Auditory Processing. Teach Inclusive Chapter 4, March Catherine Silcock, Speech Pathologist

Transcription

1 Auditory Processing Teach Inclusive Chapter 4, March 2015 Catherine Silcock, Speech Pathologist

2 What is Auditory Processing?- what does this mean? What does it look like?- Who has APD? Who am I looking for? And what do I do about it? What happens next?

3 Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) APD (or CAPD) is an umbrella term for a number of disorders that affect how the brain deals with the auditory information it receives.

4 This includes how the brain recognises and interprets sounds Set of events occurring in the central nervous system (CNS)

5

6

7 The structures of the ear receive sound information and transmit it. After the cochlear, the sound information (acoustic signals) pass through complicated neural networks where they are analysed according to frequency, intensity and duration allowing for recognition. The brain analyses incoming messages and checks for a sound match.

8 prevalence children and adults epidemiological studies male: female co-morbidities acquired vs developmental

9

10 Also: These students often have little insight to their difficulty, they may develop coping skills of listen and record- try and deal with later. Sometimes they will have processed some but not all of a message and be unaware that there was more. High levels of fatigue.

11 Key areas of weakness in APD 1/ Auditory discrimination 2/ Figure ground 3/ Memory difficulties 4/Auditory sequencing

12 Signal vs. noise Signal Signal is the sound you are trying to find/ attend to. E.g. conversation partner/ teacher s voice Noise Noise is extra noninformation carrying sound at the same time e.g. lawn mower, background chatting. IMPROVE SIGNAL REDUCE NOISE

13 Testing Audiologist Children 7yrs+ Single appointment, local. Battery of tests: 1. Peripheral hearing 2. Memory 3. LISN-S (normed from 6 yrs) 4. Dichotic and temporal processing tests 5. Auditory closure

14 Peripheral hearing Tests sound is travelling through the hearing structures. (air conduction and bone conduction) tympanometry

15 Working Memory e.g.digit span tests

16 LISN-S Listening in Spatialised Noise -Sentences Test Developed by National Acoustic Laboratories (NAL) Testing for a spatial processing disorder Software creates a 3D sound environment under the headphones in which the child has to listen to sentences spoken against background noise. This tests if a child can separate sounds arriving from different locations. Intervention options: LISN & learn training

17 Temporal patterning tests Tests in this area look at temporal resolution, ordering, masking and integration. These include tests that look at non verbal auditory signals and alternating signals. Gap in noise test. (can you hear one or two tones) 8msec. These tests look at the student s ability to efficiently transfer information across the corpus callosum between the two hemispheres. (Students who can t do this have difficulties engaging in multi modal tasks e.g. listening to a direction and then performing a physical task, playing a musical instrument. These students may need to watch another person do the activity and then complete it that way (that is: watch it being done, then do it NOT listen to how it is being done and then try and do it). These students prefer to watch and wait.

18 Auditory Closure tests Auditory closure tests look at capacity to repair imperfect signals (consider listening through a bad phone line)

19 General Strategies Adjust the environment Teacher (and teaching) strategies Direct intervention for the student

20 Start now At home Learn about APD Observe your child Make quiet places and quiet times Keep instructions simple Be a good C.P. At School Home-school communication Classroom strategies (seating) Visuals IEP Connect with other parents

21 Adjust the environment Reduce noise : Set the class culture to be quieter, one speaker at a time, noiseometer Reduce noise in the physical space, cut down on reverberation, cushions in reading corners, carpeted spaces, tennis balls on chair legs, windows shut to noise, close off from conjoined classrooms Offer preferential positioning: Give your student a place close to the teacher (signal : noise ratio is better)

22 Teacher (and teaching) Strategies Prepare your student with Pre-teaching of vocabulary and concepts. If the topic is familiar the student can focus on listening. Gain your student s attention before speaking Make a signal for listen to this key material. Consider your own style and teaching strategies Stand close, keep still as you speak. Be clear and unambiguous. Repeat don t re-phrase Chunk your information Add visual cues Offer alternative ways to get the information. Write on the board/ let them use IPADS to take photos of the work/ board for h/w Offer down time and listening breaks Be positive and encouraging always

23 Student changes Self- management Help your student learn to find the optimal place to position him/herself Help the student develop attending and listening with whole body techniques Help the student develop strategies like repeating back to self, writing down or taking pictures of instructions. Technology Use an FM system

24 Useful websites Processing-Disorders-in-Children/ listening-auditory-processing/what-is-auditory-processing-disorder/