Three Accredited Doctors On Staff
Our four staff doctors have combined experiences of over 50 years. One of the most established audiology practices in the Mid-South.
In the very broadest sense, auditory process disorder (APD) refers to how the central nervous system (CNS) uses auditory information. In other words, what the brain does with what it hears. In recent years, many misconceptions have developed regarding APD.
It is important to emphasize that APD is an auditory deficit that is not the result of other higher-order cognitive, language, or related disorder.
There are many disorders that can affect a person’s ability to understand auditory information. For example, individuals with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) may well be poor listeners and have difficulty understanding or remembering verbal information; however, their actual neural processing of auditory input in the CNS is intact. Instead, it is the attention deficit that is impeding their ability to access or use the auditory information that is coming in. Similarly, children on the autism spectrum may have great difficulty with spoken language comprehension. However, it is the higher-order, global deficit known as autism spectrum disorder that is the cause of their difficulties, not a specific auditory dysfunction. Finally, although the terms language processing and auditory processing sometimes are used interchangeably, it is critical to understand that they are not the same thing at all.
However, it is critical to understand that these same types of symptoms may be apparent in children who do not exhibit APD. Therefore, we should always keep in mind that not all language and learning problems are due to APD, and all cases of APD do not lead to language and learning problems. APD cannot be diagnosed from a symptoms checklist. No matter how many symptoms of APD a child may have, only careful and accurate diagnostics can determine the underlying cause.
A multidisciplinary team approach is critical to fully assess and understand the cluster of problems exhibited by children with APD. Thus, a teacher or educational diagnostician may shed light on academic difficulties; a psychologist may evaluate cognitive functioning in a variety of different areas; a speech-language pathologist may investigate written and oral language, speech, and related capabilities; and so forth. Some of these professionals may actually use test tools that incorporate the terms “auditory processing” or “auditory perception” in their evaluation, and may even suggest that a child exhibits an “auditory processing disorder.”
CALL TODAY & SCHEDULE YOUR APPOINTMENT | (901) 372-0040
To diagnose APD, the audiologist will administer a series of tests in a sound-treated room. These tests require listeners to attend to a variety of signals and to respond to them via repetition, pushing a button, or in some other way. Other tests that measure the auditory system’s physiologic responses to sound may also be administered. Most of the tests of APD require that a child be at least 7 years of age because the variability in brain function is so marked in younger children that test interpretation may not be possible. APD screening can be performed with children as young as 5 years of age.
Yes. Once a diagnosis of APD is made, the nature of the disorder is determined. There are many types of auditory processing deficits and, because each child is an individual, APD may manifest itself in a variety of ways.
It is important to understand that there is not one, cure-all method of treating APD. Treatment of APD generally focuses on three primary areas: changing the learning or communication environment, recruiting higher-order skills to help compensate for the disorder, and remediation of the auditory deficit itself.