How to assess the best level of auditory processing skills in children and adolescents with comorbid central auditory processing disorder and developmental disabilities affecting language, learning and communication?

Central auditory processing disorder (CAPD) is a disorder of the auditory nervous system beyond the auditory nerve level. CAPD exhibits as deficits in processing, i.e. discriminating and recognizing, auditory stimuli as evidenced by various behavioural and electrophysiological measures. There are individuals suffer from deficiencies in processing speech and/or non-speech sounds without any peripheral hearing loss or deficits in attention, memory, language, literacy and cognitive abilities. These individuals offered evidences that CAPD is indeed an independent clinical entity. In other individuals, however, similar auditory processing deficit profiles were presented comorbid with various kinds of disabilities such as middle ear diseases, brain disorders and injuries, psychiatric disorders, cognitive deficits, developmental disorders (autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorders), and language learning disorders (specific language impairment, dyslexia). Do these disabilities cause the auditory processing deficits, or do they co-exist with CAPD in those individuals? In this session, we will explore methods to minimize the confounding effects of deficits in attention, memory and/ or language in order to assess the best level of auditory processing skills in children who have other comorbid disabilities. Copyright © 2018 Hong Kong Speech and Hearing Symposium.