Central Auditory Processing Disorder, or CAPD

According to www.kidshealth.org, consider the following questions to determine if there may be a problem with a child's auditory processing:

• Is your child easily distracted or unusually bothered by loud or sudden noises?
• Are noisy environments upsetting to your child?
• Does your child's behavior and performance improve in quieter settings?
• Does your child have difficulty following directions, whether simple or complicated?
• Does your child have reading, spelling, writing, or other speech-language difficulties?
• Is abstract information difficult for your child to comprehend?
• Are verbal (word) math problems difficult for your child?
• Is your child disorganized and forgetful?
• Are conversations hard for your child to follow?

Dyslexia

Compare this list with Dyslexia, as worded in this resolution before congress (http://dyslexia.yale.edu/cassidy-house-dyslexia-resolution-january-10-2014.pdf)

"Whereas, defined as an unexpected difficulty in reading in an individual who has the intelligence to be a much better reader, dyslexia reflects a difficulty in getting to the individual sounds of a spoken language which typically impacts speaking, reading, spelling, and often, learning a second language;"

I believe we are speaking of the same thing here. The language may have changed; the emphasis from speech and language to the realm of reading has shifted; but in essence, the results are the same: a problem learning, where the base of the problem lies with learning through auditory channels.

Development

For most people, this impairment did result from a traumatic event, although it did with some - causing hearing and auditory processing problems later in life. But for most people diagnosed with CAPD or Dyslexia, the problem goes back as far as the parents can remember. Even as an infant, the child had problems with noise, speech, and listening. Where does that come from?

Primitive Reflexes

It comes from the process of development of the auditory system in infancy. When first born, a baby cries in pain from loud noises. Normally, that goes away and the auditory system matures before the baby is one year old, speech is developing, and the toddler can follow a few directions. But sometimes, this is not the case.

There are specific stages in development that affect auditory development. The Moro Reflex is normally present prenatally until about 4 months old. While in this stage, the baby will cry, shake and be overly startled from loud noises. If the baby does not fully go through this stage, this symptom may continue. The older child with a "retained moro reflex" might be distracted easily by normal noises requiring testing in an alternate location, have hypersensitivity to noise, or be labeled ADD/ADHD due to external noise distractions. People who have improved this by "integrating primitive reflexes" have found that this can be eliminated.

"On Thursday, O's teacher called me. Of course, as I saw the caller ID I braced myself and answered the phone. She called to tell me that O had the best week ever with her. (O's been in this classroom for most of 4th grade and all of this year). She went to 3 assemblies and walked right in and sat with her class. She has NEVER sat with her class. Recently she stood just inside the door but usually she is in the hallway crying with her hands over her ears, sweaty palms and terrified" - mom of 10 year old autistic girl

Another stage of development, the Spinal Galant, helps with maturing the auditory system, also. It helps specifically with auditory discrimination, such as the ability to "hear" the difference between similar sounds like the vowel sounds which is necessary for decoding. The Spinal Galant is also the stage of development when the brain begins to develop auditory memory.

These stages of development can be replicated at any age. Because I had been teaching these exercises for years, I finally decided to try them myself. After doing the exercises in the Maintaining Brains Everyday DVD for just over a month, for the first time in my life I would passively remember people's names when I met them! I was floored! Before this time, I would repeat the name, associate it, and hold it as best I could, but shortly after, the name was gone. You can imagine how thrilled I was to have this new skill at age 54!

On Sale During March

If you would like to learn more about primitive reflexes, I have my course Primitive Reflexes: Foundations for Learning on sale this month. It was originally given as a webinar, is over 7 hours long, and includes a ton of information, videos and more! For this month only, it is 20% off the normal price of $199 and is only $159. Don't miss out on this fantastic sale!