Essay Sample on Learning Disabilities in Education: Auditory Processing Disorder

Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) is a situation of having a hard time while listening and hearing small sounds differences in words. APD IS not a hearing loss or learning disorder, but it means that the mind doesn't listen to sounds healthily. It is not the problem of accepting the significance as many people mistake it. People across all ages can be victims of APD.

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In most cases, it starts at childhood though it can develop later. Amongst 2% and 7 % of children have this disorder whereby boys are expected to have it as compared to girls (Iliadou, Chermak, Bamiou & Musiek, 2019). It is a disorder that can cause delays in learning, which suggests that children with that disorder need special attention while schooling.

APD may be associated with further things that lead to the same signs. Indeed it may be part of the cause why some individuals have dyslexia. It is a scenario that makes specialists assume children are sometimes detected with ADHD instead of APD. Experts say APD affects the way children speak, write as well as spelling (Iliadou, Chermak, Bamiou & Musiek, 2019). It is a condition that makes it difficult for children to communicate with people. Children with APD are not able to process what others are saying and come with the required response at an instant.

The signs of APD can range from slight to painful and can take diverse methods. Some of the symptoms which are associated with APD are as the following:

• Distractions or unusual bother from loud or sudden noises.
• It is upsetting from the noisy environment.
• Problems in writing, reading, spelling, and other- speech-language.
• Disorganization and be forgetful.
• Difficulties in following conversations.

APD is not clear due to many of its symptoms, which are similar to other problems like learning disabilities, ADHD, and depression. It is the leading cause yet known though some proof proposes that head strain, lead harming, and chronic ear contagions could be the leading cause.

There are no concrete therapies established to treat patients with APD. However, there are current strategies and approaches which are inclusive of signal augmentation, cognitive and linguistic plans, auditory teaching (which includes acoustic integration treatment), and medication. The signal augmentation plans have the goal of improving the signal to noise proportion. Its achievement is through reducing contextual noise though using a frequency - modulation structures within the tutorial room. The verbal and intellectual approaches aim at the increasing use of compensatory policies.

In all mentioned strategies, the comprehensive assessment when it comes to treating ADP is auditory training. It is a concept that makes use of brain plasticity, which is either formal or non-formal. The formal training is inclusive of computerized commercial programs, for example, Fast ForWord and Earobics. It is a technique of altering speech acoustics and helps in the fast adapting of speech and neural processing. On the other hand, informal strategies include consonant/vowel training and other games, which can be done at school or at home (Moore, 2018). However, there is only little scientific evidence on how both formal and informal programs are effective. The two approaches need more and more research to prove that they have abilities to increase language gains.

The individualized education program, which mostly known as IEP, is a legal document under the laws of the United States. It is the primary purpose of promoting education in public schools in which require special education (McLeskey, Rosenberg & Westling, 2017). Its establishment is through a specific team of parents, teachers, and proper administration who are knowledgeable about the status of the child. One of the requirements to attend children with ADP is the full understanding of their status.

If the conditions are well understood, then it becomes easy for the stakeholders, especially the teacher, to handle them. The laws in IEP require local administration to offer full support to those special schools where children with hearing problems are addressed. For the teachers, they must understand how embarrassing it can be if a student is not able to get instructions. In connection with the students with APD, the individualized education program requires teachers to help these students through the following ways:

• Reduction of background noise whenever learning
• Making those scholars sit in front of the class or close to the teacher
• Encouraging the use of hearing devices in class, for example, an individual FM structure
• Have those students take their examinations or assignments in an area that is away from disturbances.

In most scenarios, parents are the first teachers to teach their children how to adapt to the new environment. In a situation whereby children have special needs, parents should play a vital role when it comes to giving support to their children. That moral and emotional support is essential in building and developing the confidence of a kid living with an infirmity. If a child has an ADP problem, the following are some steps parents can offer to aid in communicating and comprehending information.

Speaking slowly and enunciating clearly. Besides, it is good for the parent to pause while giving instructions to help a child process the information provided.

There is a need for being concise and direct. It is also good to avoid long oral explanations and instead give simple instructions with one step at a time.

It is also necessary to work in a quiet room that has few or no distractions, if possible. Listening and processing are sometimes hard enough to distract APN children.

Optimize concentration while minimizing meltdowns, which can be achieved through holding lessons.

Usage visual demonstrations than oral explanations since when demonstrating visually, it becomes more active. When a child has struggled in learning a new skill, it is good to use the visual demonstrations for simplification.

Avoid overwhelming the child sine children with ADP issues can easily become disruptive, especially when they don't understand something (Geffner, & Ross-Swain, 2018). In case a child becomes frustrated, it is good for the parent to wait for another more convenient time and pass the message.

There is a need for consistent and constant review, which is an encouragement of success, especially for APD learners (Geffner & Ross-Swain, 2018). In ensuring there is steady progress, including a review of the lessons every single day.

One of the emerging issues about ADP is about its diagnosis. Ideally, while diagnosing APD, it is supposed to recognize central auditory nervous systems (CANS). Nevertheless, if the main glitch lies past the hearing cortex, the diagnosis is then trumped through a more prominent differential diagnosis (Beck, Clarke, & Moore, 2016). Among prominent diagnoses are specific language impairment, dyslexia, and intellectual impairment.

In diagnosing ADP, there is an emerging problem, which is an absence of typical metrics to measure APD. There is no standard and generally recognized diagnostic principles or even intervention policies for ADP (Beck, Clarke, & Moore, 2016). Besides, there are no globally agreed on descriptions of how people should be trained to address APD.

There is an issue about the testing of APD, which in most cases are verbal. The standard method used in testing APD is through words, which is an aspect that makes it difficult to differentiate between APD and language ailments. The suggestion is that it would be more beneficial to use non - linguistic trials. Such tests include temporal trials, gap discovery, among others (McLeskey, Rosenberg & Westling, 2017). These methods are beneficial when it comes to capturing unique auditory processing issues. It is a sentiment that has found much support. The conclusion was that tests using the speech include phonological handling, which is naturally formed by the verbal skills.

Due to some difficulties experienced while diagnosing APD, there is a concept developed of listening difficulties. It is the process of determining the sensitivity and specificity of the trial carried for diagnosis. Since there is no complete gold and normal methods of dealing with APD issues, the probability of test failing based on speech is high (Beck, Clarke, & Moore, 2016). Therefore, it is necessary to come up with a real-life communication ability, which will aid a lot in managing APD.

Various lessons are learned by studying APD. Among the lessons learned is that ADP disorder results from a noisy environment; therefore, it is not in a category of total hearing problems. About its treatment, the lesson learned is that one needs to be in a quiet place for it to be effective. Another lesson learned is that its diagnosis is yet to be known, and therefore, parents and teachers must make these children feel worth. They should take charge of educating them with special care, an aspect which can contribute to their improvement in hearing at first voice.

References

Beck, D. L., Clarke, J. L., & Moore, D. R. (2016). Contemporary issues in auditory processing disorders: 2016. The Hearing Review, 23(4), 36-40. http://elibrary.humanitariansrilanka.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Contemporary-Issues-in-Auditory-Processing-Disorders.pdf

Geffner, D., & Ross-Swain, D. (Eds.). (2018). auditory processing disorders: Assessment, management, and treatment. Plural publishing. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Bv1qDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=Geffner,+D.,+%26+Ross-Swain,+D.+(Eds.).+(2018).+auditory+processing+disorders:+Assessment,+management,+and+treatment.+Plural+publishing.&ots=FKGy4UmR8T&sig=84lrJcSb1NIzktRSKe8CL1Psi9Q

Iliadou, V. V., Chermak, G. D., Bamiou, D. E., & Musiek, F. E. (2019). Gold Standard, Evidence-Based Approach to Diagnosing APD. The Hearing Journal, 72(2), 42-45. https://journals.lww.com/thehearingjournal/Fulltext/2019/02000/Gold_Standard,_Evidence_Based_Approach_to.9.aspx

McLeskey, J. L., Rosenberg, M. S., & Westling, D. L. (2017). Inclusion: Effective practices for all students. Pearson.

Moore, D. R. (2018). Challenges in Diagnosing Auditory Processing Disorder. The Hearing Journal, 71(10), 32-34. https://cdn.journals.lww.com/thehearingjournal/Fulltext/2018/10000/Challenges_in_Diagnosing_Auditory_Processing.9.aspx