Auditory Processing Difficulty/Disorder
in Adult Literacy
Auditory processing is the transformation of heard sound into meaning which takes place in the central nervous system. Problems with auditory processing can cause difficulties with the interpretation and comprehension of sound and, because auditory discrimination is necessary to relate speech to the written word,can, in turn, contribute to reading and writing difficulties. Auditory processing difficulties are often associated with dyslexia but can also be present in other conditions including ADHD, specific language impairment and autistic spectrum disorders.
Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) is a recognised disorder and requires diagnosis by a multi-disciplinary team involving audiologist, speech and language specialist and educational psychologist. The majority of adults with auditory processing problems will never have been assessed and it is therefore more appropriate to refer generally to Auditory Processing difficulty. AP difficulty may be mistaken for other conditions such as ADHD.
A diagnosis of Auditory Processing Disorder is relatively rare but A P difficulty is increasingly recognised and should be considered when working with adults with reading and writing difficulties, particularly if phonic work is to be used. Individuals with AP difficulty may appear to hear perfectly well while having great difficulty taking meaning from what they hear.
In certain suitable situations,such as one-to-one conversation without background noise, individuals may actually hear well but may struggle in group settings or where background noise or other distractions are present. All of the individual’s attention is required to cope with the auditory signal and visual distractions can be enough to distract full attention from what is being said.
Indications of AP difficulty include the following:
difficulties in distinguishing between similar phonic sounds (auditory discrimination)
problems recognising words in noisy environments
missing pieces of spoken information
easily distracted by noise
difficulties in following sequences of oral information
problems with locating the direction of sounds
difficulty interpreting degraded sounds
taking longer to process oral information
difficulties with writing while listening
poor memory for sounds and oral information
poor attention with oral information
history of childhood ear infections (glue ear)
asking for information to be repeated
generally poor listening skills
AP difficulty can result in language difficulties, poor vocabulary and reading, writing and comprehension difficulties.
Strategies to assist with AP difficulty
be aware of the sound environment (traffic sounds, central heating systems etc)
reduce background noise or move to a quieter room
make sure the individual can see your face when you are speaking
double check that oral instructions have been understood
encourage use of note taking/reminders (sound recorders, mobile phones etc)
if auditory discrimination may be a problem, avoid phonic approaches – it may be impossible for the individual to distinguish between similar sounds
use written/graphic information as well as spoken
use multi-sensory approaches
be aware of information overload and build in breaks
ensure that the individual feels comfortable about asking for clarification if needed
Active listening supported by the use of Key Words may be helpful in increasing attention and comprehension.Listening for Key Words in a passage can focus listening. Key Words to listen for would be agreed before listening. This type of activity has been shown to increase awareness not only of the Key Words, but of the whole text.
Learning Connections, October 2009