APD

Central Audio Processing Disorder

Charlie Brown has APD (above) and a Strabismic Amblyopia (mentioned here) so he has several issues to OVERCOME. And he will, because he's awesome that's why.

More about APD:

About Auditory Processing Disorder

Auditory processing disorder (APD), also known as central auditory processing disorder (CAPD), is a complex problem affecting about 5% of school-aged children. These kids can't process the information they hear in the same way as others because their ears and brain don't fully coordinate. Something adversely affects the way the brain recognizes and interprets sounds, most notably the sounds composing speech.

Kids with APD often do not recognize subtle differences between sounds in words, even when the sounds are loud and clear enough to be heard. These kinds of problems usually occur in background noise, which is a natural listening environment. So kids with APD have the basic difficulty of understanding any speech signal presented under less than optimal conditions.

Causes

The causes of APD are unknown. But evidence suggests links to head trauma, lead poisoning, and chronic ear infections. Because there are many different possibilities — even combinations of causes — each child must be assessed individually.

(INSERT)-He had chronic ear infections but I truly believe (my own personal opinion here) that either 1-he was simply born with it (and maybe the trauma of his birth being that they had to use forceps and turn his head and pull while I pushed to get him out) OR Vaccines played a role. When he was 3 months his vaccines caused him to have seizures and other side effects. Cause remains unknown (vaccines), but he seemed to be different after these episodes. 

Problem Areas for Kids With CAPD

The five main problem areas that can affect both home and school activities in kids with APD are:

1. Auditory Figure-Ground Problems: when a child can't pay attention if there's noise in the background. Noisy, low-structured classrooms could be very frustrating.
2. Auditory Memory Problems: when a child has difficulty remembering information such as directions, lists, or study materials. It can be immediate ("I can't remember it now") and/or delayed ("I can't remember it when I need it for later").
3. Auditory Discrimination Problems: when a child has difficulty hearing the difference between words or sounds that are similar (COAT/BOAT or CH/SH). This can affect following directions, and reading, spelling, and writing skills, among others.
4. Auditory Attention Problems: when a child can't stay focused on listening long enough to complete a task or requirement (such as listening to a lecture in school). Kids with CAPD often have trouble maintaining attention, although health, motivation, and attitude also can play a role.
5. Auditory Cohesion Problems: when higher-level listening tasks are difficult. Auditory cohesion skills — drawing inferences from conversations, understanding riddles, or comprehending verbal math problems — require heightened auditory processing and language levels. They develop best when all the other skills (levels 1 through 4 above) are intact.

How Can I Help My Child?

Strategies applied at home and school can ease some of the problem behaviors associated with APD. Because it's common for kids with CAPD to have difficulty following directions, for example, these tactics might help:

• Since most kids with APD have difficulty hearing amid noise, it's very important to reduce the background noise at home and at school.
• Have your child look at you when you're speaking.
• Use simple, expressive sentences.
• Speak at a slightly slower rate and at a mildly increased volume.
• Ask your child to repeat the directions back to you and to keep repeating them aloud (to you or to himself or herself) until the directions are completed.
• For directions that are to be completed at a later time, writing notes, wearing a watch, and maintaining a household routine also help. General organization and scheduling also can be beneficial.

It's especially important to teach your child to notice noisy environments, for example, and move to quieter places when listening is necessary.

Other strategies that might help:

• Provide your child with a quiet study place (not the kitchen table).
• Maintain a peaceful, organized lifestyle.
• Encourage good eating and sleeping habits.
• Assign regular and realistic chores, including keeping a neat room and desk.
• Build your child's self-esteem.

Be sure to keep in regular contact with school officials about your child's progress. Kids with APD aren't typically put in special education programs. Instead, teachers can make it easier by:

• altering seating plans so the child can sit in the front of the room or with his or her back to the window
• providing additional aids for study, like an assignment pad or a tape recorder

One of the most important things that both parents and teachers can do is to acknowledge that CAPD is real. Symptoms and behaviors are not within the child's control. What is within the child's control is recognizing the problems associated with APD and applying the strategies recommended both at home and school.

A positive, realistic attitude and healthy self-esteem in a child with APD can work wonders. And kids with APD can go on to be just as successful as other classmates. Although some children do grow up to be adults with APD, by using coping strategies as well as techniques learned in speech therapy, they can be very successful adults.

Taken from: http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/ears/central_auditory.html#