APD

Last year in September I was asked by my local Mind support group to provide an Auditory Processing Disorder presentation.

To explain the four types of Auditory Processing Disorder, and my clinical diagnosis back in 2003 to help the UK Medical Research Council get government funding for an 5 year research program 2004-2009 run at Nottingham University by Prof. David Moore.

My verbal presentation was based on these pdf notes which are now included on a Google Notes page -

My “Mind” Auditory Processing Disorder Presentation 2025
https://docs.google.com/document/d/12u1UhDDV87TUuLqX4niV_a_4IcjLLlVzptcGjW1aU2k/edit?usp=sharing

I have also included the pdf

Good morning @dolfrog, the team have sent you a PM about this.

@StarryEyed

Well from my perspective "Online Safety Act 2023" was created by the UK government of 14 years that did not want to pay to retrain those working UK medical professions and in the UK education system regarding international research that explained many complex invisible disabilities like Auditory Processing Disorder which is the main underlying cognitive cause of mine and many others Dyslexia symptom.

I was the first adult in the UK to be clinically diagnosed as having Auditory Processing Disorder in 2003 to help the UK Medical Research Council get government funding for a 5 year Auditory Processing Disorder research program 2004-2009 run at Nottingham University, they needed someone to set up and run a UK based support organisation to get the funding, i set up and helped run APDUK 2002-2014.

So hopefully those running Scope can get up to date.

There are four types of Auditory Processing Disorder (APD), the listening disability, the brain having problems processing the sounds that the ears hear.

The Temporal type of APD is about the brain having problems processing and identifying the gaps between sounds the ears hear, problems with auditory memory which can include problems remembering conversations, problems remembering the words needed to use when explaining a topic. The Temporal type of APD is the main underlying cognitive cause of the dyslexia symptom, the brain not being able to process the gaps between the sounds that the letters in a written word represent.

The Speech in Noise type of APD is about the brain having problems processing what some is saying when there are low levels of background noise. Some benefit from low gain hearing aids, and FM Systems. The person doing the talking using a microphone and the loa gain hearing aids receiving the speech or the FM system where ther microphone is connected to a speaker.

The Spatial type of APD is about the brain not being able to locate the source of the sounds the ears hear.

The Amblyaudia type of APD is about the brain only able to process what one ear hears, and not being able to process what the other ear hears.

Howdy Dolfrog,

Thanks for sharing more about your experience of APD and your diagnosis. It must have been quite the experience being the first adult in the UK to be clinically diagnosed!

It sounds like you’ve developed lots of strategies to help manage your ADP and it’s good to hear that you’ve found some things that work for you.

I was interested in the mention of 'four types' of APD as I know there is some ongoing debate about how APD is best classified and described. With earlier models, particularly from the US, described multiple subtypes, while recent UK guidance focuses less on fixed “types” and more on individual listening profiles and underlying processing differences.

As APD is a complex area with evolving research and differing professional frameworks, we’re sharing some recognised UK-based sources below so members can explore further information if they wish:

• NHS - Auditory Processing Disorder
• APD Support UK
• UCLH Auditory Processing Toolkit

Just to add, we’re not medical professionals, and we don’t allow or provide medical advice here, but we’re always keen to support balanced discussion and help members access reliable information. Thanks again for sharing your story and the strategies that have helped you.

Carl_Scope

Hi Carl

Me again

The problem with the main USA model is "The Buffalo Method 2004" is that the so called Audiologists do not want to use the Random Gap Detection Test as part of an assessment, and they only want to provide what they claim to be therapy. The Buffalo Method was created by the then leading Audiologist researcher Jack Katz before his retirement.

The reason they do not want to recognise the Random Gap Detection Test is that it if it were to be used in most of the Northern Sates of the USA they would have to explain that the local rapid rate of speech is too fast for those of us who have the Temporal type of APD to process and identify. So they would have to explain to these communities that they need to slow down their rapid rate of speech. I have an online Facebook APD support group which has over 26,000 members many of whom are from the USA. back in 1999 I joined as USA based online (C)APD support group to find out what then known as CAPD was. I found out after 6 months that I had been living with APD all of my life. back in 2017 the owner of the USA group joined my Facebook group and told me that APD has nothing to do with the Gaps between sounds [Removed by moderator]

The same also applies to some communities here in the UK. So those living in Liverpool, Glasgow, Newcastle, etc would also need to be told to slow down their rate of speech. While I was running APDUK I had a support phone call from a lady in Liverpool who was a nurse in a local operating theatre, she told me that she had problems understanding the instructions the Surgeon provided for the patients post operation support, and that she would have to find a new job / career.

So in many Countries / Communities the problem is that the real research regarding APD presents real problems for the medical services to explain what the real issues are, and the type of support and changes that may be required. [Removed by moderator]

Community_Scope

Hi,

The real problem for me is that all of my family, our three now adult sons, my wife and me have a clinical diagnosis of having APD, and in the last 15 years or more we have had no post diagnosis medical support as recommended by the UK Medical Research Council.

Added to this our now young granddaughters, currently too young for a clinical diagnosis are showing the symptoms of having possible APD.

So the real issue for me is to help educate the out of date UK medical professionals so that they can begin to provide the lifelong support my family requires.