Multidisciplinary Salon: Auditory Processing was this month’s topic. Many psychologists we learned aren’t taught to recognize auditory processing disorders because they aren’t involved in the diagnosis. As speech pathologist we often work with clients regularly that are not officially labeled as having an auditory processing disorder. In order to receive an official diagnosis of auditory processing disorder, an audiologist is required. Speech pathologists provide treatment which primarily is geared toward the use of strategies as opposed to remediation.
So for example, I once had a client seventh grader who had a lawn mowing business. He struggled in school because of difficulty with auditory processing. In his business he hired other kids, bought new equipment for his business with his proceeds, but he struggled in school. Obviously, his problem had nothing to do with intelligence. Once he learned to write information down thing became much easier, but it was not easy for him to acquire the strategy. He resisted using strategies. Only with direct instruction and guidance over a 9 month period was he finally able to effectively use the strategy. For more information go to Auditory Processing Disorders