We have discovered that our 7-year-old daughter has a mild auditory processing problem. It is most noticeable when you are having a conversation with her. You’ll ask her a question and her response is oftentimes not related to the question you asked. Or she sounds mad at what you’ve said when there’s no reason to be. Or at school, following directions - both written and oral - is often difficult for her. We’ve had her tested both at school by a speech pathologist and at an outside firm specializing in the diagnosis of learning disabilities. Both have an indicated mild auditory processing difficulties. We’ve also had her hearing checked. No problem there.
My question is: does anyone recommend any software designed for the treatment of this or toys or games, etc. that would help her? The speech pathologist at her school recommended “Earphonics” software which we plan to get. Anyone have additional thoughts? We’d prefer to have someone actually work with her but our insurance will not cover this.
Re: Auditory Processing
Yes, a followup with a full CAPD eval is in order. The one our son had done was so enlightening and really helped us be clear about what modifications and accomodations he needed at school.
Did the outside firm do a CAPD evaluation? The best way to get a true diagnosis of the exact nature and extent of auditory processing problems is to get a CAPD evaluation by a qualified audiologist. This is usually covered by medical insurance, but it’s a good idea to call the audiologist’s office first, as they typically know exactly what is required for coverage. Different subtypes of CAPD respond to different therapies and academic approaches, so this eval can be very helpful. Other types of evaluation — such as that by the SLP and educational consultants — include only *screens* for auditory processing problems. Whenever one of these screens indicates a problem, the best course of action is to follow-up with a full CAPD eval. Regular hearing exams do not include CAPD tests. You can find out more about CAPD, including a search engine to locate CAPD audiologists, at http://pages.cthome.net/cbristol/
Earobics is helpful for some children, but of very limited value to others. If your dd has difficulty completing Earobics, she might be a good candidate for FastForWord (http://www.scilearn.com), an auditory training program that uses acoustically modified speech. Earobics focuses on reading. FFW focuses on retraining the auditory system to process the sounds of speech more efficiently, so it tends to have much more impact on the types of problems you are describing — difficulty participating in conversations, misunderstanding of oral directions, difficulty following directions, etc.
Mary