What It's Like Living With Auditory Processing Disorder

Last week, I shared a website that gave you an idea of what it’s like to live with dyslexia. Today, I wanted to show you guys a video that gives you a glimpse into the world of Auditory Processing Disorder (APD).

Click here to see the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzegGXoZY30

As you can see, individuals in the video are asked to match shapes to the color of an outlined shape. It’s a very simple task, but they are then bombarded with complicated distractions such as overlapping loud conversations, background noises and more. After taking the test, these folks share how frustrated they feel, especially when an easy task turns out to be harder than what they expected.

Compared to more commonly known disorders like ADHD, ADD, autism and dyslexia, APD doesn’t get as much attention and I feel it’s only just recently getting more public awareness. I also find it’s common to run into people who just assume that APD is a term for any child or adult who has a hard time listening or understanding spoken language. It’s a little more complicated than that!

If you have a child diagnosed with APD, remember that APD is an auditory and neurological deficit that’s NOT the result of other cognitive or language-related disorders. For example, a child with ADHD might have a hard time listening and understanding verbal information, but their actual neural processing of auditory input in the central nervous system is actually intact. Instead, it’s the attention deficit that’s causing them problems. This is not the case with APD – it’s an actual neurological deficit.

Unfortunately, APD can get confusing because 25% of people who have APD also have dyslexia and 1 to 6 % have hearing loss. It’s one of those disorders that can co-exist with other disorders. Therefore, I encourage parents to seek professional and accurate diagnosis to find the underlying cause of your child’s problems.

You can learn more about APD here:

http://www.asha.org/public/hearing/Understanding-Auditory-Processing-Disorders-in-Children/