~ PROCESSING DISORDERS ~
There are three main processing disorders, and they all have one thing in common, the compromised ability to sufficiently process incoming sensory information. The results of insufficient processing are often mistakenly attributed to impaired hearing or vision.
Students with processing challenges have a difficult time processing auditory, visual and sensory information, which makes striving in any learning environment difficult, especially in a classroom setting.
Did you know that reduced visual processing, processing speed, and poor attention are independent predictors of fatigue in elementary and junior high school students?
1. Auditory Processing Disorder or Central Auditory Processing Disorder
When the brain can not properly process incoming information from the ears, spoken language often gets misinterpreted or misheard.
Here is a list of common signs of auditory processing disorder:
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Poor sound discrimination: Students often cannot hear the different sounds in similar words such as “mat” and “bat”. This typically leads to problems with reading and spelling.
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Difficulty remembering spoken language: Due to often misheard or misinterpreted words, remembering what was said is very challenging. This can lead to problems both in following directions as well as in doing math.
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Difficulty reading: Students commonly show problems with reading comprehension and are often misdiagnosed with dyslexia.
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Trouble following conversation in noisy environments: Students with CAPD can be very sensitive to sound and very easily distracted by background noise, such as fans, radios, or other people talking. Any noise makes it almost impossible to focus on what is being said. It then frequently gets mistakenly interpreted as hearing loss or weak attention.
2. Visual Processing Disorder
When the brain can not properly process the information incoming from the eyes, a student may have challenges like:
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Difficulty differentiating shapes, colors and sizes of different objects
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Mixing up symbols in math problems such as plus and minus
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Poor spatial awareness; often running into things or people; clumsiness
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Miscalculating distance
3. Sensory Processing Disorder
Kids or adults with SPD can be either over responsive or under responsive to their environment, due to the brain’s inability to properly process incoming information through the senses.
Here is a list of common symptoms:
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Extreme reactions to textures, noises, touch smells, tastes, lights, crowds.
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High tolerance for pain
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Fidgety