So You're Thinking About Auditory Training Therapy?

There are some individuals who have receptive and expressive language difficulties that impact their learning and behavior. As young children, they struggle to “hear” the subtle differences between sounds in words and as they get older, they have trouble listening and understanding when information, and especially new ideas, are presented quickly and out of context. These individuals are often said to have an auditory processing disorder (or central auditory processing disorder), and just like those with learning disabilities (LD) and AD/HD, they may experience serious challenges such as:

• Trouble learning in the presence of background noise
• Mental fatigue due to the demands of listening in class while trying to remember and take notes
• Problems with reading and spelling
• Weaknesses with phonics and speech sound discrimination
• Poor auditory attention and memory
• Needing to have verbal information repeated
• Difficulty with selecting vocabulary (finding “just the right word”)
• Delays in response to verbal requests and in following verbal instructions

Auditory and Linguistic Processing ProgramsThe Scientific Learning Corporation has developed and refined a program called Fast ForWord that engages users in games and activities to address features of language processing disorders. The underlying premise of this approach is that with guided practice, auditory processing (leading to improved language skills) can be made more efficient and children can be helped to become better at thinking about what they hear and using that information to follow directions and complete learning tasks. Because many individuals with auditory processing disorders have trouble focusing and sustaining attention in verbally charged situations (of which school is definitely one!) they may be seen (and even diagnosed) as having AD/HD.

While this program is grounded in science that is well regarded by many in the LD community, it has limited data to suggest if and how it can be helpful to students with LD. It is encouraging that the company is committed to the careful collection of data about the effectiveness of treatments with different populations, particularly with young children and with individuals who present with autism spectrum disorders.

The bottom line on programs that focus on building auditory and linguistic skills: The best available research suggests that young children in K-grade 3 are most likely to benefit from program activities that target fundamental sub-skills to support early reading Visit the program’s website to learn more about the activities, the costs, and the time commitment for training. Ask for independent guidance from qualified professionals to help you decide whether this is a good fit for your child.

Auditory Filters and AmplifiersA number of treatment approaches point to over-sensitivity or under-sensitivity to sound (or at least certain sound frequencies) as the root cause for learning difficulties. Proponents of this theory say that problems with “peripheral hearing" contribute to poor learning and achievement, play a role as one underlying cause of autism spectrum disorders, can lead to depression, trigger migraines and even seizures, and are responsible for certain types of LD.

By fitting individuals with special hearing devices that filter sounds, amplifying certain frequencies and suppressing or modifying the intensity of others, supporters of these approaches say that they can correct for abnormal ear dominance and help individuals to hear, discriminate and remember speech sounds, opening the door for skill building in vocabulary, syntax and morphology.

There are no studies to demonstrate the benefit of this approach for individuals with LD or AD/HD.

Another type of program that is used for modifying and adjusting the acoustic signal (sound waves) is known as HATS or hearing assistive technology. This approach has been studied and used with success for children who have sensorineural (due to nerve damage) hearing loss, but have become increasingly popular for children with LD and AD/HD. There are two different ways to implement this approach:

• A “personal” system where the teacher speaks into a microphone and broadcasts to the student who listens through a headset
• A “sound-field” system where the teacher speaks in to a microphone and her voice is projected through speakers mounted around the classroom

Proponents of these systems for students with LD and AD/HD report that they help in the following ways:

• Allow the teachers voice to be delivered at a constant level of intensity, regardless of the distance between the child and the teacher
• Diminish (filter out) background noise in the classroom, in the hallways or outside of the school building
• Permit the child to self-monitor their own voice while speaking

The bottom line on auditory filters and amplifiers: Some students love these systems because wearing headphones in class is cool, and having the teacher’s voice broadcast directly to them limits distractions. Other students are annoyed by the constant stream of information and the intensity of focus delivered by these systems. Some teachers don’t like to speak into a microphone all the time (even if it is hands-free). There is good anecdotal evidence that for some students, these approaches can be beneficial, especially in settings with well-controlled acoustics. Some preliminary research has been done with dyslexic readers (using brain wave response recordings), but the findings of these studies are not yet conclusive. There is no harm in trying, but be ready to “hang up the mike” if it’s not a good match.