Auditory Processing

Definition

Difficulty hearing or processing/understanding what is heard.

Observable Behavior

• distractibility – loses concentration due to noise in environment (i.e., ventilator, traffic, etc.)
• sustained listening is difficult, quick to fatigue
• studying in any high noise level room or library reading room impossible
• difficulty distinguishing non-verbal sounds (i.e., sonar, etc.)
• poor pitch discrimination and tonal memory in music
• difficulty detecting difference in words that sound alike
• misperceives message so may have misinformation in notes
• trouble with foreign accent of professor
• difficulty in rhyming, stress and intonation patterns in English poetry, etc.
• trouble with foreign language
• may get all parts of an instruction but in wrong order
• trouble recalling phone number, dosage of medication, formula, etc.
• very poor speller
• trouble recalling order of events (i.e., novel, history)
• may reverse order of syllables in pronouncing long words

Strategies for Success

• don’t schedule back to back classes
• choose more MWF classes (50 minutes)
• find an empty classroom for night study
• use textbooks on tape
• practice listening
• sit right in front of instructor
• check notes with other students
• sit in on classes a semester ahead to be sure professor is easily understood
• read and re-read
• check with other students
• write information and check
• study spelling of new terms
• develop sequence charts