AUDITORY PROCESSING PROBLEMS
Listening is not the same as understanding! What is auditory processing?
When we talk about auditory processing , we're not simply referring to whether we can hear sounds; it goes much further. We're referring to our ability to perceive and interpret the sounds that reach our ears. It's as if our ears were microphones and our brains were the sound processing center, making sense of everything we hear. We're talking about the quality with which our brain processes the sounds that enter through a healthy ear.
Watch out for "distracted" children at school! What could be behind them?
If a child is having trouble paying attention in class, we should ask ourselves three key questions:
• Can you see well? Vision is essential for learning!
• Can you hear well? Hearing is another fundamental source of information!
• Are you motivated?
Sometimes, when faced with school difficulties, we think the child is "absent-minded," that he "only hears what interests him," or that he is "always in his own world," and we don't stop to think about what could be causing this lack of attention. We often fall into explanations related to behavior, without considering that the problem could lie in how the information reaches the brain, or rather, in a "poor input" of that auditory information, in the quality with which the brain processes it.
When the brain doesn't process sounds well... learning becomes more difficult!
Poor hearing can hinder language acquisition, learning in general, literacy development, working memory (the memory we use to remember things in the short term), and can even significantly affect behavior and emotions. Imagine trying to understand a conversation with a lot of background noise.
When every noise is important!
One of the most common problems in children with attention deficit disorder is a lack of auditory filters. It's as if all sounds reaching their ears were equally important. They can't focus their attention because every sound they perceive is processed, and therefore, they feel the need to pay attention to it. These are the children who frequently get distracted. Their brain is constantly "busy" processing all the sounds at once!
Attention and immediate memory, an inseparable tandem!
Attention span is based on correct perception of auditory information, and this is directly reflected in immediate memory ! If there are problems in how sounds are perceived or processed, immediate memory is affected! And this prevents information from passing to the next phase of memory (long-term memory), clearly affecting attention and learning! It's as if the information gets stuck at the "front door" and can't pass into the "storage" of long-term memory.
Information at school reaches our children's brains through two main pathways: visual and auditory. That's why it's essential to monitor both.
An important note about eye coordination: strabismus!
Remember when we talked about strabismus? It's when your eyes don't look in the same place! Although auditory processing focuses on how the brain interprets sounds, it's important to remember that the brain works by integrating information from all of the senses! In some cases, attention problems can be related to difficulties with visual processing, and strabismus can be one of those difficulties! A child with strabismus may have to make extra effort to process visual information, which can affect their overall attention span and therefore indirectly influence how they process auditory information in the classroom. It's as if the brain is "busy" trying to compensate for vision and has fewer "resources" to process sounds!
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Auditory Processing
1. What exactly is auditory processing? Auditory processing refers to how the brain perceives and interprets sounds arriving through the ears, beyond the simple ability to hear. It involves understanding the meaning of sounds, differentiating between them, and paying attention to relevant auditory information.
2. Why is auditory processing important for learning? Much of the information in the educational environment is presented aurally (teacher instructions, explanations). Good auditory processing is crucial for understanding spoken language, following directions, and learning effectively.
3. What signs might indicate that a child has auditory processing problems? Some signs include difficulty following verbal instructions, frequently asking for things to be repeated, trouble concentrating in noisy environments, difficulty distinguishing similar sounds, and poor performance on tasks requiring auditory attention.
4. How does a hearing impairment differ from an auditory processing impairment? A hearing impairment refers to the ability to hear sounds, while an auditory processing impairment involves difficulty understanding and interpreting those sounds (processing quality), even with normal hearing.
5. What is auditory filter deficiency in relation to auditory processing? Auditory filter deficiency means that a person processes all sounds with the same intensity, unable to filter out irrelevant sounds in the environment. This can make it difficult to concentrate and pay attention to important information.
6. How does auditory processing affect memory and attention? Poor auditory processing can affect immediate memory, preventing auditory information from passing into long-term memory, which in turn hampers attention and learning.
7. What role do vision and hearing play in learning? Both vision and hearing are fundamental pathways through which information reaches the brain for learning. It is important that both function properly for optimal academic development.
8. Can strabismus (crossed eyes) be indirectly related to attention problems? Yes, although strabismus is a visual problem, the extra effort the brain has to make to process visual information in cases of strabismus can affect the child's overall attention span, indirectly influencing how they process auditory information.
9. What types of interventions can help improve auditory processing? Interventions may include auditory processing therapy, SENA (auditory stimulation) treatment, strategies to improve the listening environment, active listening skills training, and the use of technological aids in some cases.