APD

.::Growing Pains Series::.

This may be beyond boring, but I want to post this in case a parent Googles "Auditory Processing Disorder" or "Learning Disabilities." I hope that they will find some answers, or feel like they have someone to connect with. And for my selfish reasons, I hope to find someone else with APD.

Auditory Processing Disorder {APD} is a very complicated and complex issue that is only found in 5% of children. It is when the brain cannot fully cooperate with the ears when transmiting information correctly. The ear can hear every tune, pitch and sound, but the way the brain will absorb the information is different than the way the ear actually hears it. Something adversely affects the way the brain recognizes and interprets sounds, most notably the sounds composing speech.

People who do have APD do not recognize a subtle difference between sounds in words, even if you pronounce it loud and clear. This is the flaw that causes the disorder in the audio process. Information is being lost from the connection of the ear to the brain. For example, I literally cannot hear the difference between Sidney and Cindy or shadow and shallow, or even detect a letter in a word like breakfast, I use to say breafest, or growing pains sounded exactly like groin pains.

If the auditory defects are not identified and managed early, it can cause speech and language delays along with academic delays. Don't you think that makes sense? It is like trying to learn things under water. It is muffled and sounds blend together. Have you tried to hear the difference between the letter A and the letter E under water? They sound exactly the same, but after much time you could train yourself and your brain how to acknowledge each noise, and how they are different. When your brain is young and still developing there are windows of opportunities to grasp knowledge, when you miss those windows, learning can become tedious and frustrating because your brain has already moved on. I believe this is why academic delays can become a challenge as well. The child now has to learn how they learn and retain all that information along with the lesson that was just taught. That is a lot of work for a young brain. Does anyone remember learning to read, or learning their alphabet? If the answer is no, I would suspect it is because you learned at the time that your brain was absorbent and susceptible to information. Mine was just starting to learn how to perceive noises and information instead of understanding instantly, and moving on to the next phase/lesson.

They actually do not know what causes APD... there is no answer. However, they do know that to communicate, it requires certain mental abilities such as attention and memory, which is exactly the two things I really struggle with. With that said, APD is hard to diagnose and can be misunderstood as a hearing problem, ADHD, ADD, or dyslexia - all of which I did get tested for and was not diagnosed with. I wonder if there will ever be a cause or reason for learning disabilities. I don't entertain that thought often because why do we need an answer? We are all born with traits and talents, gifts and abilities and maybe we need a part of our mind to work differently to be able to access those gifts. We need to be different and have different experiences. In my adult life, I have found that my APD is a blessing and I love who it has made me become. It is who I am, it is a part of me and it is what has sculpted me. How could you not love something that has served such great purpose?

I actually have never met anyone with APD, and one day I hope I do. At times it is painful to feel alone in the struggle. Maybe I will meet someone by having this series. 

I also hope that this will raise awareness around learning disabilities or delays. Getting your child evaluated has no negatives but has hundreds of benefits.  You will actually be benefiting your child tremendously. As a parent, I want to reassure you that there is no shame or embarrassment in choosing to get your child evaluated, and it doesn't reflect who you are or how you parent. You may ask your pediatrician or contact your local Early Intervention Programs for more information and/or diagnosis.