Not Hearing? Not Listening? or Not Processing?
Auditory Processing Disorder - the invisible disorder.
Hearing is a physiological process that involves the detection of sound. Listening is an active cognitive process and processing what we are hearing, making sense of it, can be both active and unconscious.
Our ability to hear and regulate sensations of sound, underpins our ability to listen and make sense of what we are hearing. But we are not born with the ability to listen. We acquire it as we develop and explore our environment. We learn how to interpret sound and discriminate, building our auditory skills. We integrate what we hear and where the sound comes from, with our motor functions, driving us to move in response to what we hear. Our auditory memory enables us to recall what we heard and discrimination skills allow us to filter sounds and hear the difference between words such as fruit and flute. There are things that can impair our hearing and others that get in the way of us listening.
Why do we struggle to listen? Perhaps we aren’t interested or we have thoughts in our head that are distracting us. It is possible that we have sensory reasons that are taking our attention away from listening, like that scratchy label, a smell we love (or hate) or our need for movement. Any of these can become all-consuming.
A sensitivity to sound may result in other sounds being really distracting, taking our attention from what we need to be listening to. Sounds that may please others, such as bird song, or not illicit a reaction such as a hand dryer, may feel physically uncomfortable to some people.
Whilst a difficulty with either hearing or listening will impact on our ability to process sound, a difficulty with processing what we are hearing can stand alone. It can be affected by stress and anxiety and I am sure that I am not alone in having experienced this: I heard what you said, I am actively listening but I just don’t get it. “Can you say that again please?” Many parents will know that when a child is in a heightened state of whatever type, they find it hard to process what we are saying to them. Their thinking brain or prefrontal cortex is temporarily not connected.
But it can be so much more than that. Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) is very real and is described as an invisible disability.
Sounds may be processed slowly or inaccurately, affecting language, both expressive and receptive. It is not an impairment with hearing or lack of attention to listen, but a difficulty in processing language. Someone with APD may be able to repeat back words or instructions perfectly, but the meaning is not processed. This is usually random, not affecting everything that is heard. It’s a bit like the feed on my Zoom call dropping and picking up in an unpredictable way. In some people APD can affect reading comprehension since text is written verbal code.
Detailed assessment can ascertain where the process is breaking down and once we understand a child’s profile, managing auditory dysfunction has 3 elements: There may need to be adjustments to the environment, perhaps softening the sounds in a noisy classroom. Therapy can help train specific skills and thirdly, compensatory strategies are needed for daily living and learning. This maybe repeating or rephrasing information, using visual clues to help and carefully, discreetly, checking for understanding.
It’s also important to look at the wider picture, at the whole person, to understand an individual’s sensory profile. Treating difficulties with balance, movement and motor planning can result in improvements in speech and language skills affected by APD.
Understanding what a child is finding hard is always the key to providing a tailored approach to support and strategies.
If you have any questions or concerns over sensory or auditory processing difficulties, please contact me. Finding the right help at the right time can make a significant difference to life and learning.
Follow this link to book a free discover call: https://www.skylark-consulting.co.uk/calendly