It is recommended to not only have vision tested prior to starting school, but also to have hearing assessed, especially if your child has had slow language development or repeated ear infections. This assessment will allow the audiologist to determine the presence or absence of different issues (ex.: wax accumulation, ear infections or hearing loss). If the results confirm that the hearing capacity of your child is normal and yet, you observe that your child confuses some sounds, or needs to have people frequently repeat what they are saying, then the second step of the diagnostic process is to determine the presence or absence of an auditory processing disorder (APD).
A child with APD can present a decrease in one or more of the following auditory processing abilities: decoding auditory information, listening in noisy environments, memorizing and organizing auditory information and understanding and analyzing vocal messages. Some children with APD may confuse similar sounding words (ex.: may think that you said "shoe" instead of "zoo") which, in turn, may affect his ability to learn to read and write. Others will have the speaker often repeat information, especially if surrounded by noise. In the classroom, teachers will notice difficulties in understanding and following verbal instructions in the correct sequences. Children with APD not only have difficulties in learning in their mother tongue, but also learning a second language and comprehending mathematical problems. They need to make constant efforts to listen. Eventually, it is possible that some of these children with poor auditory processing abilities may tune out or encounter some difficulties in paying attention to the speaker. Consequently, children with APD can also have a diagnosis of attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity.
Manon Trudel, M.Sc.A., audiologist.
Membre de l’Ordre des orthophonistes et audiologistes du Québec #1062
Centre d’acouphène et d’hypo-hyperacousie / Tinnitus, hypo-hyperacusis Center
www.centredacouphene.ca
514 425-1554