Auditory Processing isn’t only about hearing

“ Early detection of Central Auditory Processing Disorder in children is increasingly important ”

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(iHealthWire.Org) – Few people realize that there is a process inside the brain known as "auditory processing." Auditory processing is the mental activity in which auditory signals that have been sent to the brain by the ears are processed and understood. It is the part of hearing in which sounds and words are comprehended as having meaning.

What's it like for someone who has an "auditory processing" problem? If you've ever tried to talk on the phone while someone in the same room was watching TV with the sound turned up, you know something of the feeling that people with CAPD may experience all of the time - an endless tiring struggle to try to concentrate on what's happening through relentless background noise.

"As soon as I say the word "auditory," everyone assumes that I am talking about hearing. But hearing is not the same thing as understanding what you hear," says Dr. Debby Chesnie Cooper, Educational Psychologist and Director of The Chesnie Cooper Educational Centre. "People who have Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) can hear perfectly well, but they have trouble making sense of what they are hearing. Their ears function normally, but the auditory centers deep inside the brain do not. So, for example, a person with CAPD may have trouble hearing the difference between "I'm" and "fine," or "mean" and "need." And this means they are going to have problems handling everyday social life."

But what is most significant about someone with CAPD is that they don't know they have it, they think that what they hear is the same as what everybody hears.

"It's confusing for them because they get low marks, are rejected socially and don't understand why, therefore they conclude that it must be because they're stupid," says Dr. Debby Cooper. "What makes things worse is that due to similar behavioural symptoms, CAPD is often confused with and diagnosed as Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD).

Matt, now 12 years old and a student of Dr. Cooper's, who prior to coming to her had received a firm diagnosis of ADHD, with a history that showed he had been given eight different medications over six years in an attempt to control the disorder. None had helped.

Matt was frustrated and becoming a behavioural problem at school. An earlier psycho-educational assessment when he was six years of age, diagnosed him as gifted with possible ADHD. He was referred to Dr. Cooper because medication wasn't helping, his marks were dropping, and he didn't believe he was smart or capable of getting good marks. By this point in time, he wasn't prepared to do his homework, because he felt it was pointless.

Upon completion of her testing, Dr. Cooper confirmed that there was no question that Matt was gifted. She also discovered that he had a very severe CAPD. So severe, there was only one direction he could go, and that was up.

After three months time, upon reassessment his CAPD, had improved greatly, well into the above-average range. He was excited. He decided to continue, and after another two months, five months in total, he was reassessed again, which included his auditory processing and reading comprehension.

"Before I told him his scores, I asked him if he felt any difference," says Dr. Cooper.

"I can listen now, he said, and I understand what the teacher is saying," says Matt. "I'm getting 80s and 90s in all my subjects, and now I believe I am gifted!"

Matt went from the 1st percentile on the test for auditory processing to the 97th, and from the 58th percentile in reading comprehension, to the 96th.

"I don't know who was more emotional, him or me," says Dr. Cooper. "And I don't know what made me more emotional, his response or his scores - I believe it was his response."

CAPD can be corrected and to avoid many of the behavioural and negative effects, early detection is best.

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For further information contact:

Peter Turkington
Strategic Communications Solutions
ON BEHALF OF DR. DEBBY CHESNIE COOPER
Direct Phone: 905.901.9218
Email: pturkington@stratcommsolutions.ca