Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD)

Does your child struggle to follow conversations in noisy places or miss parts of instructions? Central auditory processing disorder (CAPD) could be affecting their ability to hear and understand speech clearly. Analysing a child’s auditory abilities can reveal issues like short-term memory, sequencing, spatial listening, and speech in noise. Interventions are then created, implemented, and adjusted as needed.

Martha Mack provides specialist assessment services for individuals experiencing Auditory Processing Difficulties. Martha is a psychologist who also specialises in assessing attention deficit disorder, learning difficulties and emotional well-being. She practices at the Better MultiSensory Learning Centre, 1/279 Doncaster Road, Balwyn North. Readers will find relevant information at https://bettermultisensorylearning.com.au/auditory-processing-disorder-apd/.

What is Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD)?

CAPD (Central Auditory Processing Disorder) is the most common abbreviation to describe a range of learning difficulties, although it is relevant to note that a processing disorder is not necessarily always of a central origin. Put simply, a child suffering from Auditory Processing Disorders can encounter significant difficulties accessing the academic curriculum and succeeding educationally. This leads to a lot of frustration in the child and can be confronting to educators not familiar with the techniques that can help these children perform optimally.

Symptoms and Effects of CAPD

Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) usually affects 5% of school-aged children. The children who have this disorder encounter difficulty processing and thus interpreting what they hear.

Quite often, children affected with Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) fail to hear things being said in noisy places more so than others. The poor acoustics, overcrowding and now the advent of open-plan classrooms diminish audibility and are disabling combinations for these children.

They may often fail to discriminate between similar-sounding speech sounds or be unable to process sound efficiently in competing noise environments. Spatial hearing difficulties, recently identified in the literature, are another form of CAPD that can be assisted with specific auditory training and improving acoustic environments. Even children with normal hearing may have a processing disorder related to the central auditory nervous system. To diagnose auditory processing disorder, comprehensive assessments are necessary to understand the specific challenges and provide appropriate interventions.

Tests and Treatments for CPD

Today, a significant range of specific Auditory Processing Assessments are available for Central Auditory Processing Disorders. Standardisation of these tests permits statistical comparisons of performance, more specifically for children 7 years of age or older, although it retains reasonable face validity in some younger children.

The assessments are conducted in sound booths to ensure the purity of the presented materials and to accurately evaluate the auditory system. A test battery approach is used to determine which areas of auditory processing abilities are likely problems before proceeding to focus on interventions. This comprehensive approach helps in understanding the processing disorder and its impact on the auditory nerve and overall auditory processing abilities.

Enhancing Auditory Environments and Utilising Assistive Technology for Improved Processing

Enhancing auditory environments by optimising room acoustics and utilising assistive technology can significantly improve auditory processing skills and sound comprehension for children with hearing loss. It also improves those skills for children with an auditory processing disorder or an auditory processing disorder diagnosed as related to the auditory cortex or another processing disorder.

The Better MultiSensory Learning Centre provides assessments and targeted interventions. The intervention approaches focus on the following areas:

Changing the home or school environment to improve access to auditory information, i.e., changing room acoustics and alleviating background noise, is crucial for children diagnosed with hearing loss or those with difficulties in the auditory process.

These adjustments can significantly enhance auditory processing skills and how the brain processes sound. Additionally, the use of hearing assistive technology can be instrumental in aiding children diagnosed with hearing loss and those with auditory processing disorders.

Educational Strategies

Strengthens cognitive skills, memory, concentration, and problem-solving by working with teachers trained in the Orton Gillingham approach and MultiSensory Learning to address Phonemic Awareness and related Literacy issues through a structured educational program. This program may include assessments such as the auditory brainstem response and hearing tests to evaluate the central auditory system and improve listening skills.

Direct Treatment

Through a program called “Constrained Induced Auditory Training”, developed on the work of Audiologists Jeffrey Weihing and Frank Musiek, children and adults can undertake the program at home under the supervision of a specialist from the Centre. All treatment programs are individualised based on the intake assessment and evaluation process.

The program focuses on enhancing the auditory signal processing within the central nervous system and improving the auditory processing abilities of participants. Treatment outcomes are measured through the application of post-program assessments, which take into account the listening environment and overall improvements in auditory processing.

Get in contact with Martha Mack for an assessment

Email bettermsl@gmail.com or visit Better MultiSensory Learning Centre.

The early diagnosis of Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) is beneficial in facilitating its early remediation. Undiagnosed children can misbehave in class and become frustrated by their inability to keep up with their classmates. In the long term, they can suffer academically even though they may be very bright. This is particularly important for children with conditions such as language impairment, autism spectrum disorder, or brain injury, which can exacerbate their difficulties.

A comprehensive evaluation of peripheral hearing ability must be conducted by an Audiologist initially, who may then refer your child to a specialist service for a more detailed auditory processing disorder (APD) evaluation. This evaluation process might include hearing tests and listening tests to differentiate between peripheral auditory disorders and central auditory processing issues. By assessing auditory skills, written language skills, and neural processing, a thorough diagnosis can be made, allowing for targeted interventions that address specific auditory processing challenges and associated hearing loss.

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