The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Task Force on Central Auditory Processing Consensus Development has defined auditory processing disorder as “a deficiency in one or more of the following phenomena: sound localization and lateralization, auditory discrimination, auditory pattern recognition, recognition of temporal aspects of audition, auditory performance decrease with competing acoustic signals, and auditory performance decrease with degraded signals.” They further indicate that auditory processing disorders may stem from, or coexist with attentional deficit disorders. Therefore, it is important to recognize additional factors that may flag the need for referral to an audiologist. Subsequently, referral for an auditory processing evaluation may be delayed. However, in younger children the manifestation of symptoms may be subtle and not apparent when evaluating academic functioning. This certainly would appear instructive when evaluating an older child. It is often suggested that a child with an attention deficit be referred for an auditory processing evaluation when school performance is poor or when tasks that require listening skills are problematic. Therefore, it is important that professionals be aware of when an auditory attention deficit and central auditory processing disorder may cormorbidly exist in order to make appropriate referrals for further evaluation. But often a child’s initial diagnosis depends largely on whether he or she is seen by an audiologist or psychologist. The comorbidity of central auditory processing disorders with attention deficit disorders has been well documented.
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