Auditory Processing Disorder and Autism

Hi All, 

Another question from me - I think I've built up A LOT and now that I've found a space to get answers they are all coming out so...

Before I realised I had Autism and ADHD I had started researching Auditory Processing Disorder. For a long time I have really struggled with audio input and from a quick research it seems like this is another thing that is linked with Autism - which, makes sense. I've had a hearing test and everything is fine physically. 

Here are some of my experiences.

I often have a lag between what people say and my brain deciphering it. Sometimes someone will say something, I say 'what?' and then halfway through them repeating it my brain computes what they had said. 

I often misunderstand what people say and code the words as something with a similar pattern. As a silly example, I might hear 'cat on a mat' as 'bat on a hat'. 

I struggle to talk to people when I perceive the background sound to be louder than they are. For example, talking to people on a bus is really, really hard. I find the bus is louder than they are and I keep struggling to process what they are saying. It makes the conversation really hard and stressful and then my brain just starts shutting down and stops generating the conversation. This usually ends up with me sitting in silence or really feeling like I have to wade through a conversation. It isn't like this every single time, I can have good days but I can also have bad days where it is much worse. 

Music. I just really struggle with lyrical music. I find it hard to hear the lyrics and feel like all the other sounds make the actual vocals really hard to hear. It can be really difficult if someone tries to get me to listen to music and think about the lyrics and I need to actually see the lyrics to engage. Sometimes, it can all sound like a mash of sound if I'm feeling sensitive. I do like some lyrical music but that's either because the music sound is nice and I don't actually pay attention to the vocals OR the music is nice and the vocals are simple and clear. Most of the time I listen to instrumental music like chillstep. 

Does anyone else have experiences with symptoms of Auditory Processing Disorder that they are willing to share?

Parents
  • My experiences are the same as yours.

    It is only recently that I realised I probably have this.

  • Thank you for sharing, Debbie. It's comforting to know that you are having similar experiences (even though it's not nice that someone else is going through it). It is only in the past year that I have had this in my awareness as something to look into and then various things happened in my personal life and it got pushed right to the back of the queue. It was only recently when I started researching Autism/ADHD that I've thought about it in depth again and had another big 'ah-ha' moment. 

Reply
  • Thank you for sharing, Debbie. It's comforting to know that you are having similar experiences (even though it's not nice that someone else is going through it). It is only in the past year that I have had this in my awareness as something to look into and then various things happened in my personal life and it got pushed right to the back of the queue. It was only recently when I started researching Autism/ADHD that I've thought about it in depth again and had another big 'ah-ha' moment. 

Children
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