Auditory Processing Disorder

[Anonymous]

Initially, we thought DD (7) had ADHD. The symptoms presented themselves very, very similarly (hard time following verbal directions, doesn't pay attention in class, etc.) and she also has some speech issues, which we were told she'd outgrow.

Finally, her speech pathologist referred us to an audiologist, who explained the symptoms of APD. Sure enough, DD scored very low on the verbal tests given and has been diagnosed with APD.

I have read a lot about it on the Internet, but I am looking for personal experiences with APD, what accommodations you found were helpful at school, did your child "outgrow" it, etc.

[Anonymous]

You generally don't outgrow it. Its often the leftovers of receptive language issues, from what we found. Our SLP works on it.

[Anonymous]

Yup, you don't outgrow it. Good for you that you investigated the issues of inattentiveness instead of jumping to the conclusion of ADHD. Kids can have both but if they only have APD, then ADHD medication won't help.

The Sound of Hope is a good resource. Rosie O'Donnel's son has APD:

This is a list of possible accommodations for kids with APD from understood.org:
https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/partnering-with-childs-school/instructional-strategies/classroom-accommodations-for-auditory-processing-disorder

If your kid is in pubic school, you'll probably need to submit an IEP request in writing and allow them to test your kid independently. They may or may not accept the findings of outside testing. If this process yields inadequate supports, you may want to consider hiring an advocate to help you in the IEP process.