Behaviors in Children with Auditory Processing Disorder and Anxiety

When it comes to children with auditory processing disorder (apd disorder)  and anxiety, diagnosis is sometimes just the beginning of a long and bumpy road. 

Some of those bumps come in the form of simple day-to-day misunderstandings from people who don’t know about Auditory Processing Disorder (or APD).  

After all, APD isn’t terribly common, and signs of auditory processing disorders in preschoolers and children might be overlooked. It’s estimated that there could be roughly 5% children with an auditory processing disorder diagnosis.

Auditory Processing is the way our ears communicate with our brain and what our brain does with what it hears. 

This is distinctly different from hearing loss or audio processing disorder. APD causes difficulties with processing of sounds and speech even when the person has normal hearing. 

There is an impaired neural function that results in jumbled, confused messages.

So, if someone doesn’t have experience with interacting with a child with APD, there are a lot of ways the child’s behavior can be misunderstood.

It’s so easy to get frustrated or uncomfortable in situations that, with a little understanding, could go much more smoothly, and understanding the signs of auditory processing disorders symptoms in young children such as preschoolers can aid in early diagnosis.

9 Misunderstood Behaviors in Children with Auditory Processing Disorder Diagnosis

 

1. Auditory Processing Disorder and Anxiety makes typical classroom experiences much more challenging.

In addition to processing sounds, APD causes auditory memory deficits. Auditory memory deficits can make any of the following typical classroom situations quite difficult:

• Hearing in noisy classrooms
• Following a long conversation
• Remembering spoken information
• Taking notes
• Learning difficult vocabulary words
• Spelling
• Following multi-step directions
• Staying organized and on task

2. It’s not selective listening.

When a child hears you speaking to him or her sometimes, but then seems to be ignoring you at other times – it can be confusing. It may seem like they only hear you when they want to.

Some people even mistake a child for being flat-out rude. It’s not the case for children with an auditory processing disorder diagnosis.

Auditory Processing Disorder has nothing to do with being deaf or hard of hearing. Their brain simply doesn’t process every sound equally.

The child may ask you to repeat yourself several times before he or she is able to comprehend what you’re saying.

Signs of auditory processing disorders in preschoolers can be caught early this way.

3. If a child asks you, “What?” – please be patient & rephrase your statement, rather than repeating yourself more loudly.

Sometimes children don’t understand what you say the first time, so he or she may simply respond, “What?”

For a teacher with many students and not much time, it’s easy to get frustrated repeating yourself.

Knowing that this could one of the signs of auditory processing disorders is vital for preschoolers. With children struggling with an auditory processing disorder diagnosis, it may be better for you to rephrase your statement or question.

It could be that the words you used the first time run together with similar sounds. Or perhaps words blended together and didn’t process individually.

This brings up the next suggestion:

4. Help your child or student learn to say, “Can you rephrase that?” or “Can you ask that a different way, please? I didn’t understand the first time.”

Quite often, children with APD learn to stop asking clarifying questions when they don’t hear or understand something. Why’s that, do you think?

I believe it’s because they sense quite easily that adults get frustrated. No one likes to repeat themselves. Teachers and parents alike, no one likes being ignored.

But consider it the other direction, too. Children don’t like to be ignored, either. So, when they don’t want to deal with the frustration, they might stop asking.

(An example you might relate to might be this: when a wife asks her husband to take out the garbage.  If he doesn’t hear her the first time – or the second time – it’s likely the wife will tell herself, “Nevermind, it would be faster if I just did it myself.”)

 In much the same way, a child or student doesn’t want to feel like they’re annoying someone by asking over and over again.

So, he or she will just stop asking for clarification, hoping they can figure out what you said from situational clues.

You can help children be more successful in asking for clarification by teaching them to ask, “Can you rephrase that, please?” instead of just saying, “What?”

5. Children with APD can’t always determine from which direction sound is coming.

This can cause some understandably awkward situations. Imagine someone behind you calling your name. But because you don’t realize the sound is behind you, and the classroom is already a bit chaotic with noise, you may decide to ignore it as just your imagination.  

Meanwhile, your classmate is frustrated that you’re “ignoring” him. If a child you know has APD seems to be ignoring you, try this. Try moving closer or getting directly in his or her line of sight before repeating yourself.

6. “You say you hear something that others can’t. Yet other times you don’t hear things that seem plain as day to the rest of us. What is going on?”

Some noises, like the hum of an electronic or machine in the distance, might cut through noise clear as day for a child with APD. 

So, if there is a lawnmower outside the classroom, it could be causing the sound inside the classroom to blur together under the whir of the machinery. It also could cause a child with APD to be very distracted.

7. “My student doesn’t seem to have a problem hearing – he has a problem with focus and attention. Could it be ADHD instead?”

This is obviously a great question to take directly to your pediatrician and occupational therapist.

ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) can often be brought up as a consideration for a child showing signs of auditory processing disorder.

That’s because there is some overlap in how the brain works with sensory processing – or how it disfunctions, that is.

“Recently, studies have suggested that ADHD children show sensory processing deficits, in which the underlying pathophysiology is poorly understood.

Although APD and ADHD have overlapping clinical characteristics, they are distinct entities, requiring accurate diagnoses and appropriate interventions.”

Children struggling with auditory processing often have a difficult time paying attention in a different way than those dealing with ADHD.

Picture this:

Imagine being in a room with 100 people all speaking a different language at you quite loudly. Then mix in a few dogs barking, and someone randomly playing an accordion right next to you. 

Anyone might experience sensory overload in that circumstance. Therefore, you might “tune out” as much of the background noise as possible – or all of it altogether.  

So, in a similar way you might be able to relate to a child with an auditory processing disorder not being able to fully focus in every situation – even if there’s no accordion-player nearby.

8. Sometimes a child with APD can’t focus on even the most important things because of competing background noise.

In the same way that sounds that are barely audible to most people, background noises might cut through nearby sounds to cause a major distraction for a child with APD. 

Before having an important discussion with a child who has APD, be sure to move to a quiet, distraction-free space. Move into their line of sight, and ask them if they’re able to hear you clearly before beginning.

9. Children with APD don’t always pick up on tonal inflections, such as in the case of sarcasm.

This point sort of speaks for itself and can understandably cause awkward social interactions for anyone who doesn’t understand the difficulty being experienced.

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What Are the Next Steps for Children with Auditory Processing Disorder Diagnosis?

There’s good news for children with an auditory processing disorder diagnosis. The Central Nervous System is plastic & capable of reorganization or remapping. 

This means that through therapeutic intervention and practice, children can be successful academically and socially with APD. We can sculpt the brain the way we sculpt muscle. Neuroplasticity is induced through experience, stimulation and training.

There are many effective and evidence-based ways to treat as well as compensate for an APD. Many of the interventions are informed by the latest cutting-edge research from the field of Neuroscience.

 

We are passionate about supporting families and children with communication and listening difficulties.

 

I believe that early identification of delays/difficulties is paramount to early intervention.

Through CoordiKids Consultations, we can support you by assisting and advising on your child’s holistic developmental needs to enable him/her to reach their full potential.

Our focus is on providing children and families with the skills and resources they need to succeed.

 

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References:

Auditory Processing Assessment in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: An Open Study Examining Methylphenidate Effects

Bianca Pinheiro Lanzetta-Valdo,¹ Giselle Alves de Oliveira,² Jane Tagarro Correa Ferreira,² and Ester Miyuki Nakamura Palacios    Int Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2017 Jan; 21(1): 72-78.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5205523/

Ghanizadeh A. Screening signs of auditory processing problem: does it distinguish attention deficit hyperactivity disorder subtypes in a clinical sample of children? Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2009;73(1):81–87. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Chermak G D. San Diego, CA, USA: Plural Publishing Inc.; 2007. Differential Diagnosis of (Central) Auditory Processing Disorder and Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder; pp. 365–94. [Google Scholar]