The Diagnosis of Auditory Processing Disorder

Although APD is a very common disorder, many professionals will not consider it when encountering the associated behaviours because APD can present as a range of symptoms. In the case of anxiety or an attention deficit, there is a tendency towards treatment with medication while children who have difficulties in reading or spelling may be classed as having a poor intellectual ability. Due to this relatively low level of understanding about the disorder, it is often left unconsidered and subsequently undiagnosed [44].

Diagnosis

Diagnosing APD involves a series of steps. Firstly, the child must have a hearing test to ensure that the problems are not being caused by an inability to actually receive sound. Secondly, the child will be asked to repeat words or sounds that are transmitted to them under different conditions. Some of these include identifying sounds or attending to a certain message when background noise is present.

Other tests include giving different messages to each ear at the same time to check whether the child is able to process both simultaneously. Sound is administered at varying volumes (measured in decibels) and pitch or frequency (measured in hertz) to determine areas of particular difficulty. Behaviour is also observed along with the child's speech development, and all of this information combined provides a holistic understanding of the child's abilities.

Auditory Processing Disorder can occur for a variety of reasons and different tests are required to pinpoint the specific difficulty so it can be effectively treated. Treatment programs are often individually tailored, not only to focus on the child's auditory weaknesses but also to capitalise on their specific strengths.