When the Brain Can't Hear: Unraveling the Mystery of Auditory Processing Disorder

by Teri James Bellis

In addition, middle and high school students with APD may • Exhibit a reappearance of earlier complaints and symptoms or an entirely new set of difficulties because of the changing academic demands of higher grades • Demonstrate difficulties in classes at which they had excelled previously due to classroom acoustics, differing teacher styles, or a host of other factors • Have problems understanding concepts presented in lecture-based classes because of difficulty with note-taking and comprehending reading assignments • Earn poor grades in foreign-language classes because of the new speech sounds and vocabulary that must be learned • Exhibit difficulty with written tests, especially timed tests presented in multiple-choice or short-answer format, including college entrance exams • Refuse to employ management strategies that will set the student apart from peers, such as the use of an assistive listening device, even if such strategies were complied with willingly in lower grades • Withdraw from social communication or engage in self-destructive behavior; however, we must be careful not to attribute all undesirable behavior directly to the presence of an APD