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Introduction
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Children who have difficulty
using information they hear in academic and social
situations may have central auditory processing
disorder (CAPD), more recently termed auditory
processing disorder (APD). These children typically
can hear information but have difficulty attending
to, storing, locating, retrieving, and/or
clarifying that information to make it useful for
academic and social purposes (Katz & Wilde,
1994). This can have a negative impact on both
language acquisition and academic performance.
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WHAT
IS CENTRAL AUDITORY PROCESSING?
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When the ears detect sound,
the auditory stimulus travels through the
structures of the ears, or the peripheral auditory
system, to the central auditory nervous system that
extends from the brain stem to the temporal lobes
of the cerebral cortex. The auditory stimulus
travels along the neural pathways where it is
"processed," allowing the listener to determine the
direction from which the sound comes, identify the
type of sound, separate the sound from background
noise, and interpret the sound. The listener builds
upon what is heard by storing, retrieving, or
clarifying the auditory information to make it
functionally useful.
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WHAT
IS A DISORDER OF AUDITORY
PROCESSING?
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A simple,
no-tech approach to note taking is for the teacher
to provide copies of structured outlines in which
students fill in information. Low- and high-tech
methods include
- Videotaping class
sessions for visual learners or those who are
unable to attend class for extended periods of
time.
- Sending web-cam
photography across the Internet to allow
students to see and hear what is happening in
class (for students who are unable to attend
class).
- Sending class notes or
presentations to students via e-mail.
- Translating print-based
notes to voice by using optical character
recognition (OCR) software with a voice
synthesizer.
- Using notebook computers,
personal digital assistants (PDAs), or portable
word processing keyboards to help students with
the mechanics of note taking.
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WHAT
ARE THE BEHAVIORS OF CHILDREN WITH
APD?
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Children who have auditory
processing disorders may behave as if they have a
hearing loss. While not all children present all
behaviors, Keith (1995) offers the following
examples of behaviors that may be displayed by
children who have APD:
- Inconsistent response to
speech
- Frequent requests for
repetition (What? Huh?)
- Difficulty listening or
paying attention in noisy environments
- Often misunderstanding
what is said
- Difficulty following long
directions
- Poor memory for
information presented verbally
- Difficulty discerning
direction from which sound is coming
- History of middle ear
infection.
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WHAT
ARE ACADEMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF CHILDREN WHO HAVE
APD?
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In addition to the preceding behaviors, children
may also present a variety of academic
characteristics that may lead teachers and parents
to suspect APD. Baran (1998) offers the following
characteristics. Again, all children will not
present all characteristics.
- Poor expressive and receptive language
abilities
- Poor reading, writing, and spelling
- Poor phonics and speech sound
discrimination
- Difficulty taking notes
- Difficulty learning foreign languages
- Weak short-term memory
- Behavioral, psychological, and/or social
problems resulting from poor language and
academic skills.
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Tourette
Syndrome "Plus" © Copyright 1998 - 2005 Leslie
E. Packer, PhD. except as noted.
All rights reserved
This page last updated January 7, 2005.
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