The unsound learner
- 1. THE UNSOUND LEARNER Auditory-Processing Deficits Cesar Pereira and Bernardita Estrada
- 2. Definition Auditory- Processing Disorder is defined as a deficiency in one or more of the following phenomena: Sound localization or lateralization Auditory discrimination Auditory pattern recognition Recognition of temporal aspects of audition Auditory performance decrease with compeling accoustic signals Auditory performance decreased with degraded signals
- 3. Factors that influence auditory processing Auditory attention Auditory memory Motivation Maturation and integrity of the auditory pathways Decision processes Use of linguistic cues such as grammar, meaning in context, and lexical representations.
- 4. Speach and language problems are often the earliest indicators of learning disabilities. People have difficulty producing speech sounds, using spoken language to communicate, or undestanding what people say. The most common auditory subdeficit is Receptive Language Disorder – the innability to understand certain aspects of speech (they can´t make sense of certain sounds, words, or sentences they hear) As a result, they may seem inattentive.
- 5. Articulation Disorder, is characterized by the inability to control rate of speech and articulated words Expressive Language Disorder - a language impairment that is characterized by difficulty expressing oneself in speech- is also common. Trying to function in school can bring additional problems. This is why early intervention is so important (an appropiate remedial plan, coordination between caregivers and educators, speech pathologist or learning specialist) The level of challenge is moderated to the classroom teacher.
- 6. LIKELY CAUSES Heredity Frecuent ear infections Left-handed domination Hypersensitivity to loud sounds
- 7. Brain areas likely involved are frontal lobes and parietal lobes. The frontal lobes are involved in executive decision-making such as how much attention give to the incoming sounds and individual hears. Inner ear: some studies indicate that a lack of activity in the auditory nerve caused nerve endings to assume a different shape, typified by more branching and smaller terminal swellings. The new shape is one typically associated with hearing problems.
- 8. RECOGNIZABLE SYMPTOMS AUDITORY - PROCESSING DEFICIT Delayed speech Mixed up speech Trouble rhyming Chronic difficulty with directionallity HEARING IMPAIRMENT Innatentive* Difficulty following oral directions Easily distracted *Omission of word endings Frecuent head turning * Speaks with words out of order. Retrieval problems* Mistaken words Poor Academic Functioning
- 9. What can you do Refer this student to a speech language pathologist for testing. The student suspected of an auditory-processing deficit should be evaluated initially by an audiologist. As a teacher try to apply these suggestions: Reduce noise (improve accoustics) Close-in seating Visual prompts (augment verbal instructions and information with visual displays)
- 10. Hearing training Focus on meaning (more than separate words) Communicate clearly (convey messages with clear verbals) As a parent: consult a audiologist and speech/language pathologist inmediately. For phonological awareness training some methods like The Tomatis Method claim they can improve the abilities of many learners and engage them in rebalancing their own ear, skin and body.