Symptoms of APD

​

Auditory processing is complex and there are different types of auditory processing disorders, so symptoms vary and are many.  In addition, ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and Dyslexia share some of the same symptoms.  It is easy to see why it is impossible to determine the cause of a listening problem by looking at symptoms alone.

 

An auditory processing disorder, or APD, may manifest itself in several ways. This includes the following:

Difficulty understanding speech in noisy situations, difficulty learning to read, poor reading comprehension, poor spelling ability, misunderstanding a verbal message on more than one occasion, difficulty following multiple directions, an unusual sensitivity to loud sound, saying “huh” or “what” a lot, withdrawing from a conversation, dominating a conversation so that one does not have to listen, appearing to hear but not understand, and difficulty remembering what was said.  A person with APD may not have all of these symptoms, but they will have quite a few of them.

 

Often the person with APD does not realize that it's their listening skills that are causing them difficulty with communication and learning.  Often the parent or spouse does not realize it either. A listener with undiagnosed APD can believe that they aren't as smart as others or that they cannot be as attentive as their parents or spouse may want them to be.  This is why it is imperative to diagnose APD in childhood, in order to avoid growing up with a deficit that is not understood or treated.