Auditory and Language Processing Disorders

Auditory processing disorder (APD), also called central auditory processing disorder, refers to difficulties in the processing of auditory information in the central nervous system. Children with auditory processing difficulties may struggle to recognize subtle differences in sounds, follow directions, or filter out background noise.

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 telling the difference between similar-sounding speech sounds. Sometimes, it may almost appear as if a hearing loss is present, as children with APD often ask 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 (Bellis, ASHA).

In school-age children, reported CAPD prevalence rates range from 0.2% (Nagao et al., 2016) to 2.5% (Schow et al., 2020) to 6.2% (Esplin & Wright, 2014). Children with attention, cognition, or language disability diagnoses (e.g., attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, learning disability) are more likely to have a coexisting CAPD diagnosis or have auditory processing differences (Gokula et al., 2019; Maggu & Overath, 2021).

Language processing disorder involves challenges in understanding and using language. This can affect a child's ability to comprehend spoken or written language, express thoughts clearly, and grasp grammatical structures.

Language processing disorder affects an individual’s ability to understand, express, and process language. Children with a language processing disorder have these challenges even though they may have normal intelligence and no hearing or speech problems. Often, children with language processing disorders have trouble understanding and using spoken and written language, which can make communication and learning difficult. They may also struggle to comprehend the meaning of words, sentences, and stories because they find it difficult to process the information (language) they receive.

• Characteristics of language processing disorder often include:
• Word-finding difficulty
• Use of non-specific language
• Incorrect use of words with similar meanings
• Making up new words
• “Talking around” a word
• Use of filler words (um, uh)
• Often saying things like “I don’t know” or “I forgot”
• A need for frequent repetition or multiple exposures to learn something new
• Not finishing sentences or thoughts
• Difficulty with social skills
• Academic difficulties

At Garden State Speech Therapy, our comprehensive assessment process is designed to identify the specific challenges your child is facing with auditory and language processing. The assessment includes:

Speech and Language Evaluation:

Our experienced speech-language pathologists conduct a thorough evaluation to evaluate your child’s ability to understand and use spoken and written language, which may include tests to assess comprehension, expressive language skills, literacy skills, grammatical processing, phonological awareness, phonological processing, executive functioning working memory, auditory discrimination, auditory memory, and auditory sequencing.

Parental Input:

We value the insights of parents into their child's development. Gathering information about your child's communication experiences at home provides valuable context for our assessment.

Multidisciplinary Collaboration:

We may refer to other disciplines, including audiologists, reading specialists, psychologists, or neurologists for further testing to obtain a holistic picture of your child’s skills.