The Unexpected Impacts of Auditory Processing Disorder – by Gemm Learning
Far and away the most common source of difficulty for the 40% of children who struggle with reading is mastering phonics. Phonics requires phonemic awareness, which in turn requires efficient auditory processing skills.
For many children, auditory processing skills do not develop fast enough to support their learning and reading needs. For 3-4% of children, this is recognized in a formal auditory processing disorder, but for most children it goes undiagnosed. And so tutors and teachers push on with phonics instruction even though their students do not have the processing skills to identify the sounds they are being taught.
In early life, learning comes mainly through spoken language – from listening. Our oral word memory is how our brains organize our understanding of the world. We reference word memory when reading and when thinking. The more efficiently we process language, the less friction there is in learning.
However, processing language at natural language speed is not easy. Natural language is lighting fast – up to 40 sounds a second. And so, it should not be surprising that under-developed language processing skills hold back a lot of children.
What is surprising is the ripple effects of under-developed auditory processing skills on other aspects of life – in addition to undermining phonemic awareness and learning to read.
For instance, slow processing of conversation and difficulties with background noise can impact confidence in social situations. Similarly, when processing is labored, there is no capacity to think about what is being said – and so context, connections to prior knowledge and picking up the subtleties of language, such as humor, are missed. Another example is that slow processing can lead to classroom humiliation when teacher questions are not fully understood – this can lead to an avoidance behavior at best, and an aversion to school at worst.
Perhaps as important, the various challenges caused by auditory processing delays can erode confidence and self-esteem. A lack of confidence undermines resilience and leads to a fear of failure around learning, and therefore an unwillingness to take on new things.
These attitudes to learning and deep-seated impact of self-esteem can linger long after processing skills do finally develop. Read more about the surprising consequences of APD here: https://tinyurl.com/mr34pkpm
About Gemm Learning
Gemm Learning provides remotely guided learning interventions at home, with a particular focus on auditory processing disorder – diagnosed and undiagnosed. Learn more about how Gemm Learning helps APD and other learning delays here: https://www.gemmlearning.com/
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Company Name: Gemm Learning
Contact Person: Geoffrey Nixon
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Phone: 9143540134
Country: United States
Website: https://www.gemmlearning.com/
