Auditory Processing

Children with auditory processing problems often don't recognize subtle differences between sounds in words, even though the sounds themselves are loud and clear. For example, “Tell me how a chair and a couch are alike” may sound like “Tell me how a couch and a chair are alike.” Or “Tell me how a cow and a hair are alike.” This can be especially problematic in a noisy environment or when listening to complex information. So you can see how auditory processing can be a big challenge in the classroom.

As G. continues into the second year of high school more and more information is being presented in a lecture format. Although he loves science, last year he almost flunked this subject because the student next to him kept talking during class time. Now we're dealing with seven teachers, who have five classes of at least 30 students. Although they should read his IEP, most of them won't. So I’m finding that it's extremely important for me to be proactive in communicating with them. I find that it's much better to provide short tips, or cheat sheets because like all of us these teachers are busy.

So I'll meet with them the week before school starts and I'll talk to them about auditory processing. Some of the things I'll ask them to look for are:

• Don't assume G. understands, check for understanding.
• watch for and expected answers or a limited response to questions.
• Be open to restating questions or directions.
• Watch out for double meanings (last year G got in a lot of trouble with the word “gay”).
• Remember auditory processing will become more pronounced in a noisy environment.

It's amazing some teachers will really respond to this, they'll give me their e-mail address and take an interest in G. On the other hand, some teachers will be polite but they'll just think I'm an overbearing, overprotective mother, and that this is just another thing that's popped up on the horizon. Classes will be more challenging this year and I hope to keep G. in public school. High school is a great place to learn how to deal with complex social situations and gain more independence. I'll keep you posted.