Treatment

Increasing evidence shows that children with APD benefit from a variety of interventions.

Four key areas are:

• information and counselling for the child, family and teachers so they understand the problem and learn some simple techniques to reduce the effects
• hearing training therapy to improve listening skills
• language therapy to improve understanding
• fitting of a personal FM (assistive listening) device, particularly for classroom use, to transmit the voice of the speaker clearly, so that distance and background noise are no longer a problem

Treatment should be
customised to the individual
needs of the child.

Diagnosis

Special hearing tests administered by an audiologist are required to confirm a diagnosis of APD.  A number of professionals, however, are required for a comprehensive assessment and an effective management plan.

Professionals who need to be involved include a speech-language therapist, an education adviser, an audiologist, and the child's teacher. At times, these should also be supplemented by a psychologist, a medical practitioner, and other specialists.