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Auditory processing disorder?...

post #1 of 6
Thread Starter 
My third daughter, age 5, is doing wonderfully in kindergarten. Her teacher has not reported any problems, but I have observed something in her since toddlerhood that I have not been able to figure out.
Most simply put... She has a tendency not to hear me or anyone. Today I was watching her play with her siblings and a man walked by with a dog. Interested in the dog, she fell into step behind the man. I called to her. Then I shouted her name. Then screamed her name. Her sister joined in. At that point I had to haul a** and sprint to her. She was already out of sight. When I asked her why she didn't stop when I called her, she said tearfully that she had not heard me.
This has been a constant problem. It manifests when she is focused on something. A picture she's drawing, a game she's playing, a stranger's dog... If anything has her attention, nothing else can break through. She becomes hyper-focused on things like art projects and video games.
At first I thought maybe her hearing was a problem, so I had her checked. Twice. Just fine. Then I thought maybe she was just being stubborn, but as her communication improves it seems out of character for her to deliberately ignore me.
Other characteristics, such as screaming and being frustrated often, could just be the result of having two older sisters, but I often wonder. Her social behaviors seem otherwise normal.
Tonight, out of pure curiosity, I slid behind her while she was playing with her brother and shouted "boo" in her ear.... nothing. She didn't even turn around and acknowledge me.
My boyfriend is a teacher at a school for children with learning difficulties, and he suggested she may have an information processing disorder. His area is to teach such children, though, not to diagnose. My research does not reveal symptoms that match hers.
I was hoping someone could offer insight?

eta: Her father and sister have AS, but I don't see any parallels here.
post #2 of 6
Did she have full audiological exams or just a screening? What did the audiological testing show? Did you get a print out? What did it say?

It does not sound like a processing disorder but it could be easily be a hearing loss. Especially if it is progressive or fluctuating. Does she have issues with ear infections or tubes?
post #3 of 6
Auditory processing disorder doesn't mean the child won't hear you when you call. It means that her brain can't processing what you are telling/asking her. If she had said "oh, I didn't understand what you were saying", then maybe. Also, she would be having issues in school if it was APD. It sounds like it may be more a hearing loss or... what all children suffer from... selective hearing.
post #4 of 6
Yeah, I'm thinking it's not auditory processing either. If she doesn't respond to someone shouting by her ear, I would haul it to an audiologist for a full hearing exam. It sounds like she might have some hearing loss, or at the very least, maybe she has ears full of fluid due to allergies.
post #5 of 6
Here's a poor man's hearing test.

Sit face to face and explain that you are going to play a game. Have her sit down in a relativly quiet room. Walk two feet behind her and ask a question (something simple like "what color is my shirt"). If she responds correctly, what another two feet away and ask another. Continue until you are greater than 15 feet away, but still speaking at a normal volume (do NOT raise your voice).

This does NOT take the place of a full audiological screening (which I still HIGHLY recommend) but it could shed some light on whether or not she can hear speech at a normal volume at several distances.

It is possible that she has fluid or even a rapidly progressing hearing loss (my daughter had this and lost the ability to understand speech in less than 6 months).
post #6 of 6
What you describe does not sound like an auditory processing disorder.

Is it just your voice she does not hear? What about other sounds -- clapping, sirens, anything really?

Is it just when you are behind her that she does not respond?
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