Did you hear me? Did you hear that I was talking to you?

Hé? What did you say, Mom/Mam?

How often is this scenario playing out in your home? Or classroom? Too often children are being diagnosed as dyslexic, hyperactive, ADD, ADHD, etc. etc….

Auditory processing refers to the ability to discriminate between similar sounds, tune into a speaker and pick up on pertinent information, and understand information presented verbally.

Difficulties arise when the brain does not accurately interpret and respond to auditory information. Our brains help us listen, process and understand what has been said. If a child misses one small part of an instruction, it can change his response entirely.

Hypersensitive to auditory input is very overwhelming. The child can even be frightened by the volume, pitch, and unpredictability of common environmental sounds. He may attempt to avoid and withdraw from noisy, crowded environments.  He  may startle easily or appear very distracted,

focusing on every noise around him. Social interaction and functioning in a group can be very uncomfortable.
Hyposensitive to sound is the opposite extreme. This child may appear as though he does not hear the sounds around him, may not generate appropriate motor responses to auditory input, such as following directions, responding when his name is called, looking in the direction of a loud noise.

He may be noisy, always talking, singing, humming, and making sounds to generate additional auditory input for himself. He may talk out loud while performing a task, prompting himself as he completes each step.  This child may also have difficulty remembering what you have told him.

If your child exhibits any signs of difficulty with processing auditory input, contact Anna-Marie to discuss Filtered Sound Training (also called: Ear-Aerobix) – a solution to get the hearing mechanism fit and able to work more effectively. •