Auditory Processing / CAPD / Language Processing CHECKLIST
The American Speech-Hearing-Language Association (ASHA) has defined auditory processing disorder as “a deficiency in one or more of the following phenomena: sound localization and lateralization, auditory discrimination, auditory pattern recognition, recognition of temporal aspects of audition, auditory performance decrease with competing acoustic signals, and auditory performance decrease with degraded signals.”
Children with Central Auditory Processing problems have difficulty understanding spoken language in a meaningful way, often in the absence of a hearing loss.
Auditory processing problems can particularly affect learning in areas such as spelling and reading. It is important identify problems early and help your child obtain strategies to compensate. An audiologist will evaluate a child’s hearing acuity and identify possible processing problems. And a speech-language pathologist will evaluate the child’s perception of speech and understanding of expressive language.
Common Characteristics:
- Struggles to distinguish speech in the presence of background noise.
- Difficulty maintaining focus over time
- Poor recall of short-term memory / poor word finding skills
- Difficulty hearing differences between sounds
- Difficulty with sound sequencing
- Weakness in tonal pattern recognition or sound blending
- Interprets words too literally
- Difficulty sounding out words
- Often needs directions repeated
- Usually sensitive to sounds, especially loud sounds
- Talks or likes the T.V. louder than usual
- Ignores people if engrossed in something else
- Asks extra informational questions
- Confuses similar-sounding words
- Difficulty following directions in a series
- Asks for directions to be repeated
- Hears better when watching the speaker
- Memorizes poorly
- Problems with rapid speech
Disclaimer
These checklists are not intended to substitute for a professional opinion. If you have concerns, please have your child seen by an appropriate specialist.