[Georgia_ahead] FW: auditory processing deficit

[Bonnie Martin]

Below is a discussion on diagnosing APD from the dsshe-list.  This past
year a parent kept telling us her son has a Central Auditory Processing
Disorder (by history on his neuropsychological only) and thus cannot
express himself and she must talk to us and faculty about his
accommodation needs. When I tried to discuss CAP, she told me I didn't
know what I was talking about..what a fun semester we had!

 

Jamie Axelrod provides the diagnostic process from ASLHA.  In another
life I worked for VR as a Rehab Counselor for the D/HH and part of my
duties for the county was to review all the psychologicals from the
Speech Hearing and Learning Clinic. The psychologists and audiologist
all explained the need for an audiological evaluation to determine APD.
We rarely see this diagnosis at GPC.

 

Bonnie

 

Bonnie S. Martin, Director

Disability Services

Georgia Perimeter College

678-891-3385

 

________________________________

From: Disabled Student Services in Higher Education
<DSSHE-L at LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU> [mailto:Disabled Student Services in
Higher Education <DSSHE-L at LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU>] On Behalf Of Jamie
Axelrod <Jamie.Axelrod at NAU.EDU>
Sent: Monday, June 30, 2008 11:56 AM
To: DSSHE-L at LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU
Subject: Re: auditory processing deficit

 

Joie, 
This is from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's website:
Diagnosing APD 

Children with APD may exhibit a variety of listening and related 
complaints. For example, they may have difficulty understanding speech 
in noisy environments, following directions, and discriminating (or 
telling the difference between) similar-sounding speech sounds. 
Sometimes they may behave as if a hearing loss is present, often asking 
for repetition or clarification. In school, children with APD may have 
difficulty with spelling, reading, and understanding information 
presented verbally in the classroom. Often their performance in classes 
that don't rely heavily on listening is much better, and they typically 
are able to complete a task independently once they know what is 
expected of them. 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." Yet it is important to know 
that, however valuable the information from the multidisciplinary team 
is in understanding the child's overall areas of strength and weakness, 
none of the test tools used by these professionals are diagnostic tools 
for APD, and the actual diagnosis of APD must be made by an audiologist.
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 or 8 years of age 
because the variability in brain function is so marked in younger 
children that test interpretation may not be possible. 

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. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the type of 
auditory deficit a given child exhibits so that individualized 
management and treatment activities may be recommended that address his 
or her specific areas of difficulty. 

Interesting! 

Jamie 



Williams, Marijo (Joie) wrote: 
> Here is a first for me - student went to an audiologist to get
diagnosed for auditory processing deficit. I know there was conversation
way back on this very subject - this is a disorder that needs to be
tested via the learning disability route (testing and achievement
testing). I am just plain surprised to get this information from an
audiologist and nothing more. 
> 
> Feedback to help me wake up this Monday morning and begin to function?
> 
> Joie Williams 
> 
> Joie B. Williams M.Ed. 
> Office of Disability Services 
> Regis University 
> 3333 Regis Blvd. 
> Denver. Co. 80221 
> 303-458-4941 
> mbwillia@ regis.edu 
> 


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