Michael has Auditory Processing Difficulties

Michael has difficulties with reading writing and spelling. He also finds it very difficult to follow instructions. He is liable to follow the first or last instruction but never all three. He often mispronounces words because he does not hear them correctly. When he was with his friends he said very little because he was not sure what they were talking about. He couldn’t work it out quickly enough. He became more isolated with few friends. Although Michael has learned to read, he does not understand what he is reading. His reading age was below that of his peers.

Up to the age of three Michael had many ear infections and this caused him difficulties in acquiring language. With the help of Speech Therapy Michael’s speech improved enormously. Michael however still confuses sounds such as t and k saying ‘coke' for ‘coat’; ‘p’ and ‘t’ saying ‘hip’ for ‘hit’; ‘t’ and ‘s’ saying ‘touch’ for ‘such’ and other sounds such as ‘th, ‘f’ ‘sh’ etc., He also typically reverses letters and reads the word ‘was’ as ‘saw’, and writes ‘p’ when he should write ‘b’. Michael we can say has an Auditory Processing difficulty or in simpler terms a Listening problem, we could also say that he has a specific learning difficulty or is dyslexic.

At Cluas we have trained Listening Therapists and we provide 1:1 or 1:2 client / therapist ratio where appropriate. Using classical music and the Electronic Ear as researched by Dr. Alfred Tomatis, an individual listening program was designed for Michael. Michael’s individual auditory training program for use with the Electronic Ear, which included listening to classical music, gregorian chant and his own voice through a microphone, retrained his ability to analyze sounds, and his listening.

Michael’s Mother now reports that he is more interested in reading, it is no longer a chore at home, and that he has taken up his book spontaneously to read, something which never happened before. She also reports that his concentration is better and that he is more ‘with it’. He is able to follow the teacher’s instruction and come home with the correct homework. While Michael at times can still reverse words and letters he is doing it now less frequently.