Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) (with ASD)- any suggestions for improving?

Anyone else dealing with this combo? ASD diagnosis was earlier this year; psych called for APD testing. The audiologist was amazing but it turns out I scored really poorly (grrr). Perhaps it does explains how I miss so much of what gets said. 

Would like to learn how to differentiate which verbal processing issues have ASD as root, and which have APD.

But anyway, anyone had any effective improvement techniques for APD? Would like to get better at processing incoming sounds (extreme sound sensitivity impedes).

Would improving focus somehow help? Any games or activities that could train my verbal processor a bit? :)

~optimistic

Parents
  • never heard of apd, but am hard of hearing and autism means i can't follow the gist of the conversation so any missed word and i am lost, unfortunately hearing tests ask you to recognise numbers through background noise, whereas my problem isn't that my hearing is that bad, it almost is but not quite, but that if i miss a few words i'm lost immediately, due to the autism and inability to lipread coming from it

  • HI maia, in a way we are a little bit similar except that sound is overwhelming for me. I lose words, like you describe, to processing sound (touch and smell can do it, but not as badly as sound; visual is not an issue).

    I don't have the auditory recall of the words I've missed either, which it sounds like you don't either. I find my way using logic - looking at body language, considering what was already the topic, and if i know the person I have a general idea what they were likely saying.  But it's clear I miss lots because folks have reacted to my non-sequitur replies (aka I guessed wrong and say something that doesn't fit as a reply.

    Apparently there is no standard testing for APD, so don't take this as how they must do it, but my testing was about 2 hours in a small, sensory-neutral room and included the following adventures:

    1. Listen for tones and click a clicker when I heard them. My hearing is acute so I could hear sounds most can't. My  heartbeat was loud though so we had to pause a couple times so I could re-focus. This test was a pass for me.

    2. listen and repeat what a mumbling guy was saying. Also a pass.

    3. listen and repeat what a regular guy was saying in a coffee shop setting. Barely pass.

    4. Listen to two different sentences said into both ears simultaneously and repeat the sentence said in specified ear (right or left etc). Failed badly.

    5. Listen to two different words said simultaneously into both ears and repeat the word said in the specified ear. Failed badly.

    So in my case it's not the volume or clarity of speech that causes me trouble processing verbal input. In some cases, my brain switched off verbal processing entirely so that all I could say was that I heard something.

    This new understanding made me feel bad for my family and loved ones who get understandably hurt or frustrated at what I have missed them saying.

    I do read lips, but I had to force myself to (watching the news with sound off). Have you already tried to learn it and found it not possible?

Reply
  • HI maia, in a way we are a little bit similar except that sound is overwhelming for me. I lose words, like you describe, to processing sound (touch and smell can do it, but not as badly as sound; visual is not an issue).

    I don't have the auditory recall of the words I've missed either, which it sounds like you don't either. I find my way using logic - looking at body language, considering what was already the topic, and if i know the person I have a general idea what they were likely saying.  But it's clear I miss lots because folks have reacted to my non-sequitur replies (aka I guessed wrong and say something that doesn't fit as a reply.

    Apparently there is no standard testing for APD, so don't take this as how they must do it, but my testing was about 2 hours in a small, sensory-neutral room and included the following adventures:

    1. Listen for tones and click a clicker when I heard them. My hearing is acute so I could hear sounds most can't. My  heartbeat was loud though so we had to pause a couple times so I could re-focus. This test was a pass for me.

    2. listen and repeat what a mumbling guy was saying. Also a pass.

    3. listen and repeat what a regular guy was saying in a coffee shop setting. Barely pass.

    4. Listen to two different sentences said into both ears simultaneously and repeat the sentence said in specified ear (right or left etc). Failed badly.

    5. Listen to two different words said simultaneously into both ears and repeat the word said in the specified ear. Failed badly.

    So in my case it's not the volume or clarity of speech that causes me trouble processing verbal input. In some cases, my brain switched off verbal processing entirely so that all I could say was that I heard something.

    This new understanding made me feel bad for my family and loved ones who get understandably hurt or frustrated at what I have missed them saying.

    I do read lips, but I had to force myself to (watching the news with sound off). Have you already tried to learn it and found it not possible?

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