Central
Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD)
What
is Central Auditory Processing?
What is Central Auditory Processing Disorder
(CAPD)?
How is CAPD Diagnosed?
What are the Signs of CAPD
What causes a Central Auditory Processing
Disorder?
What can be done for a child with CAPD?
What you should do if CAPD is Suspected?
What
is Central Auditory Processing?
Central
Auditory Processing is the ability to perceive, understand, or
interpret sound. To put it more simply, central auditory processing
is "what we do with what we hear". Auditory processing
is different from the ability to “hear" sounds or speech
or to have a “hearing loss”. A hearing loss is usually
the result of a problem with the peripheral auditory system. Central
auditory processing involves cranial structures or the brain where
the auditory message is interpreted and understood.
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What
is Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD)?
Central
Auditory Processing involves the ability to remember what is heard,
sequence or recall what was heard in the exact order that the
information was presented, follow directions appropriately or
fill in missing pieces in order to complete the message. Central
Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) may interfere with the individuals
ability to analyze or make sense of the information received or
heard. This processing deficit can interfere with speech &
language skills, with learning, especially reading, writing &
spelling. Consequently, when information is presented auditorily
in school, the student with CAPD may ultimately experience serious
difficulty understanding the lesson or the directions. These difficulties
will impact on the individual’s academic success as well
as social and emotional achievement.
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How
is CAPD Diagnosed?
A
licensed Audiologist who has specialized training in the evaluation
of individuals experiencing auditory processing difficulties is
able to administer a battery of tests which are specifically designed
to measure and identify areas of deficit. The test battery will
be sensitive to a variety of areas such as:
- Phonological
Awareness
- is the understanding that language consists of individual
sounds (phonemes) which are connected or blended together in
order to form spoken or written words. This awareness provides
us with a fundamental precursor to reading. Children who have
difficulty with phonologic awareness will most likely be unable
to identify, or recognize similarities between words. These
deficits can affect all areas of language including reading,
writing, spelling, and understanding of spoken language.
- Auditory
Discrimination -
is the ability to recognize differences in phonemes (sounds)
allowing the individual the ability to identify words and sounds
that are similar and different.
- Auditory
Memory - is the ability to store and recall information
which was presented verbally. Deficits with auditory memory
will manifest in an inability to follow verbal instructions
or recalling information from a story read aloud.
- Auditory
Sequencing - is the ability to remember or recall the
exact order that the information was verbally presented. For
example, being able to remember the order of items on a list
or the order of sounds in a word or syllable.
- Auditory
Blending - is the process of putting phonemes (sounds)
together to form words. For example, the individual phonemes
“C”, “A", and “T” form the word
“CAT”.
- Auditory
Figure Ground or Tolerance - is the ability to focus
on a “primary” auditory message in the presence of
“competing” stimuli. For example, having the ability
to listen to the teacher when other people are making noise
in the hallway.
- Auditory
Closure
-is the ability to perceive the "whole" when parts
are missing or to “fill in” missing auditory information.
When
the test battery is completed and the results are reviewed, the
Audiologist, as well as the Speech- Language Pathologist will
be able to design a plan for therapeutic intervention. This plan
may be designed to either improve skills such as reading, writing
and spelling or to teach compensatory strategies which will help
the individual to focus on the presented auditory information
while ignoring the unwanted or extraneous stimuli for instance.
Based
on the diagnostic test results as well as the age of the individual,
therapy plans will be designed based on the specific needs of
the person, since no two individuals experience the exact same
auditory processing deficit in the same exact area. For example,
one individual may demonstrate difficulty in the areas of phonological
awareness and auditory memory. These deficits will most likely
affect reading, writing and spelling. Another individual may experience
difficulty with auditory figure ground or tolerance, and will
have difficulty extracting the important part of the verbal message
(primary) from the unimportant or competing signal.
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What
are the Signs of CAPD?
- The
child has difficulty paying attention, is easily distracted
or appears to be daydreaming.
- The
child demonstrates difficulty concentrating in the presence
of background noise.
- The
child has difficulty recalling or remembering information (verbal
or auditory) previously heard or originally understood.
- The
child has difficulty following the sequence of events.
- The
child may have a limited vocabulary.
- The
child may be having difficulty in school and is performing below
grade level, particularly, in reading, writing, and spelling.
- The
child may be displaying behavioral problems at home or in school.
- The
child may have difficulty following one, two or three step verbal
instructions.
- The
child may have difficulty with auditory discrimination (for
example, confuses "puppy” with "puffy”).
-
The child may have difficulty remembering simple routine things
from day to day.
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What
causes a Central Auditory Processing Disorder?
Some
suspected causes of CAPD are:
- Hereditary
disorder.
- Maturational
delay.
- Neurological
basis.
- Secondary
or related to auditory deprivation resulting from such things
as chronic ear infections.
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What
can be done for a child with CAPD?
The
child with CAPD will need to learn strategies that will help in
coping with difficult situations. Children with CAPD must be taught
in a different way to compensate for poor auditory processing
abilities.
The
strategies must be used on a consistent basis in the child’s
home, in the child’s school, and in all aspects of the child’s
life in order to promote learning and improved academic performance,
as well as to improve communication in social situations, and
to reduce frustration levels which the child may be exhibiting.
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What
you should do if CAPD is suspected?
If
you suspect that your child is having Central Auditory Processing
difficulties contact
our Center for more information. Our Center is staffed with New
York State Licensed Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists
who have specialized training and expertise in evaluating and
treating children and adolescents with Central Auditory Processing
Disorder and with Language Based Learning Disabilities.
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Don’t
Let Your Child Fall Behind!