Should Children with Auditory Processing Disorders Receive Services in Schools

Many children with problems learning in school can have educational deficits due to underlying auditory processing disorders (APD). For these children, they can be identified as having auditory learning disabilities. Furthermore, auditory learning disabilities is identified as a specific learning disability (SLD) in the IDEA. Educators and professionals accessing children for learning problems often do not understand or accept that there are such things as auditory processing deficits or APD. This paper presents a tutorial discussion of what are APDs, how they can affect children in schools, and how they should be assessed. Should Children with Auditory Processing Disorders Receive Services in Schools? Often children are seen in schools described as having difficulties learning in class when material is presented verbally. Teachers may complain of difficulties for these children in following verbal directions, understanding what is said, or, in general, difficulties listening. Some of these children have difficulties listening because of primary problems with attention and what is often referred to as executive functioning. However, many of these children have excellent auditory attention abilities, but have difficulties taking in and “processing” what they hear, a factor called an auditory processing disorder or APD. When a child is identified as having problems learning, and testing reveals that the child has an APD, often school teams determining eligibility for the child to receive special education services under IDEA refuse to classify the child as being eligible because these teams cannot find an appropriate category or “label” by which to identify the child as meeting the criteria for special education services. The problem often faced by school district teams is one of the following. First, they do not see the term “auditory processing disorder” or APD in the IDEA and, thus, do not define the child as having an APD and, therefore, an educational disability. Second, the team as a whole or team members do not believe that there is such a thing as an auditory processing disorder, so a child cannot be identified as having an educational problem due to APD issues. Third, the team may not understand what an appropriate assessment is for a child with listening problems in order to identify whether that child has APD and to differentiate it from other problems, such as attention disorders like ADHD. Often, the problem with the eligibility team not being able to recommend services for children with APD is that they do not really understand what auditory processing disorders are and how to appropriately identify such disorders. The following paper discusses various factors in order to help the reader have a better