What is it?

We learn by watching and listening. Sometimes it helps to actually 'get in there' and 'do it' ourselves to understand how something works. We all have strengths and weaknesses.

At SPS, we believe that many children do not achieve their potential and really work very hard to feel success in school. The student may be reading on grade level, but the teacher feels she is intellectually capable of more.

For other students, each day at school is a struggle and having to continue this struggle at night to complete homework only compounds the problem! Night time battles can be continuous and the parent often feels just as frustrated as the student by the end of the evening.

So What's Wrong?

Your child or adolescent may be having auditory processing problems which make success at school a long forgotten dream. We obtain much information by listening. By third grade, the student is expected to not rely on pictures as aids, but to begin reading for meaning…in other words to learn and understand new information. It may be science or social studies that's becomes hard, as the amount of listening in class increases as well as the amount of information expected to be mastered.

Most likely, the student hates reading, as it requires much time and extraordinary effort 'to get through' this process we call learning. It may surprise you, but a large component of reading is based upon the ability to listen and remember Yes, there is visual tracking, perception, and memory that come into play as well. However, auditory processing difficulties often are the cause of reading difficulties.

So what is Auditory Processing?

Successful Auditory Processing is a multi-faceted process by which we hear a signal (let's say speech), perceive it accurately, understand what is said, and remember it or forget it after we have performed a requested task. This all occurs rapidly, as the conversation or lecture continues; we also have to sequence the information, synthesize what was said, and analyze it . In addition, decisions must be made as to which information we pay attention to, which information we remember and which information we act upon. Auditory processing is a complex neurological process, that when it works efficiently, appears effortless.

Students with Auditory Processing Difficulty

Your student may have trouble

• learning their address
• remembering the letters of the alphabet
• following directions
• remembering information for a test
• learning multiplication tables, and/or just remembering 'rote facts?'

The student may not pay attention to or recognize social cues and thus have difficulty making and maintaining friendships. These students may have a problem perceiving sounds accurately and rapidly, assigning meaning to them, and remembering what was said quickly.

Brain researchers such as Michael Merzenich, Ph.D., have proved (via brain imaging) that it is critical that one perceives the signal (what is said) accurately, understands the rapidly produced speech of others, and encodes this information into memory for later use. If one has ear infections as a young child, much of what the child heard and encoded during that time may have sounded "fuzzy" or may have been inaccurate due to the fluid in the ear distorting the sound.

For others, a number of causal factors may have occurred, some we understand and some we don't. Today, Neuroscience is evolving and we continually get better at understanding how our brains work. So, let's say that because of the "fuzzy" sound, a child may hear "Go pat your toys" instead of "Go pack your toys." Well the child figures it out based upon the knowledge that the family is going to Grandma's this weekend.

However, these subtle changes in sounds and our ability to perceive them accurately and rapidly can certainly affect one's ability to listen, learn, and remember. It can take a few milli-seconds or a few seconds to interpret the message. This delay in processing the auditory information may result in 'losing' parts of the next incoming signal and possibly encoding only pieces of the whole message.

How does this affect my child?

A child with an auditory processing disorder may be perceived as

• Lazy
• Not achieving his potential
• Immature
• Slower to develop because of being a boy
• Just not listening

However, these children and adolescents probably are working much harder than their peers who find listening and remember effortless. Just making it through the day is difficult because of the multitude of auditory processing demands that a child or adolescent faces each day. Sometimes, these students are irritable and tired at the end of the day. They have worked extremely hard to get to that time of day and homework seems to be an insurmountable task, day after day.

How can I help my Child?

A comprehensive evaluation that is specifically planned and carried out according to the needs of your child must be obtained by a Speech-Language Pathologist specializing in auditory processing, memory, and reading (or pre-academic) difficulties.

The Speech-Language Pathologists at SPS can help determine if indeed an auditory processing problem exists. Based upon careful analysis of the results of the evaluation, Mindy Cohen and the team at Speech Pathology Services Atlata work with you to design the most efficient, effective plan of action.

Brain Plasticity
Our avenue to affect change

You've probably heard that there are windows of opportunity when the brain is ready to learn new skills. These are usually referred to as developmental milestones. The brain is plastic. In other words, it can and does remodel itself, sometimes within a remarkably short period of time. However, if we approach learning casually, it is unlikely that the brain will rewire itself.

With our current knowledge of brain plasticity, we can make a big difference in your child's life. We at SPS can help your child feel success and improve self-esteem. Learn more about our related programs, Fast ForWord, and Moving Beyond