|
Dec 03, 2008, 06:54 PM
|
 |
|
|
Member Since: Aug 2007
Location: West of Tampa Bay, East of the Gulf of Mexico
Posts: 14,354
|
|
What did your doctor tell you about your particular symptoms and what treatment will be offered?
Quote:
From Wikipedia: Diagnosis, Characteristics, Treatment.
Diagnosis
APD is recognized as a major cause of dyslexia[5]. As APD is one of the more difficult information processing disorders to detect and diagnose, it may sometimes be misdiagnosed as ADD/ADHD, Asperger and other forms of autism, but it may also be a comorbid aspect of those conditions if it is considered a significant part of the overall diagnostic picture. APD shares common symptoms in areas of overlap such that professionals who were not aware of APD would diagnose the disabilities as those which they were aware of. APD can also be confused with Language Processing Disorder. Unlike APD, LPD is more specifically a problem associated with the linking of words, both written and spoken, to semantics (meaning) and someone can have both APD and LPD. Unlike those with LPD, those with APD can usually get the meaning of language from written words where those with LPD show problems with both heard and read words, demonstrating that the basic issue is not an auditory one.
People with APD intermittently experience an inability to process verbal information. When people with APD have a processing failure, they do not process what is being said to them. They may be able to repeat the words back word for word, but the meaning of the message is lost. Simply repeating the instruction is of no use if a person with APD is not processing. Neither will increasing the volume help.
People with APD have a disorder processing auditory information within the brain. The written word is a visual notation of verbal language, thus Auditory Processing Disorder can extend into reading and writing. As a consequence, APD has been recognised as one of the major causes of dyslexia.
There are also many other hidden implications, which are not always apparent even to the person with the disability. For example, because people with APD are used to guessing to fill in the processing gaps, they may not even be aware that they have misunderstood something.
[edit] Causes
There are many possible causes of APD. For many APD can be inherited as part of their genetic makeup. APD can be acquired especially via severe ear infections such as Otitis Media with effusion (glue ear). APD can also be acquired due to an accident that causes head trauma or by lead poisoning. Adults of advancing years can also acquire APD as their information processing faculties reduce as part of the aging process. Because there are many different possibilities, each person must be assessed individually.
[edit] Characteristics
Persons with APD often:- have trouble paying attention to and remembering information presented orally; cope better with visually acquired information
- may have trouble paying attention and remembering information when information is simultaneously presented in multiple modalities
- have problems carrying out multi-step directions given orally; need to hear only one direction at a time
- appear to have poor listening skills, and need people to speak slowly
- need more time to process information.
- develop a dislike for locations with background noise such as bar, clubs or other social locations
- prefer written communication (e.g. text chat)
It appears to others as a problem with listening. Somebody with APD may be accused of "not listening".- have behavioral problems.
APD can manifest as problems determining the direction of sounds, difficulty perceiving differences between speech sounds and the sequencing of these sounds into meaningful words, confusing similar sounds such as "hat" with "bat", "there" with "where", etc. Fewer words may be perceived than were actually said, as there can be problems detecting the gaps between words, creating the sense that someone is speaking unfamiliar or nonsense words. Those suffering from APD may have problems relating what has been said with its meaning, despite obvious recognition that a word has been said, as well as repetition of the word. Background noise, such as the sound of a radio, television or a noisy bar can make it difficult to impossible to understand speech, depending on the severity of the auditory processing disorder. Using a telephone can be problematic for someone with auditory processing disorder, in comparison with someone with normal auditory processing, due to low quality audio, poor signal, intermittent sounds and the chopping of words.[6] Many who have auditory processing disorder subconsciously develop visual coping strategies, such as lip reading, reading body language, and eye contact, to compensate for their auditory deficit, and these coping strategies are not available when using a telephone.
[edit] Secondary characteristics
Those who have APD tend to be quiet or shy, even withdrawn from mainstream society due to their communication problems, and the lack of understanding of these problems by their peers.
One who fails to process any part of the communication of others may be unable to comprehend what is being communicated. This has some obvious social and educational implication, which can cause a lack of understanding from others. In adults this can lead to persistent interpersonal relationship problems.
Some of these symptoms can be shared with other related disorders which can also have areas of overlap, such as acquired brain injury, attention deficits, dyslexia or learning difficulties, hearing loss, and psychologically-based behavioral problems.
APD may be related to cluttering[7], a fluency disorder marked by word and phrase repetitions.
[edit] Treatment
[edit] Remediations and training
See also: Alternative therapies for developmental and learning disabilities There are no research supported treatments for APD available, however a variety of treatments have been offered commercially in the absence of solid empirical research support for their efficacy.
|
|