Auditory Processing Disorder
Rosie O’Donnell’s son has APD. A new book has been written , “The Sound of Hope” (Ballantine) — by Lois Kam Heymann, the speech pathologist and auditory therapist who helped Blake — Ms. O’Donnell recounts how she learned something was amiss. Pictures and video are available at the New York Times article.
http://well. blogs.nytimes. com/2010/ 04/26/little- known-disorder- can-take- a-toll-on- learning/
Little-Known Disorder Can Take a Toll on Learning
By TARA PARKER-POPE
Parents and teachers often tell children to pay attention — to be a “good listener.” But what if your child’s brain doesn’t know how to listen?
That’s the challenge for children with auditory processing disorder, a poorly understood syndrome that interferes with the brain’s ability to recognize and interpret sounds. It’s been estimated that 2 to 5 percent of children have the disorder, said Gail D. Chermak, an expert on speech and hearing sciences at Washington State University, and it’s likely that many cases have gone undiagnosed or misdiagnosed.
The symptoms of A.P.D. — trouble paying attention and following directions, low academic performance, behavior problems and poor reading and vocabulary — are often mistaken for attention problems or even autism.
But now the disorder is getting some overdue attention, thanks in part to the talk-show host Rosie O’Donnell and her 10-year-old son, Blake, who has A.P.D.
In the foreword to a new book, “The Sound of Hope” (Ballantine) — by Lois Kam Heymann, the speech pathologist and auditory therapist who helped Blake — Ms. O’Donnell recounts how she learned something was amiss.
It began with a haircut before her son started first grade. Blake had already been working with a speech therapist on his vague responses and other difficulties, so when he asked for a “little haircut” and she pressed him on his meaning, she told the barber he wanted short hair like his brother’s. But in the car later, Blake erupted in tears, and Ms. O’Donnell realized her mistake. By “little haircut,” Blake meant little hair should be cut. He wanted a trim.
“I pulled off on the freeway and hugged him,” Ms. O’Donnell said. “I said: `Blakey, I’m really sorry. I didn’t understand you. I’ll do better.’ ”
That was a turning point. Ms. O’Donnell’s quest to do better led her to Ms. Heymann, who determined that while Blake could hear perfectly well, he had trouble distinguishing between sounds. To him, words like “tangerine” and “tambourine,” “bed” and “dead,” may sound the same.
“The child hears `And the girl went to dead,’ and they know it doesn’t make sense,” Ms. Heymann told me. “But while they try to figure it out, the teacher continues talking and now they’re behind. Those sounds are being distorted or misinterpreted, and it affects how the child is going to learn speech and language.”
Blake’s brain struggled to retain the words he heard, resulting in a limited vocabulary and trouble with reading and spelling. Abstract language, metaphors like “cover third base,” even “knock-knock” jokes, were confusing and frustrating.
Children with auditory processing problems often can’t filter out other sounds. The teacher’s voice, a chair scraping the floor and crinkling paper are all heard at the same level. “The normal reaction by the parent is `Why don’t you listen?’ ” Ms. Heymann said. “They were listening, but they weren’t hearing the right thing.”
The solution is often a comprehensive approach, at school and at home. To dampen unwanted noise, strips of felt or tennis balls may be placed on the legs of chairs and desks. Parents work to simplify language and avoid metaphors and abstract references.
The O’Donnell household cut back on large, noisy gatherings that were upsetting to Blake. Twice-weekly sessions focusing on sounds and words, using rhyme and body gestures, helped him catch up on the learning he had missed.
Help inside the classroom is essential. One family in Westchester County, who asked not to be named to protect their son’s privacy, met with his teachers and agreed on an array of adaptations — including having his teacher wear a small microphone that directed her voice more clearly to a speaker on the student’s desk so he could better distinguish her voice from competing sounds.
Nobody knows exactly why auditory processing skills don’t fully develop in every child, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Scientists are conducting brain-imaging studies to better understand the neural basis of the condition and find out if there are different forms.
Reassuringly, the disorder seems to have little or nothing to do with intelligence. Blake has an encyclopedic knowledge of animals — he once corrected his mother for referring to a puma as a mountain lion. The Westchester child is now a 17-year-old high school student being recruited by top colleges.
“He’s in accelerated Latin, honors science classes,” said his mother. “I remember I used to dream of the day he would be able to wake up in the morning and just say, `Mommy.’ ”
Not every child does so well, and some children with A.P.D. have other developmental and social problems. But Ms. O’Donnell says that treatment is not just about better grades.
“It definitely affected his whole world,” she said of her son. “Not just learning. It cuts them off from society, from interactions. To see the difference in who he is today versus who he was two years ago, and then to contemplate what would have happened had we not been able to catch it — I think he would have been lost.”
A version of this article appeared in print on April 27, 2010, on page D5 of the New York edition.
How does Fast ForWord improve hearing speech in noise
One of the most consistent research outcomes following use of Fast ForWord has been improvements in the ability to discriminate speech in noise. Some people are surprised about this since there are no specific exercises that provide training with a noise background. So, why the significant improvements? Because Fast ForWord training is improving the underlying skills needed to process speech in noise.
Some examples–
-the brain has been trained to hear each of the phonemes more clearly—for some kids there have been “fuzzy” representations of similar sounding phonemes which are now more clear—so it is easier for the brain to recognize it.
-the brain has been trained to process the phonemes more rapidly–it doesn’t have to spend as much time trying to determine what each phoneme is
-the brain can remember more sounds/words in a row because it is processing more rapidly
-it is now easier for the brain to attend–and thus pick up the important message and filter out what is/isn’t important.
-there is improved ability to sustain attention for listening
-overall, the brain is more efficient at listening and understanding
Ann Osterling, MA, CCC-SLP/L
Licensed Speech-Language Pathologist
Auditory Processing Video Case Study
Here is a great video showing how Fast ForWord has helped a student improve his processing abilities to become top in his class!
Dr Martha Burns explains how the programme works to improve memory, attention, processing speeds and sequencing skills.
The commentary shows the impact on APD (auditory processing disorder) related issues alongside other study aspects.
The programmes help children be confident socially as well as in the classroom, enjoy school and achieve good academic results.
Clink on this link to see the video
http://au.tv.yahoo.com/sunrise/video/#fop
Search for the BRAIN BOOSTER video
It’s about 4 minutes
Brain imaging may help diagnose autism
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via Brain imaging may help diagnose autism.
ScienceDaily (Jan. 10, 2010) — Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) process sound and language a fraction of a second slower than children without ASDs, and measuring magnetic signals that mark this delay may become a standardized way to diagnose autism.
Researchers at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia report their findings in an online article in the journal Autism Research, published January 8.
“More work needs to be done before this can become a standard tool, but this pattern of delayed brain response may be refined into the first imaging biomarker for autism,” said study leader Timothy P.L. Roberts, Ph.D., vice chair of Radiology Research at Children’s Hospital.
ASDs are a group of childhood neurodevelopmental disorders that cause impairments in verbal communication, social interaction and behavior. ASDs are currently estimated to affect as many as one percent of U.S. children, according to a recent CDC report.
Like many neurodevelopmental disorders, in the absence of objective biological measurements, psychologists and other caregivers rely on clinical judgments such as observations of behavior to diagnose ASDs, often not until a child reaches school age. If researchers can develop imaging results into standardized diagnostic tests, they may be able to diagnose ASDs as early as infancy, permitting possible earlier intervention with treatments. They also may be able to differentiate types of ASDs (classic autism, Asperger’s syndrome or other types) in individual patients.
In the current study, Roberts and colleagues used magnetoencephalography (MEG), which detects magnetic fields in the brain, similar to the way electroencephalography (EEG) detects electrical fields. Using a helmet that surrounds the child’s head, the team presents a series of recorded beeps, vowels and sentences. As the child’s brain responds to each sound, noninvasive detectors in the MEG machine analyze the brain’s changing magnetic fields.
The researchers compared 25 children with ASDs, having a mean age of 10 years, to 17 age-matched typically developing children. The children with ASDs had an average delay of 11 milliseconds (about 1/100 of a second) in their brain responses to sounds, compared to the control children. Among the group with ASDs, the delays were similar, whether or not the children had language impairments.
“This delayed response suggests that the auditory system may be slower to develop and mature in children with ASDs,” said Roberts. An 11-millisecond delay is brief, but it means, for instance, that a child with ASD, on hearing the word ‘elephant’ is still processing the ‘el’ sound while other children have moved on. The delays may cascade as a conversation progresses, and the child may lag behind typically developing peers.”
A 2009 study by Roberts and colleagues sheds light on how changes in brain anatomy may account for the delays in sound processing. The study team used MEG to analyze the development of white matter in the brains of 26 typically developing children and adolescents. Because white matter carries electrical signals in the brain, signaling speed improves when neurons are better protected with an insulating sheath of a membrane material called myelin.
In this previous study, the researchers showed that normal age-related development of greater myelination corresponds with faster auditory responses in the brain. “The delayed auditory response that we find in children with ASDs may reflect delayed white matter development in these children,” said Roberts. Roberts says his team’s further studies will seek to refine their imaging techniques to determine that their biomarker is specific to ASDs, and will investigate other MEG patterns found in children with ASDs in addition to auditory delays.
Grants from National Institute of Health, the Nancy Lurie Marks Family Foundation, Autism Speaks, and the Pennsylvania Department of Health supported this research. In addition, Roberts holds an endowed chair, the Oberkircher Family Chair in Pediatric Radiology at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Roberts’ co-authors were from Children’s Hospital, including the Hospital’s Center for Autism Research.
Story Source:
Adapted from materials provided by Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
How does Fast ForWord help Verbal Dyspraxia?
How does Fast ForWord help Verbal Dyspraxia?
Often a child with verbal dyspraxia also has difficulties with rate of processing, sequencing, working memory, auditory discrimination etc. It also often appears that the child has ‘good’ auditory comprehension. However, they seem to be ‘top-down’ language learners, with great difficulty in the ‘bottom-up’ processing – they seem to ‘get’ the gestalt of language, but do terribly on tasks that involve tones, phonemes, and very discrete auditory skills.
Fast ForWord can be very challenging for someone with verbal dyspraxia, yet wonderful results can be achieved – just improving auditory sequencing and speed of processing can lead to tremendous improvements in the ability of the child to be able to produce words of 3 syllables. Word retrieval is also improved leading to improved fluency in speech and reading.
Preschoolers identified as having verbal dyspraxia can often appear to have normal receptive language skills. As they hit Reception and KS1, receptive and auditory issues may show up – reading may also be affected – thus Fast ForWord can be very important for some children with an early diagnosis of verbal dyspraxia.
Research has shown that children with developmental verbal dyspraxia whose speech difficulties persist beyond the age of 5.6 years, are at risk of having literacy difficulties. The risk is increased if there is a family history of speech, language or specific learning difficultes.
Dyslexia Defined: New Yale Study 'Uncouples' Reading And IQ Over Time
Dyslexia Defined: New Yale Study ‘Uncouples’ Reading And IQ Over Time
(December 29, 2009) Contrary to popular belief, some very smart, accomplished people cannot read well. This unexpected difficulty in reading in relation to intelligence, education and professional status is called dyslexia, and researchers at Yale School of Medicine and University of California Davis, have presented new data that explain how otherwise bright and intelligent people struggle to read.
The study, which will be published in the January 1, 2010 issue of the journal Psychological Science, provides a validated definition of dyslexia. “For the first time, we’ve found empirical evidence that shows the relationship between IQ and reading over time differs for typical compared to dyslexic readers,” said Sally E. Shaywitz, M.D., the Audrey G. Ratner Professor in Learning Development at Yale School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics, and co-director of the newly formed Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity.
Using data from the Connecticut Longitudinal Study, an ongoing 12-year study of cognitive and behavioral development in a representative sample of 445 Connecticut schoolchildren, Shaywitz and her team tested each child in reading every year and tested for IQ every other year. They were looking for evidence to show how the dissociation between cognitive ability and reading ability might develop in children.
The researchers found that in typical readers, IQ and reading not only track together, but also influence each other over time. But in children with dyslexia, IQ and reading are not linked over time and do not influence one another. This explains why a dyslexic can be both bright and not read well.
“I’ve seen so many children who are struggling to read but have a high IQ,” said Shaywitz. “Our findings of an uncoupling between IQ and reading, and the influence of this uncoupling on the developmental trajectory of reading, provide evidence to support the concept that dyslexia is an unexpected difficulty with reading in children who otherwise have the intelligence to learn to read.”
Typical readers learn how to associate letters with a specific sound. “All they have to do is look at the letters and it’s automatic,” Shaywitz explained. “It’s like breathing; you don’t have to tell your lungs to take in air. In dyslexia, this process remains manual.” Each time a dyslexic sees a word, it’s as if they’ve never seen it before. People with dyslexia have to read slowly, re-read, and sometimes use a marker so they don’t lose their place.
“A key characteristic of dyslexia is that the unexpected difficulty refers to a disparity within the person rather than, for example, a relative weakness compared to the general population,” said co-author Bennett A. Shaywitz, M.D., the Charles and Helen Schwab Professor in Dyslexia and Learning Development and co-director of the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity.
Sally Shaywitz estimates that one in five people are dyslexic and points to many accomplished writers, physicians and attorneys with dyslexia who struggle with the condition in their daily lives, including Carol Greider, the 2009 Nobel laureate in medicine. She hopes to dispel many of the myths surrounding the condition.
“High-performing dyslexics are very intelligent, often out-of-the box thinkers and problem-solvers,” she said. “The neural signature for dyslexia is seen in children and adults. You don’t outgrow dyslexia. Once you’re diagnosed, it is with you for life.”
Shaywitz also stresses that the problem is with both basic spoken and written language. People with dyslexia take a long time to retrieve words, so they might not speak or read as fluidly as others. In students, the time pressure around standardized tests like the SATs and entrance exams for professional schools increases anxiety and can make dyslexia worse, so the need for accommodations is key in helping those with the disorder realize their potential, she says.
Other authors on the study include Emilio Ferrer at the University of California Davis and John M. Holahan and Karen Marchione at Yale School of Medicine.
The study was funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Citation: Psychological Science (January 1, 2010)
| www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/174466.php |
Dyslexia Defined: New Yale Study ‘Uncouples’ Reading And IQ Over Time
Dyslexia Defined: New Yale Study ‘Uncouples’ Reading And IQ Over Time
(December 29, 2009) Contrary to popular belief, some very smart, accomplished people cannot read well. This unexpected difficulty in reading in relation to intelligence, education and professional status is called dyslexia, and researchers at Yale School of Medicine and University of California Davis, have presented new data that explain how otherwise bright and intelligent people struggle to read.
The study, which will be published in the January 1, 2010 issue of the journal Psychological Science, provides a validated definition of dyslexia. “For the first time, we’ve found empirical evidence that shows the relationship between IQ and reading over time differs for typical compared to dyslexic readers,” said Sally E. Shaywitz, M.D., the Audrey G. Ratner Professor in Learning Development at Yale School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics, and co-director of the newly formed Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity.
Using data from the Connecticut Longitudinal Study, an ongoing 12-year study of cognitive and behavioral development in a representative sample of 445 Connecticut schoolchildren, Shaywitz and her team tested each child in reading every year and tested for IQ every other year. They were looking for evidence to show how the dissociation between cognitive ability and reading ability might develop in children.
The researchers found that in typical readers, IQ and reading not only track together, but also influence each other over time. But in children with dyslexia, IQ and reading are not linked over time and do not influence one another. This explains why a dyslexic can be both bright and not read well.
“I’ve seen so many children who are struggling to read but have a high IQ,” said Shaywitz. “Our findings of an uncoupling between IQ and reading, and the influence of this uncoupling on the developmental trajectory of reading, provide evidence to support the concept that dyslexia is an unexpected difficulty with reading in children who otherwise have the intelligence to learn to read.”
Typical readers learn how to associate letters with a specific sound. “All they have to do is look at the letters and it’s automatic,” Shaywitz explained. “It’s like breathing; you don’t have to tell your lungs to take in air. In dyslexia, this process remains manual.” Each time a dyslexic sees a word, it’s as if they’ve never seen it before. People with dyslexia have to read slowly, re-read, and sometimes use a marker so they don’t lose their place.
“A key characteristic of dyslexia is that the unexpected difficulty refers to a disparity within the person rather than, for example, a relative weakness compared to the general population,” said co-author Bennett A. Shaywitz, M.D., the Charles and Helen Schwab Professor in Dyslexia and Learning Development and co-director of the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity.
Sally Shaywitz estimates that one in five people are dyslexic and points to many accomplished writers, physicians and attorneys with dyslexia who struggle with the condition in their daily lives, including Carol Greider, the 2009 Nobel laureate in medicine. She hopes to dispel many of the myths surrounding the condition.
“High-performing dyslexics are very intelligent, often out-of-the box thinkers and problem-solvers,” she said. “The neural signature for dyslexia is seen in children and adults. You don’t outgrow dyslexia. Once you’re diagnosed, it is with you for life.”
Shaywitz also stresses that the problem is with both basic spoken and written language. People with dyslexia take a long time to retrieve words, so they might not speak or read as fluidly as others. In students, the time pressure around standardized tests like the SATs and entrance exams for professional schools increases anxiety and can make dyslexia worse, so the need for accommodations is key in helping those with the disorder realize their potential, she says.
Other authors on the study include Emilio Ferrer at the University of California Davis and John M. Holahan and Karen Marchione at Yale School of Medicine.
The study was funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Citation: Psychological Science (January 1, 2010)
| www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/174466.php |