Medical Research Council and Auditory Processing Disorder (APD)

[dolfrog]

There is a research paper complete with Video which may be of interest, that outlines part of the APD assessment process.
Making Sense of Listening: The IMAP Test Battery
not too sure on how widely available it is yet, but this could be useful for a more local assessment.

Hi Dolfrog, this is very interesting who can you approach to see if it is available as we are currently awaiting referal to GOSH but it is taking forever.

nickminiink

GOSH has been the main UK APD assessment centre while the research was carried out to develop this new battery of tests, and why all children suspected of having APD were being referred.
The next stage is for more localised APD assessment centres, say at you local ENT unit. Local Audiologists, Speech and language pathologists, psychologists need to be trained regarding the multi - discipline assessment process. So that GOSH can focus on the more severe and complex cases.
And this will probably be demand driven initially. So you will need to increase your local awareness of APD, and lobby for more local assessment facilities. And this battery of assessment tests should help such a campaign.
The Medical Research Council estimates that 10% of children have some degree of APD, the question we at APDUK have always asked is how are they being identified to date, and have they got the correct diagnosis and are they getting the correct type of support.

dolfrog, I have gone onto the APDUK website and have read some of the content, it sounds like my 18 year old may have this difficulty. He has a diagnosis of both severe dyslexia and dyspraxia. How would I explore if he has APD and if this was acheived what benefits would this bring. He has always underacheived in education and will most likely be NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) because of his difficulties come September.

tiredoffightingwithjelly

Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) , about having problems processing what you hear, or a listening disability, which is clinically diagnosed. (Over 16s currently via the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London.)
APD is one of the underlying cognitive issues that cause the dyslexic symptom, so your son would understand the issues which cause him to be dyslexic, and be aware of the other symptoms which each APD may have, and be better able to self advocate regarding his disability, especially with a potential employer with regard to the accommodations he may require.
APDs have communication issues, such as being phonephobic (visual coping strategies cannot be used), which can limit some career options if this is not taken into account for instance. Processing unfamiliar accents can be a problem, processing rapid speech can be a problem, may require a quiet working environment (not an open office) may not be able to carry out sequential repetitive task very well, etc.

Adults who have APD are able to claim Disability Living Allowance, which can vary according to the severity of APD and how it affects your daily life. And for those on low incomes or starting work with DLA there is also Working Tax Credit which can be worth quite a bit. and if you are on the middle band or higher of DLA then your official carer can claim Carers Allowance.

LIke all of these invisible disabilities the more you understand the nature of the problems you face on a daily basis, the better able you are to develop and understand the coping strategies you may have already developed or those you may need to develop. And you learn to avoid the situations when the nature of your disability is a big problem or learn how to work around the problem, and explain to others so that they can help you work around the problem.

My own more APD friendly web site my help with more information, the most me friendly designed links web page
On the APDUK web site you might like to download the APDUK Newsletters from which you will probably work out that I am Dad that has APD rather than a Mum that has APD, that said my wife was diagnosed as having APD two years ago. In news letters No1 and No2 you will find two articles which resulted from an online research program "How APD affects Adults" the first article "Controlling the Chaos" was key to me getting DLA at the middle rate, which now means that my wife is officially my carer.
There is an adult APD forum the OldAPDs which is now over 10 years old, the archives are full of useful information.

I could go on for ever, lol I hope this helps