Auditory Processing Disorder - does anyone have any experience of it?

[LovelyDaffs]

Hi, I posted a little while ago about the possibility of my ds (8) being dyslexic and auditory processing disorder came up. I've done a bit of googling and it does sound like ds may have it.

I just went and spoke to him and asked him if he ever finds it hard to understand what's being said. He said 'well, it is difficult when theres stuff wooshing about in the background' and went on to say that it's no so much that he can't hear, but he can't understand and that he often forgets what he's being asked to do. This makes it even more likely in my mind.

A couple of years ago the school nurse suggested that his hearing should be tested, we ended up doing this privately as there was a long waiting list. DH thought I was being way ott, but we did it and his hearing was absolutely fine.

He is a bright boy, great at maths, his reading is good but his spelling is very poor. He drives me nuts as he often asks me to repeat what I've said only seconds later, is very forgetful, is 'lazy' with language ie. will jumble a number of words into a sound that sort of right. He still mirrors some letters including his initials.

I'd love to hear other peoples experiences - I suppose my first step is diagnosis. We'd already decided to pay for an ed psych to assess him when we thought it was some kind of dyslexia - is this the right route? What strategies have helped including some of the pricey treatments? Anything really that might help us at this point.

Thanks in advance.

my ds has auditory memory problems (amongst other things). we find that if you give him one task he can do it, tell him more than one task in one go and you may as well forget it.

the ed psych told him a story and at the end when she asked him questions he didnt know the answers. she told him a story with pictures to illustrate and he could answer the questions. he needs to physically see what you are talking about to be able to process it.

you say your son's spelling isnt very good, with our ds we use the foam letters you can get for the bath and put them on the floor to show him how to spell the words out. by making it a more hands on visual task has helped him lots.

have you spoken to the school, particularly SENCO, as he/she may point you in the right directions. Have you spoken to your GP? he/she may also be able to help.

I'm bumping an old thread as I've had a Number of conversations with the Senco at school that lead me back to auditory processing disorder. Having looked on the net I suspect that ds has it in a mild form. The Senco has done a variety of assessments and he comes out very well in most areas, but not very well in spelling, memory and distinguishing rhyming words, she thinks he is dyslexic. He may be, but im even more inclined to think he may also have apd. Has anyone else managed to have a child diagnosed with apd? How did you do it? Are there any strategies that have worked for your dc?

Were all the assessments carried out in a quiet 1:1 setting? If he has APD, this will make a difference - ie may be very different in a busy classroom environment. What other areas do you think he struggles with?

Don't know where in the country you are, but there is a specialist at GOS called Dr Tony simirana. Child has to have seen audiology and speech therapy first, I think. I think the referral would come from a paediatrician, but it may be that audiology can refer as well.

Hope that helps.

Bump as I have just posted about APD