Jodie and the team from Mackay Hearing take time to understand the needs of children and work hard to resolve or provide solutions for hearing issues.
For tips on what to look out for, Jodie has provided a case study.
Mum, they all talk at once!
Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) can present in lots of different ways, and isn’t picked up by a standard hearing test. Mackay Hearing recently had a client, let’s call him Jason, whose mum brought him to us when he was having trouble with schoolwork.
Meet Jason
A 7-year-old Year 2 student, Jason complains to his mum that he’s having trouble hearing in class because it feels like everybody is talking at once. Jason’s general academic level for reading, writing and maths is below average, however previous hearing tests have shown he has normal hearing. Talking to his teachers, they noticed that Jason is fine in small groups – but in bigger groups, he withdraws and doesn’t participate.
A quick and pain-free auditory processing testing procedure showed that Jason has a Spatial Processing Disorder – a common type of CAPD.
The Treatment
Mackay Hearing recommended and provided Jason and his mum with:
• General communication strategies to use at home within his family
• Listening strategies and tips for Jason to use at home and in the classroom
• Classroom-specific strategies for Jason’s teacher to improve the listening environment in the classroom
Jodie and her team also introduced Jason to a CAPD rehabilitation app, which he played every day for three months. This app trains children in a fun and interactive way to listen to target sentences in background speech, and help them learn to separate the target sentence from the distracting noise.
The Result
A retest of Spatial Processing Disorder showed that Jason now performs just like children without the disorder. His results at school have improved, especially his reading, handwriting and maths, he participates in bigger groups, seems more connected with what’s going on around him – and overall has increased confidence.
