How do you get testing done for an Auditory Processing issue

[candcmom]

Hi all,

I have a friend who has a daughter that is a freshman in high school. Her daughter has been diagnosed with ADHD, and other issues. The mother wants to have her daughter tested for auditory Processing issues, but the school is saying that they do not do those types of testing--that this is done by a specific type of audiologist. She doesn't have insurance for her daughter and can't afford to take her daughter to get the private testing. Is there any way to get the school to do this testing--either with an IEE or some other way?

Additionally, if the child does have an Auditory processing disorder--what are the accommodations that the school should be doing to help this child? (Another argument they are giving the mother about not doing the testing is that it will not change the accommodations they are giving her child--which I hate to say may be true.) Right now they are putting modifying all her classes and grading for the modified classes.

Finally--and I will probably put this as a separate post, but I was wondering if anyone knows what a IEP classification for low incidence disabilities means. (It is listed on this girls IEP as the secondary reason for the IEP--with OHI as the first, but no SLD per say since they seem to only be able to list 2.) The mother had never heard of this classification and missed it completely on the IEP document. I read a little on it, but what I read sounds like schools are not really set up to handle these types of kids--which could be the issues that they are seeing.

Thanks for any help.

[bros]

A SLP can test the child, then the mother can request an IEE afterwards if they do not agree with the results of the district's evaluation.

[candcmom]

The school is has done a three year evaluation testing and the meeting is on Friday. The mother requested the auditory processing testing but the school stated they don't do that type of testing--so we know it has not been done. Can she now request the IEE and get the audiologist to do the testing at the school's expense--since she feels like a big piece of the puzzle is missing. OR is this type of testing just not part of a school's evaluation process?

[healthy11]

candcmom, can you remind us which state you (your friend) is in? I know some states' forms allow a team to list a primary and secondary IEP eligibility category, but not all do. As far as "low incident disabilities" I have never heard the term before, either. Here is a list of the 13 recognized eligibility categories: www.understandingspecialeducation.com/13-categories-of-special-education.html

In so far as if the girl does end up having an auditory processing disorder, (which an SLP can screen for, and then an audiologist can do a formal evaluation for if indicated) APD is technically NOT an eligibility category in and of itself, but a student with an IEP is supposed to have all their needs addressed, not just the primary eligibility category need. Some schools have teachers wear a microphone, and the student use a headset, if that might help, but truthfully a high school student may not want to use that kind of accommodation if it makes them "stick out," and not all types of APD can benefit from that type of accommodation, anyway. Here's a link to a past Millermom posting on the subject of testing for auditory processing issues: millermom.proboards.com/thread/11310

[bros]

Nov 3, 2014 14:59:26 GMT -5 candcmom said:

The school is has done a three year evaluation testing and the meeting is on Friday. The mother requested the auditory processing testing but the school stated they don't do that type of testing--so we know it has not been done. Can she now request the IEE and get the audiologist to do the testing at the school's expense--since she feels like a big piece of the puzzle is missing. OR is this type of testing just not part of a school's evaluation process?

Request in writing that the school does not test for auditory processing deficits.

[candcmom]

Hi Healthy11--we are in California. Thanks for the information you gave--I will look at the link in more detail. How does an SLP screen for Auditory Processing Disorder? Is it with specific tests--and if so, which ones. Or is it supposed to be done by their speech and language team? I just want to review the tests to see if they did the tests they feel they can do to test for this. Thanks.

[bros]

Nov 3, 2014 16:57:10 GMT -5 candcmom said:

Hi Healthy11--we are in California. Thanks for the information you gave--I will look at the link in more detail. How does an SLP screen for Auditory Processing Disorder? Is it with specific tests--and if so, which ones. Or is it supposed to be done by their speech and language team? I just want to review the tests to see if they did the tests they feel they can do to test for this. Thanks.

www.speechandhearing.ca.gov/forms_pubs/processing_disorders.pdf

California Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Guidelines for the Diagnosis & Treatment for Auditory Processing Disorder

[candcmom]

Thanks Bros--that is a great article for my friend and has great information from California!!

[empeg1]

Yes, an SLP can screen for auditory processing difficulties. There are screening tests for the above. But a SLP cannot diagnose an auditory processing disorder. An audiologist will do the above. I do not think your friend will be able to ask for an IEE for such testing. The best way is to go for insurance as a medically related evaluation.

[SharonF]

candc--

I have two kids (now adults) who were diagnosed with auditory processing disorder when they were each about 12.

School-based SLPs can screen for APD. An audiologist's evaluation is usually more thorough. If APD is diagnosed, it was our experience that the school-based SLP was more likely to recommend accommodations that were "easy" for the school to implement. The private audiologist was more likely to recommend accommodations and IEP goals designed to meet the student's unique needs.

But if the family does not have medical insurance, it may be difficult to get an audiologist's eval.

As others have noted, there is no IEP category for auditory processing disorder. It is often co-morbid with ADHD (by that, I mean APD and ADHD often occur together.) There is an IEP category called Speech-Language Impaired. But OHI provides far greater flexibility than does an IEP for Speech-Language Impairment. Stick with OHI.

APD is not the same for every person. I'm going to give you some examples. Your friend needs to make a list of the types of issues her dd is having--related to the girl's auditory or language processing. Then figure out how to address each of those issues and what the school is willing to do.

Especially in younger children, APD often leads to problems "hearing" or differentiating similar-sounding phonemes. For example, my daughter thought a neighbor kid named his gerbil Daxter. Nope, the name was Baxter. My daughter could hear very well, but her brain had trouble knowing the difference between the "b" sound and the "d" sound.

Some APDers have trouble listening and taking notes at the same time. It takes so much energy for them to listen and have their brains draw meaning from those spoken words--that the person has trouble taking notes at the same time.

Some APDers hear everything perfectly, can even take notes, but cannot remember what they just heard. They have trouble with working auditory memory, which can lead to trouble with long-term memory for that information. Many APDers have excellent visual memory but weak auditory memory.

Some APDers cannot "hear" well in noisy environments. They hear just fine, maybe too well. But their ears cannot sort out what's important and what is background noise.

My husband cannot make out song lyrics. All of his life, song lyrics on the radio have been just a blur of mixed up sounds. That is another facet of APD that some people experience, other APDers don't.

And many times, auditory processing disorder is just the tip of the iceberg. Many people with reading difficulties actually have something more complex: language processing difficulties. Auditory processing disorder can be one facet of language processing problems. By language processing, I mean a person's ability to take in information by reading or listening...or to provide information by speaking or putting their thoughts in writing. APD can affect one, some or all of those four aspects of language processing. And as a person gets older and school demands change, the way APD affects them can change.

For my kids, the issue was not what types of APD they had or didn't have. It was how those problems were affecting them in the classroom and everyday life.

My son still has trouble with spelling. He is an excellent reader and knows phonics and phonemes well. But his auditory processing problems seemed to "disconnect" his ability to spell.

He uses more than his share of malapropisms (almost the right word but not quite, or a mangled version of the correct word.) That's a language processing issue, but tied back to his APD.

My dd had to get help with note taking. A school-based SLP helped her with that taught in resource setting.

Both of my kids are exceptionally good lip readers. When someone is speaking to them or a professor/teacher is lecturing a class, my kids need to see the speaker's lips move for them to get the most meaning out of what they hear. This is common for some APDers. So sitting in the front of the classroom or lecture hall is essential. (And watching NFL games with my dd is a hoot. She can lip-read what the players and coaches are saying. Some of it is amazingly funny or vulgar.)

My kids often had trouble "hearing" the instructions given by an adult in the school cafeteria or gym. Those rooms tend to be noisy and the sound bounces off the walls. More than once, my kids got in trouble for not following directions in those settings. But they weren't being belligerent. They simply could not make out the spoken instructions in a noisy setting.

Screening for APD may or may not tell what specific types of auditory processing or language processing are hard for your friend's dd. The tests usually are not that specific. But the tests can measure basic auditory memory, ability to sort out competing sounds, etc.

If your friend can help figure out what types of situations are causing the most difficulty for her dd, then she has a better chance of getting specific accommodations or resource assistance to help her dd.

My best to your friend!

[candcmom]

Hi Sharon,

Thank you so much for all your information--as always you are very helpful. I am going into her IEP meeting today, so this information will be very helpful!

Thanks.

Kathy

[kewpie]

My school district refereed my to a local center that has an audiologist and they paid for it. Id you ask for an test by an audiologist (IN WRITING), they will have to refer you.

Personally, I don't trust an SLP to even do a screening because they cannot replicate the environment an audiologist can. I had an SLP do that with my oldest (thru private insurance) and she said he didn't have a problem. She was SO wrong and it sent us down the wrong track for YEARS.