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Auditory Processing Disorder: 10 Ways to Help Your Child

Auditory Processing Disorder: How can I help my child? - All About Learning Press

If you have a child who is struggling with an auditory processing disorder (APD), you probably have many questions.

And the biggest question of all is, “What can I do to help?” I have heard it again and again from concerned parents.

It can be so frustrating. You know your child can hear, but sometimes it seems like she can’t.

That’s what can happen in a child with auditory processing disorder (APD), or central auditory processing disorder (CAPD), as it is also called.

What Is Auditory Processing Disorder?

In a child with APD, the brain doesn’t recognize and interpret sounds correctly—especially the sounds that make up speech. Your child may appear to have an auditory deficit, but in most cases, hearing is not the problem. It’s like there’s a disconnect somewhere between the ears and the brain. She can hear what you say; she just can’t always process it.

A learner with APD is like an old computer with a fast, new processor. Neither the old computer nor the child with APD can keep up. The data goes in, but once it’s in, it can’t be processed quickly enough or efficiently enough. And in both cases the result is major frustration.

Auditory Processing Disorder Quick Guide

The Signs of Auditory Processing Disorder

The symptoms of auditory processing disorder can range from mild to severe and may look different from child to child. APD is diagnosed by an audiologist, but the child who has APD may display many of the following characteristics.

  • He may struggle to hear in crowded, noisy places.
  • He may frequently ask you to repeat yourself.
  • She may appear to be inattentive or she may be easily distracted.
  • She has difficulty following directions.
  • He may have noticeable speech delays.
  • She may seem to have heard you when she hasn’t.

APD and the Struggle to Read and Spell

Auditory Processing Disorder: How can I help my child? - All About Learning Press

From the earliest stages of pre-reading instruction, when the development of phonemic awareness is so important, APD can make reading and spelling difficult. Because of the subtleties of similar-sounding phonemes, APD hampers a child’s ability to match letter names and sounds. This struggle continues to complicate the vital process of learning and using phonograms to build words. How can a child learn to use and manipulate the most basic building blocks of language if he can’t “hear” them to begin with? Just imagine the difficulty of attempting to complete blending and segmenting exercises when you already struggle to hear and process isolated phonemes.

Down the reading road, students with APD may have difficulty recalling what they’ve read or putting their thoughts into words. And because APD learners struggle to hear the individual sounds in words, they may also struggle with rhyming, observing spelling patterns, learning new vocabulary, reading comprehension, oral and written expression, and so much more. In addition to all of that, many APD learners also struggle with long-term memory issues that affect their ability to retain language-based knowledge. It’s not hard to understand why children with APD have such a difficult time with reading and spelling, is it?

Can All About Reading and All About Spelling Help My Child?

Although your APD child will face many academic challenges, you can help him learn to read and spell. All About Reading and All About Spelling offer an instructional approach that is well-suited to the needs of children with APD.

  • The programs are multisensory, meaning they approach learning through sight, sound, and touch. Because auditory instruction can be so difficult for children with APD, teaching through the visual and kinesthetic pathways is extremely important. This actually helps strengthen the weaker auditory pathway while still allowing learning to occur.
  • AAR and AAS use specially color-coded letter tiles. When your child has auditory processing issues, “wordy” explanations can create unnecessary frustration for both of you. It is much more effective to demonstrate a reading or spelling concept with the letter tiles. Using the letter tiles can make all the difference for a child struggling to understand a concept.
  • The programs are scripted in a clear and concise way without excess verbiage. Scripted lessons allow you to concentrate on your child rather than on trying to figure out how to teach a skill.
  • AAR and AAS have built-in review in every lesson. Children with auditory processing difficulties generally need lots of review in order to retain concepts. You can’t assume that everything that has been taught has been learned. The review boxes in AAR and AAS lessons allow you to customize your child’s review, concentrating only on the skills and concepts that need additional review. Your APD learner likely has a short attention span, so you want every minute of your lesson to count.
  • Both AAR and AAS are logical and incremental. Children with auditory struggles need structure and clear guidance, and these programs provide the organization they need to learn.

Auditory Processing Disorder: How can I help my child? - All About Learning Press

10 Ways to Help Your Child Learn

These tips may help you make your lesson times more productive and more enjoyable for both you and your child.

  1. Speak slowly and enunciate clearly. Pausing as you give instructions can also help your child process what you’re saying.
  2. Allow for “lag time” while your child processes what you have said. Let your words sink in for a few seconds before expecting a response or before moving on.
  3. Be concise and direct—don’t attempt long oral explanations. Give simple instructions, one step at a time. Instructing your child to “clean up your room, put on your pajamas, and brush your teeth” may be more than your child can handle.
  4. Work in a quiet room with as few distractions as possible. Listening and processing is hard enough for an APD child; distractions make it nearly impossible.
  5. Optimize concentration and minimize “meltdowns” by holding lessons during your child’s best time of day.
  6. Make sure that your child can watch your mouth as you speak. This is especially important if she easily confuses similar-sounding words. In APD learners, the ears and brain don’t work well together, so watching your mouth will help bring everything into synch. The sounds get “crisper” when the brain has visual cues to go along with the auditory cues.
  7. As much as possible, show rather than tell.
  8. Visual demonstrations are much more effective than oral explanations. If your APD child is struggling to learn a new concept or skill, try to teach the concept with a visual demonstration.
  9. Don’t overwhelm your child. Children with auditory processing issues can become disruptive or argumentative when they don’t understand something. If your child becomes frustrated and you sense a meltdown coming, back up in the lesson to a point where your child is more comfortable. Try presenting the new information again when your child seems ready to tackle it.
  10. Consistent and constant review encourages success, especially for APD learners. To ensure steady progress, be sure to include review in your lessons every single day.
Auditory Processing Disorder: How can I help my child? - All About Learning Press

Your child will face many challenges as an APD learner, but there is hope. By applying some of the tips above during your instruction times, you can help your child overcome these challenges. Just take it one day at a time, and over time you will see progress—and a much happier child.

And remember you’re not alone. If you have questions about your child’s APD and how it affects reading and spelling instruction, please feel free to call or email us.

Does your child struggle with APD? What has helped? Please share in the comments below!

Photo credits: Pam at Everyday Snapshots and Jodi at JodiMcKenna.com.

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Yajaira Garcia

says:

My son is 10 now and last yr we got the auditory processing this order and decoding input disorder reading is not the best but he does it a lil spelling and writing is a very hard for him and he notices gets sad so I just want to know what I can do help the spelling ans writing for him

Robin

says: Customer Service

Yajaira,
I’m so sorry your son is having such difficulties with spelling and writing.

Please consider All About Spelling. It was a game-changer for my children with auditory processing disorder.

Here are some ways that All About Spelling can help kids who struggle with spelling and writing:

– All About Spelling is explicit and focused. Each lesson time is simple and explicit and will include 3 simple steps: the review of what was learned the day before, a simple new teaching, and a short practice of that new teaching.

– All About Spelling has incremental, step-by-step lessons. It breaks every teaching down into its most basic steps and then teaches the lessons in a logical order, carrying students from one concept or skill to the next. Each step builds on what the student has already mastered.

– All About Spelling is multisensory. Research has shown that when a child is taught through all three pathways at the same time, a method known as simultaneous multisensory instruction, he will learn significantly more than when taught only through his strongest pathway.

– All About Spelling uses specially color-coded letter tiles or Letter Tiles app. Working with the letter tiles can make the difference between understanding or not understanding a concept.

– All About Spelling is scripted so you can concentrate on your child. The script is very clear, without excess verbiage. The Teacher’s Manuals make it easy to teach even if you have no previous experience or training.

– All About Spelling has built-in review in every lesson. Children that struggle generally need lots of review in order to retain concepts. With All About Spelling, your child will have a Review Box so you can customize the review. This way, you can concentrate on just the things that your child needs help with, with no time wasted on reviewing things that your child already knows.

– All About Spelling has a gradual progression for increasing the student’s stamina and fluency in writing, from words and short phrases in Level 1, to phrases and short sentences in Level 2, to 12 dictation sentences per step in Level 3. Partway through Level 3, the Writing Station activity is introduced. In this exercise, students write sentences of their own that they make up using some of their spelling words. In this way students have begun to use words in a more real-world context through dictation and writing, to help them transition to longer writing assignments.

All About Spelling has a one-year guarantee. You can try it, and if for any reason you feel that it isn’t the right match for your child, return it for a full refund.

I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have additional questions.

Warati Fekede

says:

My child is 3 yrs old ,he touches his ear when ever wake up from sleep and cry with tears , my question is why he touches both ears and then cry, again he is on atomoxitine treatment

Robin

says: Customer Service

Warati,
Please see your child’s doctor about this! It could be a sign of an ear infection or another problem. I’m not familiar enough with the drug atomoxetine to be able to comment on it.

Jennifer

says:

Really good information! I noticed a lot of this applies to me, too. I wonder if there’s an overlap between APD and ADHD, which is what I and my kids were all diagnosed with. (Unfortunately, no one suggested seeing an audiologist for testing.)

Robin

says: Customer Service

Jennifer,
Interesting observation!

I have read that a full third of people diagnosed with ADHD will also have another learning disability like APD or dyslexia. And two of my children have ADHD and APD, so from personal experience, it does seem to correlate. However, both also have dyslexia, so maybe that is the correlation.

I also know that ADHD and APD each bring their own unique difficulties. My son’s struggle with executive functioning is directly related to his ADHD, but his need to see a person’s face to be able to follow oral information is all APD.

It seems to me the best approach is to address each student’s learning needs individually, helping them build up strategies until they can help themselves. (And that can take a LOT of time. I was still providing tiny bits of help for my son when he was 18 and 19, mostly with planning, keeping track of appointments, and such. His ADHD is so different than my daughter’s. She is just 16 and loves to plan and never forgets an appointment, but struggles to do one activity for 15 minutes straight before starting another one.)

Debbie

says:

I didn’t learn to read until I was 12. (God bless Ruby Broome, who figured out how to teach me!) I was diagnosed with a language processing disorder in my third year of college. I have both APD and dyslexia. The auditory component can be very overwhelming. Frequently when people talked to me, it sounded like they were speaking a foreign language. I also had trouble discriminating between speech and inanimate sounds.

Public school was like being in the depths of Hell. I learned to adapt by lip reading. However, since I’m tall they always tried to put me at the very back of the class. Of course I then understood nothing and got in trouble for not listening, talking, drawing, etc. Fortunately, that usually resulted in me being moved right in front of the teacher, where I could lip read. It is a struggle but eventually you learn how to cope/adapt.

I’ve also seen an improvement since learning that I am double heterozygous for the MTHFR gene mutation and treating it with Methyl-Folate and Methyl-B-12. (This mutation prevents absorption of certain common forms of B vitamins, which can lead to neurological as well as other problems.)

I highly recommend the “All About Reading” and “All About Spelling” programs. I’m currently homeschooling my second generation. It works with the wiggle and with dyslexic students (& teacher 😉). My grandson finished the entire reading program before his 7th birthday and can read absolutely anything. He’s almost done with the level 5 spelling, at age 9, being slowed by dysgraphia. I love this curriculum and wish it had been available when I was learning & when I was teaching my first generation.

Robin

says: Customer Service

Debbie,
Thank you so much for sharing your story. I was frustrated for you reading how difficult school was, but I was happy to hear that you learned how to cope and adapt!

It was wonderful to hear how well All About Reading and All About Spelling are working for your students, and your grandson’s progress has been spectacular!

Ann

says:

I think my daughter has APD l. Thanks to this article this really helps me and made me realize how to teach my daughter effectively and with most of my love and understanding❤️

Robin

says: Customer Service

Ann, I’m so glad this article has been helpful for you! However, if you have questions or need anything, please let me know. I’m happy to help.

Robbins

says:

We finally discovered Neurofeedback and it remediated both the over active auditory processing area and under active brain stem region, and we are progressing with a program provided through the school district to retrain for auditory discrimination and processing.

After Seven years of the morass of therapies and attempts, we are finally seeing progress for our child.

Robin

says: Customer Service

Thank you for sharing this, Robbins. Very interesting.

Shae

says:

Enjoyed your article. I am adult with APD. It took me a long to realize I have APD.

Robin

says: Customer Service

Shae,
I’m glad you enjoyed the article. Thank you.

Chris S.

says:

It was about 10 years ago I first heard about APD… and it was on a blog post here! It was the first time I found an explanation of “hearing” issues I could relate to! This is a good fresh reminder that I should revisit for my struggling preschooler. I likely have it and his uncle is diagnosed so it’s very possible!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Thank you for sharing, Chris!

Katy

says:

Thanks for the tips!

Robin

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome, Katy!

Rachel

says:

I have auditory processing myself and there was definitely hope after years of struggling. Thanks for the tips.

Robin

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome, Rachel. And please let us know if you have questions or concerns or need additional help. We are always happy to help!

Kris

says:

Such great information! Myself and at least one of my children suffer from APD and this info would have been so helpful when I was younger !

Robin

says: Customer Service

Thank you, Kris. I’m sorry you didn’t have this information when you were younger, but am glad you have it now to help your child.

Val

says:

My child has this and as simple as it sounds, the colored tiles really do make a HUGE difference. Thanks for all you do, AAL press!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Val,
I’m so glad to hear that the colored Letter Tiles help make such a difference for your child! They do help children see the distinction in phonograms and syllables so concretely.

Crystal

says:

This article is SPOT ON! My daughter is 9.5 and in 3rd grade. She was diagnosed with CAPD in 1st grade. She is in special education and speech therapy. She is behind in almost every single subject(she’s such a hard worker!), but talking specifically about reading right now……Her school uses Fontas Pinnel for testing and she gets stuck for a while in a level because she struggles with beyond the text questions for comprehension. She does great with comprehension in text. She started this year a level g and moved to a level j. Which is basically end of the year 1st grade reading. Her progress is notoriously slow, which is ok…..I would just like to maybe find some resources that could help support her better that I can do over summer. She is a VERY visual learner. She works extremely hard and is always willing to do her best! Do you know of any solid reading programs that could help her reading? She needs lots of repetition with blends, digraphs, etc. School wants her to use the fast forward program, but last time we did that it opposed a lot of anxiety for her because it’s timed. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!!!!!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Crystal,
I’m so sorry your daughter is struggling.

I think you will find All About Reading to be very helpful for your daughter.

Here are some ways that All About Reading can help kids with learning struggles including auditory processing disorder:

– Each lesson time is simple and explicit, and will include 3 simple steps: review of what was learned the day before, a simple new teaching, and a short practice of that new teaching.

– Incremental lessons. AAR breaks every teaching down into its most basic steps and then teaches the lessons in a logical order, carrying the students from one concept or skill to the next. Each step builds on the one the student has already mastered.

– AAR is multisensory. Research has shown that when a child is taught through all three pathways at the same time, a method known as simultaneous multisensory instruction, he will learn significantly more than when taught only through his strongest pathway.

– AAR uses specially color-coded letter tiles or Letter Tiles app. Working with the All About Reading letter tiles can make the difference between understanding or not understanding a concept.

– AAR is scripted, so you can concentrate on your child. The script is very clear, without excess verbiage.

– AAR has built-in review in every lesson. Children with learning difficulties generally need lots of review in order to retain concepts. With AAR, your child will have a Reading Review Box so you can customize the review. This way, you can concentrate on just the things that your child needs help with, with no time wasted on reviewing things that your child already knows.

– AAR has lots of fluency practice. One of the things that Marie noticed when she was researching reading programs is that few programs have enough review built in for kids who struggle to gain fluency. AAR has fluency sheets or a story to be read with every lesson, so children can practice reading smoothly with expression and confidence.

All About Reading has a one-year guarantee. You can try it, and if for any reason you feel that it isn’t the right match for your child, return it for a full refund.

I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have additional questions.

Lisa

says:

My son ; hears instructions from teacher but is unable to do work. He freezes.

Aileen

says:

What accommodations are being done for your son? Are teachers using graphic organizers. Providing him with. Written instructions. If teacher using a power point or slide presentation providing him with a paper copy that he can have on his desk to follow with and write on. Instructions need to be visual as well sometimes depending on the student.

Robin

says: Customer Service

Such great points, Aileen. Thank you!

Robin

says: Customer Service

I’m sorry to hear your son is having such trouble, Lisa. Do you have any questions or specific concerns I could address?

Crystal

says:

The Audiologist came into the school and observed my daughter in class. Even though she can “hear”, when she can’t see the teachers face and the kids are talking, she only understood her teacher 60% of the time! The average child should be around 90%. I was shocked! Next week they are going to try putting an ear piece in her ear(almost like a hearing aid but not) where the teachers voice will go right to her ear. I’m excited and hope this helps! Something to look into? My daughter also gives the blank stare. Usually it’s when she doesn’t understand the instruction given to her.

Nicole

says:

My daughter is 11 and was diagnosed with a learning disability and failed her first CAP test. She can read fluently but does not comprehend what she’s reading. She can remember a lot of non-
relevant dates, appts, etc from years prior but when asked to repeat a sequence of numbers she can’t. Any help would be amazing :)

Crystal

says:

What about comprehension is she struggling with. My daughter struggles too, but specifically with beyond the text questions. Which are very tricky for children with CAPD. We also had speech look at where it was breaking down and it it starts to break down after a paragraph. So maybe understanding exactly where the breakdown is and with what would be helpful!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Nicole,
I’m sorry to hear that your daughter is struggling in this way.

As for not being able to repeat a sequence of numbers, that sounds like she may have difficulty with working memory. Working memory is the ability to hold information in mind for a short period of time while you work with or manipulate the information. Thankfully, working memory can be improved and strengthened. Check out our Improving Your Child’s Working Memory article for specific tips.

There can be many root causes of comprehension difficulties. One is that a child seems to be reading fluently, but actually they are guessing too often to understand what is being read. Another is that they are working so hard at reading that they have no mental room left to think about what they are reading. Yet another reason is that a student doesn’t understand the vocabulary being used, so doesn’t understand what is read.

All About Reading includes research-based instruction in all aspects of reading, not only decoding skills and fluency, but also comprehension, vocabulary, and lots and lots of reading practice.

Here are some articles that may be helpful:
4 Great Ways to Build Listening Comprehension
Break the “Word Guessing” Habit
How to Build Your Child’s Vocabulary
The “No Gaps” Approach to Reading and Spelling

I’d love to help you further if you have specific questions or concerns. I’m available here or at support@allaboutlearningpress.com.

Kristy

says:

FANTASTIC! My 10 yr old has Central processing disorder and ADHD and now Im FINALLY seeing him make some progress. Your article is right on point and simple enough to actually use!

Vanishree

says:

Need more information how to help my child

Robin

says: Customer Service

I am happy to help, Vanishree! What concerns do you have? What difficulties is your child having?

Marie-Anne

says:

Also…..I have just been reading your e-book about helping my child’s memory. Why would my child refuse to do any homework unless the radio or youtube is on??? i suspect she does have working memory problems…

Robin

says: Customer Service

Interesting, Marie-Anne. However, it may be that the background noise allows her to focus better than quiet does. Some people are like that; too much quiet is more distracting to them than too much noise.

marie--anne

says:

my child’s reading and spelling are ok, but she doesnt hear her name when her friends are calling her, on the street. Is it worth me following this up? She also doesn’t like to read books with too many words on the page, and she is being investigated for Autism Spectrum disorder/ADD.

Robin

says: Customer Service

Marie-Anne,
There may be a lot of reasons that a person doesn’t notice their name being called. Since she is being evaluated for other learning disabilities, it may be useful to speak with the person doing the evaluations about your concerns.

Etsy

says:

Thanks for this post. My student, a 4th grader cannot discriminate between the short vowel a and e sound. I am wondering if this is a sign of APD. How can I teach her the difference if she doesn’t hear the difference (for example want/went)? Do I try to teach her each sound separately as taught to beginners? Thanks

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Etsy,
Is it possible this student is learning English as a second language? I ask because confusing short a and short e is very rare for a native English speaker, but somewhat common for those learning English later on.

Regardless, this video by Rachel’s English may be helpful for you. Rachel’s English is a resource for adults learning English, so the video may be more of a resource for you to watch and then use the information to help your student. Stand in front of a mirror as you make the sounds and show your student how they are different. Help your student to learn to feel the differences in her mouth, to augment her since hearing the difference is not working.

Once she has at least some understanding of the difference between the sounds, focus on just one for a while, yes like a beginner student. Have her read and spell lots and lots of words with the short a sound for at least a week or so. Then have her read and spell lots and lots of words with the short e sound for a week or so. Then, carefully, start giving her a mix of words with both sounds, but keep to words that she mastered separately. I mean, during the week on a only, she may work on words like hat, want, stamp, ask, and more. Then, during her week on e only, she may work on words like wet, went, step, elk, and more. When you get to working on mixed review, you will initial do these words, asking her to spell hat, then step, then went, then ask, mixing them in a random pattern so she can’t predict which sound is next but has to hear and remember how the words are spelled.

All throughout, continue to work with her on pronouncing the sounds distinctly, using the feel of her mouth as much as she needs to be sure of the difference.

I hope this helps some. Please let me know if you need additional suggestions or help. I’d love to hear how things go over the next few weeks.

Donald Errol Knight

says:

I found this informative.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Thank you, Donald.

Joselyn Murphy

says:

Hello,
I am helping my great nephew who is second grader.

He is currently a year behind in both language arts and math as his scores indicated this week on his STARS tests.

I am a retired principal and know that my nephew is a multi sensory learner, has speech difficulties and difficulty processing from his working memory.

I have worked with him with 2 different online programs for about 18 months. I see some progress but it is very slow.

I would appreciate any thoughts, recommendations, etc.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Joselyn,
First, I think you may find our free ebook on Help Your Child’s Memory helpful. It discusses specific tips and techniques to help.

One thing that can help greatly when students like your great-nephew struggle is to teach them with a mastery-based approach rather than focusing on grade level. Often such students have gaps in their knowledge of foundational concepts and skills that need to be addressed. All About Reading and All About Spelling are multisensory, mastery-based, no-gaps approaches designed to take the struggle out of learning to read and spell!

We do not produce a math curriculum, but there are programs available that are incremental, mastery, and multisensory. Here are a few you could consider: Math-U-See, Teaching Textbooks, Right Start Math, and Shiller Math.

I hope this helps some, but let me know if you have additional questions or concerns I can address. I’m happy to help!

June

says:

Hi Robin. Just wondered what your thghts are on the old letter land books for introducing first letter sounds to my three ear old grand son. I am family at with letters and sounds, read write ink I have also used the beat dyslexia books with my older grandchildren. Howeve they was much older when they were diagnosed with Apd .I really feel that he would interact with the letter land book better then the read write ink book as he is already showing interest in this book. I am worried that they s may confirm we hm when he starts school. Do you think it is best not to use letter land thank you.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

June,
Does your 3-year-old grandson know letter names yet? Research has shown that children that learn letter names, as well as letter sounds, have less difficulty learning to read. If your grandson does not know letter names yet, that would be a good place to start.

We have lots of great activities and free printables for Letter Knowledge on our blog!

As for the Letter Land books, I don’t know anything about them, but they look like a fun resource. I don’t think they would be a problem if used for helping a child learn letter sounds.

Jessica

says:

My son is now 11 yrs & struggles with reading. Has been tested for dyslexia, but doesnt qualify, he has a speech problem but doesn’t qualify for speech help either. I dont know who to ask for help.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

I’m sorry you are not getting the help you feel your son needs, Jessica. I’d love to help if I can.

One reason an older student will struggle with reading may be that he has gaps in the foundational skills and knowledge necessary to be successful with reading. The “No Gaps” Approach to Reading and Spelling addresses such gaps so students can be successful.

If you have specific questions or details about in what way he struggles, please let me know.

Ash

says:

Is there a test that can be done to determine if a child has this? My son (7) has trouble with remembering letter sounds. He has been in speech for 2 years now. I keep wondering if he has some sort of learning disability or if he just isn’t ready yet. But there are times when he asks me to repeat what I said multiple times yet hears something you don’t want him to hear.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Ash,
I’m sorry your son is struggling with letter sounds.

The first thing to do to go about determining if a child has auditory processing disorder is to speak to get his hearing tested. APD and partial hearing loss can look a lot like each other, so it is very important to first confirm your son is hearing all sounds at all frequencies. His speech therapist may be able to set up a hearing evaluation with an audiologist, but if not his pediatrician can.

Note, it is possible to hear very well at certain frequencies but not hear well at all at other frequencies. Regardless if you have concerns about his hearing or not, most places won’t do further testing for APD until a hearing evaluation is done first anyway.

If his hearing is fine, then you will speak with the audiologist about your concerns about auditory processing disorder and they will be able to set you up for further evaluation or will be able to direct you elsewhere for that.

In the meantime, the tips outlined here will help a lot whether he has partial hearing loss or APD.

In addition, I think you will find our free Help Your Child’s Memory ebook helpful. Having difficulties remembering letter sounds implies there is some memory issue in addition to an auditory issue.

Let me know if you have tried this:

Work on one letter for as long as it takes for him to master that one letter. You could do alphabetical order, or you could start with the first letter of his name. Do activities focused on that letter. Check out the many free Letter Learning activity downloads we have on our blog.

Write the letter in Salt Trays or other stuff like shaving cream, paint, chalk on the sidewalk, whatever, having him say it sound as he writes.

Do all of this and more for days on end, until he can write the letter when you say the sound and until he can say the sound easily when you show him the letter.

Only then start learning a second letter. But review the previous letter daily! Have him form the new letter in dough or write it on the window or whatever multiple times a day, but also have him write the previous letter a couple of times. Again, keep working on the new letter until he can write it when hearing the sound and say the sound when he sees the letter easily. But always review the previous letter daily as well!

Do this for each new letter, taking as much time to master each letter, and reviewing all the previous letters daily. In time, some of the previous letters will get really easy. As you near the end of the alphabet, you can try not reviewing every letter every day. But be sure to review every letter at least a couple times a week. At any time, if he has difficulty with a letter, it should go back into daily review for at least a week, preferably two.

Also, our How to Teach Phonograms blog post has fun games that you can use for reviewing letter sounds.

I’d love to hear how it goes. Just know that your son isn’t unique in this struggle. My son had the same problems. He finally mastered the phonograms and your son will too!

Katie J

says:

My 3 year old son was just diagnosed and I don’t know where to start. I’ve been researching all I can and he is starting at a special education school and speech therapy in September. What can I do to help him at home?

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Katie,
It’s so great that you are looking for ways to help your child! First, his school and his speech therapist should be happy to speak with you about what you can do at home to support your child’s unique needs.

However, in the meantime, here are some general tips:

Read aloud to him daily. Choose materials that are on his level or understanding, which may be quite a bit below his age level. When my son, who has APD, was your son’s age, I focused on books aimed at babies and 1-year-olds. He needed simpler sentences or even just a few words per page to build his understanding.

I also used a lot of the “My First” series from DK. These board books use photographs to provide vocabulary-building learning. For example, in the My First Body book, I could point to the feet and say, “feet”, and so on. Then, as he was ready, I could ask him to point to the feet. When that was easy, I could point and ask him to say what it was. These types of books had a big impact on improving both his receptive and expressive language development.

The tip about having your child watch your mouth and face as you speak is very important. It may be best to read to him as you sit face to face. One of the benefits of simpler books is that they are easier to read upside down! If you can’t read upside down, try to silently read the page and then turn to your child and say the words so he can see your face. And when you give him instruction, make sure you have his eyes on you before you begin.

However, also choose Rhyming Picture Books and Nursery Rhymes for Little Ones as well. The rhyme and rhythm found in such books are very important for language development and future reading success.

Show your son what you want him to do as much as possible. Put together an activity chart of daily tasks that uses photographs or pictures. If he can get dressed by himself, have a picture of that ready so you can point to it and say, “Get dressed. It is time to get dressed.”

Do use verbal instruction in addition to the pictures, but keep words short and to the point. Avoid long explanations or rambling. However, it is also important to narrate what you or he is doing too. “Look, I’m washing my hands. See. Washing hands.”

As this blog post recommends, allow time between you speaking and him responding. One way I have heard auditory processing disorder described is as a loose wire between the ears and the brain. Signals do get through, but slowly or distorted. Allow him time to process or think about what you have said.

This should give you plenty to focus on for the next month until his school and therapy start. These tips will likely be similar to the suggestions you get from them as well thought. Let me know if you have questions or need anything else.

Salome

says:

This can help in my class

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

I’m glad this will be helpful, Salome.

Dede Boyd

says:

I have this I am also visually impaired and blind in right eye and struggle is processing this order Long story disorders send me exercises to go don’t make others soFrustrated with

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Thank you for sharing your struggles, Dede. Do you have any questions? I’d love to help.

Alice

says:

Self-righteousness? I asked for equality.

Internalized sexism is a real thing, and it isn’t benefitting anyone.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Thank you for your thoughts, AliceRose.