Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) in Schoolgoing Children.
Schoolgoing children diagnosed with (C)APD often experience numerous difficulties such as asking for repetitions, hyperactivity, poor memory, inability to remember any kind of verbal message; thus, affecting the individual’s academic performance. It is very important to refer these children, suspected to be suffering from (C)APD to the audiologists for an early assessment followed by a proper management of the medical condition, in order to reduce the risk of academic failure in the affected population.
According to a study undertaken by Tomlin and Rance2, the findings with respect to Mismatch Negativity (MMN) in (C)APD children reveals an increased latency and decreased amplitude relative to that of typically normal developing children thus indicating abnormal waveforms, associated with the poor maturation of the central auditory system. Another current issue of debate is based on the relation between the different aspects of cognition (e.g., intelligence, language, memory, and attention) and APD.
According to a study conducted by Carter and Musher16, it was understood that auditory-specific perceptual deficit lays the foundation for the understanding of learning and reading disabilities However, the relationship between (C)APD and ADHD is complex and controversial. NIDCD also stated that (C)APD in school children causes issues with language skills and tend to show problems in reading, spelling, vocabulary and comprehension.
C)APD is one such section which seeks special attention in the field of audiology, speech language pathology and otolaryngology. Professionals mainly ‘Audiologists’ dealing with a similar population should have a good knowledge regarding the various diagnostic and screening tests available for CAPD assessment and must be able to perform the diagnosis considering the comorbidity of the related conditions (e.g., ADHD, learning disability, Specific Language Impairment etc.).
Otolaryngol Open J. 2017; SE(1): S15-S19. doi:10.17140/OTLOJ-SE-1-104
