting the processing or interpretation of the information (NIDCD).
The auditory system is one of the most complex and delicate sensory systems in the body. When this system works correctly, it is able to process and transform acoustical energy through the ear and into the brain, where it can be identified as sound. This whole process occurs within a split-second timeframe. When functioning normally, our brains are able to interpret the sound into messages we understand (Kids Health). Unfortunately, it doesn’t always function normally. When a person has Central Auditory Processing Disorder the sound gets to the brain but the brain is unable to interpret the sound into a message they can understand (Pepin).
The causes for Auditory Processing Disorder are unclear. Specific causes have yet to be pinpointed by researchers. In many children, it is related to developmental delays in the auditory centers within the brain. In other children, the deficits are related to harmless differences in the way the brain develops. APD can also be closely connected to neurological problems or diseases such as: trauma, tumors, degenerative disorders, viral infections, surgical compromise, lead poisoning, lack of oxygen, auditory deprivations, and other similar situations. (Central Auditory Processing Disorder)
APD cannot be diagnosed with specific-measure tests like an x-ray or blood tests. To determine if a person has APD they must go through a series of evaluations. These evaluations measure specific auditory processing abilities. Then an audiologist is able to determine the diagnosis. The four general types of tests that audiologists will use involve hearing, neurologic, behavioral, and dichotic. (L. Bonnie)
The hearing tests evaluate the persons ability to hear. By doing this they can eliminate the possibility of a hearing loss. Neurological testing is a group of tests that measure how well the brain responds to various sounds. They apply electrodes to a person’s head so they can measure brain responses to sound stimuli. The behavioral tests involve presenting spoken information with some of the words purposely missing. A person that does not have APD could fill in the gaps and understand what is said. A person with APD would not be able to understand what is said. The last test would be a dichotic speech test. This test would involve presenting specific numbers or words alternatively in each ear, the person has to repeat all that has been said in both ears (L., Bonnie).
There are four different types of APD that can be diagnosed; Auditory discrimination, auditory figure-ground discrimination, auditory memory, and auditory sequencing. Auditory discrimination is the ability to notice, compare and distinguish the distinct and separate sounds in words. This skill is important for reading. The difficulties a person will have, if they struggle with auditory discrimination, is learning to read, distinguishing difference between similar sounds, understanding spoken language, following directions, remembering details, and they seem to hear but not listen. To help a person who struggles with this a person could talk at a slower pace and give them one task or set of instructions at a time. Practicing rhyming, segmenting words into syllables, segmenting compound words, sound-blending and using similar sounding words will help improve their ability to distinguish between similar sounds (L., Bonnie).
Auditory figure-ground discrimination is the ability to pick out important sounds from a noisy background. People who struggle with this have difficulties distinguishing meaningful sounds from the background noise and staying focused on auditory information being given. Some helpful strategies are to provide seating near audio source and eliminate unnecessary background noise during tasks (L., Bonnie).
Auditory memory is long and short-term inability to remember something heard. The difficulties that someone might observe in a person who struggles with auditory memory are remembering people’s names, memorizing telephone numbers, following multi-step directions, and recalling stories or songs. Some helpful strategies are to offer written material to accompany lectures, strengthen note-taking skills, and provide visual cues to differentiate information (L., Bonnie).
Lisa Marie Schmidt tells how she deals with her disorder in a paper she wrote: “One thing I do is write constant reminders to myself or have my friends or my boyfriend text me things to remind me to go do something or go get something. As you can see now, having CAPD does affect one’s memory. It all stems back from not being able to know what’s important and what’s not important, it even goes back to knowing where to place information in my brain. My family helps me out by reminding me to get different things done. (Schmidt, Lisa Marie.)
Auditory sequencing is the ability to understand and recall the order of words. If someone struggles with this they may be confused with multi-digit numbers, confused with lists and other types of sequences and have trouble remembering the correct order of a series of instructions. Providing written materials to accompany verbal instructions and use of images or gestures to reinforce understanding will help (L., Bonnie).
Lisa Schmidt said
Having this disorder has made my life more challenging than most. But even “normal” people have hardships that they have to deal with. People like me just have to learn their own little tricks to stay on top of things. Also people like me sometimes just need to give up their “pride” and go get the help they need to get through school. Yes it made me feel dumb at first then I realized that after I went and got the help I did better in my academics, so it was worth it. I hope kids and adults with this disorder do not look at themselves as bad or stupid people but rather try and better themselves like I did. (Schmidt, Lisa Marie.)
There is no medication to cure or help the problems of APD. There is also no cure-all method of correcting APD. Treatment of APD generally focuses on three primary areas: changing the learning or communication environment, compensating for the disorder, and direct treatment. The changing in environment involves improving the access to verbal information, the use of electronic devices that assist in listening, and methods of altering the learning environment so that the person can focus their attention on the verbal information. Using the compensatory strategy would involve strengthening their language, problem solving, memory, attention, and other skills. Using this strategy allows the person to take responsibility for their own success and failures. This strategy encourages the person to be an active participant in daily listening activities. Direct treatment would involve one-on-one help from a therapist and computer-assisted programs. (N.A). Using these strategies will help the person who has Auditory Processing Disorder. A person with APD can live a close to normal life with the help of others.

Work Cited
Bellis, Teri James, PhD. "Understanding Auditory Processing Disorders in Children." Auditory Processing Disorders (APD) in Children. N.p., 2013. Web. 07 Feb. 2013. <http://www.asha.org/public/hearing/Understanding-Auditory-Processing-Disorders-in-Children/>. "Central Auditory Processing Disorders." The International Dyslexia Association Upper Midwest Branch. Artopolis, 2009. Web. 07 Feb. 2013. <http://www.ida-umb.org/pages/Central-Auditory-Processing-Disorders.cfm>. Hake, Tony, and Alisa Hake. "Inaugural Issue, Our Story." Help Kids Hear. N.p., 2003. Web. 07 Feb. 2013. <http://www.helpkidshear.org/aboutus.html>. "KidsHealth." Your Ears. The Nemours Foundation, 2013. Web. 14 Feb. 2013. <http://kidshealth.org/kid/htbw/ears.html>. L., Bonnie. "How Is Auditory Processing Disorder Diagnosed?" ApdUS. N.p., 2013. Web. 07 Feb. 2013. <http://www.capdsupport.org/Diagnosis/how-is-capd-diagnosed.html>.http://www.ncld.org/types-learning-disabilities/adhd-related-issues/auditory-processing-disorders/auditory-processing-disorders?start=1 N.A. "Central Auditory Processing Disorder Treatment." Learning RX. CAPD WebRing, 2013. Web. 07 Feb. 2013. <http://www.learningrx.com/central-auditory-processing-disorder-treatment-faq.htm>. .Pepin, Karine. "Understanding Auditory Processing Disorder in Children." American Speech, Language, Hearing Association. N.p., 2013. Web. 07 Feb. 2013. <http://www.advancedcognitivetherapy.com/about-auditory-processing>. Schmidt, Lisa Marie. "Auditory Processing." National Council of Teachers of English. Sarah Holmes, 2012. Web. 7 Feb. 2013. http://www.galleryofwriting.org/uploads_converted/KEY_3631260/3631260.pdf