Auditory Processing Disorders
Children with auditory processing disorder (APD), alternately referred to as central auditory processing disorder (CAPD), struggle to take in information verbally. They do not recognize the subtle differences between sounds in words, even when those sounds are clear and loud enough to be heard.
Even though children with auditory processing disorder do not physically exhibit hearing problems, they have trouble registering, or rather correctly registering, what others are saying to them. Additionally, they have difficulties remembering what they hear.
Despite being bright, intelligent, and eager to learn, children with APD often struggle with reading and self-expression, because they confuse the sounds of various words. They may also find it difficult to tell where specific sounds are coming from, to make sense of the order of sounds they hear, or to block out opposing background noises.
Symptoms of Auditory Processing Disorders
- Difficulty processing and remembering language-related tasks
- Processes ideas and thoughts slowly
- Difficulty explaining thoughts and ideas verbally
- Mispronounces and/or misspells similar-sounding words, confuses similar-sounding words, or omits syllables (i.e. belt/built, three/free, celery/salary, etc.)
- Difficulty remaining focused on or remembering verbal lessons
- May misunderstand or have difficulty remembering oral directions
- Difficulty following a series of directions
- Difficulty comprehending complex sentence structures or rapid speech patterns
- Appears to “ignore” people, often thought to be “in their own world”
- Frequently says “what,” despite having heard most of what was said
Visual Processing Disorders
Visual processing disorder (VPD) can cause issues with the way the brain processes visual information. There are many different types of processing visual disorders and many different symptoms, which can include the inability to detect differences in letters or shapes, trouble copying or drawing, and letter reversals.
Visual processing disorder can impact individuals of all ages, and to varying degrees. There are eight recognized types of visual processing difficulties, each with specific symptoms. An individual may have difficulty with one or more than one kind of visual processing disorder.
Types & Symptoms of Visual Processing Disorders
- Visual Discrimination: Difficulty recognizing the differences between similar shapes, objects, or letters.
- Visual Figure/Ground Discrimination: Difficulty distinguishing a letter or shape from its background.
- Visual Sequencing: Difficulty recognizing letters, shapes, or words in the correct order. They may read the same line over and over, or skip lines completely.
- Visual Motor Processing: Trouble practicing what they see to coordinate with the way they move. For example, they may bump into objects while walking or struggle to write within the lines.
- Long/Short Term Visual Memory – Difficulty remembering shapes, symbols, or objects they’ve seen, which can cause difficulty with reading, writing, and spelling.
- Visual Spatial Awareness – May struggle to understand how close objects are to one another or to understand where objects are in space.
- Visual Closure – Trouble recognizing an object when only specific sections of the object are visible.
- Letter and Symbol Reversal – Switches letters or numbers when writing, or mistakes similar letters (i.e. “b” for “d” or “w” for “m”).
Language Processing Disorders
A specific type of auditory processing disorder (APD), children and adults with language processing disorder (LPD) have difficulty attaching meaning to sound groups that form words, sentences, and stories.
While auditory processing disorder impacts the interpretation of all sounds coming into the brain, such as processing the sequence of sounds or where they come from, a language processing disorder relates only to the processing of language.
LPD can influence expressive language (what you say) and/or receptive language (how you interpret what others say).
Symptoms of Language Processing Disorders
- Difficulty gaining meaning from spoken language
- Difficulty producing written output
- Struggles with reading comprehension
- Exhibits difficulty expressing thoughts verbally
- Feelings of frustration when there is a great deal to say and difficulty expressing it verbally
- May feel that their words are right on the tip of their tongue, but experiences difficulties verbalizing their thoughts
- Can draw and describe an object, but can’t think of the word for it
- Difficulty understanding jokes