(Central) Auditory Processing can be described as the ‘brain-work’ of hearing. Immaturity or disorder of the central auditory pathways leads to difficulties with attending, discriminating or comprehending spoken information. This is despite having normal hearing and intelligence. (Central) Auditory Processing Disorder – (C)APD – makes it hard to learn from incidental conversations and spoken information, leading to behaviour problems and learning difficulties.
Adelaide Hearing Consultants Audiologists and Speech Pathologists offer assessment and therapy, for children with learning difficulties and suspected (C)APD.
Behaviours of children at risk of (C)APD may include:
- Often seeks repeats or says “huh” or “what” frequently
- Gives inconsistent and inappropriate responses to verbal information
- Often misunderstands what is said
- Has a short attention span and is easily distracted
- May appear “vague” or have difficulty with concentration
- Has difficulty following multiple verbal instructions
- Performs better when shown
- Has difficulty listening when background noise is present
- Has difficulty learning phonics
- Has trouble remembering instructions and seems generally “forgetful”
- Has poor language understanding
- Has trouble telling a story or explaining things
- Gives slow or delayed response to questions
- Struggles with academic skills including poor reading and spelling
- Has difficulties with social interaction and communication
Assessment of (Central) Auditory Processing – (C)AP – ability is useful for identifying auditory information processing disorders that may contribute to children’s poor verbal communication, their inattentive or disruptive behaviour in the classroom, or their slow school progress. It can also help describe auditory function in adults who have suffered a brain injury or have other neurological issues.
(C)AP assessments can be performed on children, adolescents or adults who meet the following criteria:
- Have no known hearing loss
- Are aged seven years or older
- Have normal or near-normal intellectual ability
- Can repeat words and sentences
The (C)AP assessment takes approximately 1 hour 30 minutes to complete. Different tests are used to investigate different areas of central auditory function. Testing starts with a routine hearing test to check that the person has normal hearing sensitivity. If hearing loss is present then the (C)AP assessment may need to be postponed and further investigation of the hearing loss may be recommended.
Many children referred for (C)AP testing have learning difficulties so they have seen other health or education specialists, e.g. Paediatricians, Speech Pathologists, Psychologists or Occupational Therapists. Parents are asked to bring reports of these assessments to the appointment. Parents and Teachers are also asked to complete questionnaires about the child’s listening behaviours (link to Parent & teacher AP q’aires). These reports and questionnaires can provide valuable information about a child’s listening or learning difficulties and communication behaviours in both the home and school setting.
Often, children with signs of (C)APD also benefit from an assessment of their receptive and expressive language skills, as these can be delayed or disordered as a result of (C)APD or can contribute to language-listening difficulties in the classroom.
After the assessment, the clinician explains the assessment findings and gives some advice on management. Adelaide Hearing Consultants offers a range of interventions and strategies to help children with (C)APD. A report of the assessment findings and recommendations is sent to the referral source and two copies sent to the parent/caregiver (one for the family, one for the school).
If you would like more information or would like to discuss your child’s needs, please contact us.
You might also like to attend one of our regular Parent Information Sessions, before or after your child has the CAP assessment. See our ‘Events’ page for dates, times and locations.
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If you child has been diagnosed with (C)APD by one of our clinicians, or by another Audiologist, we can provide a range of interventions.
Management of (C)APD targets the child, the listening environment and communication partners, including teachers. It can include:
If you would like more information or would like to discuss your child’s needs, please contact us.
Individual Listening Training
(C)AP therapy is available from an Adelaide Hearing Consultants Audiologist, Speech Pathologist or Educational Consultant. It aims to build the listening skills of children who have been identified as having a (C)AP disorder and subsequent learning difficulties.
(C)AP therapy gives children listening practice while developing their confidence to ask for help and to manage their listening difficulties. The therapy provides the child with knowledge of listening strategies and tactics while providing essential listening practice.
(C)AP Therapy consists of 1:1 structured auditory and listening practice, in five 30 minute sessions across a school term (intensive sessions are available for country residents, during school term breaks). Times, dates and payment are arranged at the time of booking. After each session a list of activities is given for use at home or in the classroom. These exercises can be performed between sessions or at the end of therapy to consolidate and build listening skills over time.
Wireless Listening Devices
Using a wireless listening device is a simple way of enhancing speech listening by reducing the effects of background noise. Speech can be heard more clearly and easily, regardless of the listener’s distance from the speaker or other sound source. Many classrooms, lecture theatres and halls have high levels of background noise and a lot of reverberation (echo). A wireless listening system can overcome the noise and reverberation that interfere with the reception of a clear speech signal.
The benefits can include:
- Improved reception of the teacher’s voice
- Improved attention to and understanding of oral instructions
- Improved classroom behaviour
- Less distraction from outside noises
- Improved overall alertness and participation
- Improved attention span
- Increased student achievement
- Reduced fatigue for the student
- Reduced voice fatigue for the teacher
Children who could benefit are those with:
- Attention or (Central) Auditory Processing deficits
- Past or current history of ear infections
- One-ear or minimal hearing loss, not wearing hearing aids
- Moderate hearing loss, wearing hearing aids
With an FM or infrared listening system speech can be heard more clearly and easily, regardless of the listener’s distance from the sound source.
An FM or infrared system amplifies sound received via a microphone, such as a teacher’s voice, and sends it via a radio wave (FM) or infrared wave to the listener.
Personal System
The listener wears a receiver (which receives the FM or infrared signal) and earphones, earbuds or a tiny behind-the-ear ‘hearing aid’ to deliver the sounds.
Sound-field System
The receiver delivers sound via loudspeakers in the classroom to:
- increase overall speech intensity
- improve the speech/noise ratio
- produce a nearly uniform speech level in the room, unaffected by teacher position
FM systems are suitable for a variety of listening situations such as classrooms, lectures and meetings.
Adelaide Hearing Consultants offers Personal FM device rental and sales for children with language-listening problems. We can also help low income families to source second-hand devices or funds to purchase a new device.
Computer-Based Listening Training
Reading Help and Phonological Awareness Using Earobics®
EAROBICS® is a computer software program for training phonological awareness and other auditory skills essential for reading. It helps struggling readers acquire the skills they need to be successful readers. The student undertakes the program at home for 15-20 minutes, at least three sessions each week.
EAROBICS® systematically controls important learning variables, including the amount of visual cueing and auditory feedback, the rate at which sounds are presented, the length of sound units and the amount of background noise. The software carefully guides students through learning, giving them more help when they need it and fading cues as their skills develop. There are three age-levels of the program, each with five or six interactive games.
See earobics.com for more information about the program.
Cognitive Training with Fast ForWord®
Fast ForWord® is a series of interactive computer programmes that train participants in order to develop and strengthen the essential cognitive skills called Learning Maps:
Memory – improves short and long term memory for information
Attention enhances the ability to maintain focus on multiple tasks
Processing – increases perception of subtle differences between words and improves understanding of verbal information
Sequencing – improves the ability to understand, remember and act on a sequence of information and instructions.
The programs use games to train and improve how the child’s brain processes auditory information. Children train for about 40 hours of intensive, individual therapy: 50 minutes per day (can be broken up), 5 days per week for 10-12 weeks.
Who can benefit from Fast ForWord?
All students can benefit from Fast ForWord. However, those students who experience these difficulties are most likely to receive greatest benefit:
- reading
- spelling
- comprehension
- getting ideas down on paper
- understanding or remembering multiple instructions
- trouble paying attention
- difficulties with listening
See scientificlearning.com for more information about the program.
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Language involves the correct use of sounds, words, and grammatical structures to express meaning. Spoken language skills need to develop before written language skills can be learned.
A spoken language problem can significantly interfere with a child’s ability to learn. Difficulties with understanding and using language tend to emerge in early childhood and can have life long consequences such as poor academic achievement, frustration and poor social skills.
Phonological (speech sound) awareness is also a necessary skill for learning English spelling. Before learning to read, children need to understand that sentences are made up of words, words are made up of syllables and sounds and these sounds and syllables can be represented by symbols. Some children have difficulties perceiving or making speech sounds or learning the sound rules, so they have problems learning to spell, e.g. with phonics.
(Central) Auditory Processing disorders can also add to the difficulties some children experience with understanding or using spoken language effectively.
A language assessment is recommended if your child is experiencing any of these difficulties.
- Puts words in the wrong order in sentences
- Often uses incorrect words to express meaning or having trouble finding the right word
- Uses shorter sentences than other children the same age
- Has difficulties using language suited to different settings, i.e. school talk versus home talk
- Finds it hard to answer questions
- Doesn’t seem to ‘listen’
- Has difficulty understanding complex sentences and instructions
- Has difficulty retelling stories or describing something that happened
- ‘Parrots’ words and sentences
- Frequently mis-spells words or learns words for a spelling test but quickly ‘forgets’ them
A language assessment explores a child’s ability to use expressive and receptive (comprehension) language skills appropriate to their stage of development. A language assessment will detect any difficulties in your child’s ability to understand and use language. A phonological awareness assessment can identify particular speech-sound listening difficulties with contribute to spelling problems. Our clinicians can perform language and phonological awareness assessments on children from six years.
If you would like more information or would like to discuss your child’s needs, please contact us.
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