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You ask: “Why is my child so exhausted after school every day?” “Does my child have a hearing problem or are they just not listening?”
APD affects every aspect of life, not just learning. It can be exhausting, confusing, and constant. Below this infographic, there’s a description of the daily frustrations that come with APD.
A Child’s Day With Auditory Processing Disorder
Auditory processing disorder in children can be very challenging. When we are young, our day job is learning. Our primary focus is getting an education. With auditory processing disorder, a child’s school day may be more challenging, frustrating, and sometimes humiliating than anyone realizes. You may wonder:
- Why does my child struggle in noisy classrooms?
- Why is my child so exhausted after school every day?
- Why is homework so frustrating and stressful?
- Does my child have a hearing problem or are they just not listening?
These are all signs of auditory processing disorder. It’s not as clear and obvious as some other learning delays, and to some extent, your child can cover it up. But to the extent processing is delayed, it’s impact is relentless, all day long.
These daily frustrations erode confidence and self-esteem. Furthermore, they create a negative connection to reading and learning that, over time, becomes hard to reverse. Consequently, many children with APD do eventually grow out of their processing delays, but they never become enthusiastic readers.
How To Identify APD and What To Do Next
As you might expect, recognizing central auditory processing disorder in children early on is important. ASHA, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, recommends formal testing through an audiologist. This testing normally occurs in a sound room. Different volume levels and sound combinations test temporal aspects of auditory discrimination (sequencing), auditory pattern recognition, and the ability to process degraded or distorted sound.
However, since auditory processing impacts a range of behaviors, there are tell-tale signs of APD you can observe using an APD symptoms checklist with signs of auditory processing disorder in children listed by age.
If you decide on formal testing, you will receive advice on managing auditory processing disorder for your child at home and school. However, that is about all you will get. There is no medicine or magic pill for APD. It is a delay in cognitive skill growth. And, like other physical or cognitive skills, the only way to improve auditory processing skills is through cognitive training like Fast ForWord.
If you are not sure whether this is your child’s experience, take our free Auditory Processing Screening for symptoms and risk factors, and we will send you our findings.
