My son is 12 with what seems to be a battery of learning puzzles that, over the years, have been diagnosed, re-diagnosed, misdiagnosed, diagnosed from the left, right, upside down, and any other angle. No concrete answers, though. But nobody’s spent much time talking about CAPD(s). I don’t know why, but since I’m the parent, I figure to know my son better than anyone. So I’ll investigate CAPD. But since my research time is limited, what are some of the hallmark features of CAPD that I should look for in my child?
Re: CAPD
Central Auditory Processing Disorder
I suspected my son had it because he has a very difficult time filtering out background noise. It’s hard for him to read or do homework if there is any other noise—conversations, TV.
Also, he has a hard time functioning in large, crowded classrooms. There is too much going on — conversations, movement, etc. He’s lost if a teacher varies from a routine.
The symptoms of CAPD can be very similar to ADD. In fact, my son was diagnosed with ADD by a psychologist. However, according to the CAPD assessment assessment he received, the inattention he seemed to exhibit was caused by CAPD.
LJ
A good website with information is http://pages.cthome.net/cbristol/
Some common symptoms associated with CAPD are inability to follow multi-step verbal directions (go downstairs to my bedroom, open the middle dresser drawer, and bring me the green socks), difficulty participating in group discussions, saying “what?” a lot, socialization problems, behavioral problems, difficulty understanding speech when there is background noise, symptoms of inattention, and probably others I can’t think of at the moment. A child doesn’t need to have all of these symptoms. There are different subtypes of CAPD. Often CAPD also interferes with vestibular system development, so that the child may also have problems with rhythm (can’t stay with a beat), balance (trouble learning to ride a bike), timing and coordination.
The only professional fully qualified to assess CAPD is an audiologist with special training in the area. Usually the best specialists are found at large university medical centers that do a lot of research. The auditory system is extremely complex, and much of the research into CAPD is highly technical. Also, much of the research is fairly recent, and hasn’t trickled down to other professionals yet.
Mary