The Ultimate Auditory Processing Disorder Checklist for Parents

When considering the possibility of your child or student having auditory processing disorder, early assessment, identification, and intervention are key. The sooner APD is diagnosed, the sooner treatment can begin. 

This auditory processing disorder checklist is a tool to help parents, educators, and speech language pathologists recognize potential signs of APD early on so that they can take the necessary next steps. 

Auditory Processing Disorder Checklist

Follow these steps in order to use this auditory processing checklist most effectively:

• Observe your child or student over a period of time, not just in one day. For example, you may want to check their behaviors a few times a week over the course of a month.

• Complete observations in a variety of environments, such as at home, school, and different locations in the community that can be loud.

• Keep track of the frequency of the child’s behaviors. You can use a scale (e.g., never, rarely, sometime, often) or add tallies every time the behavior is observed.

APD Checklist:

Instructions: Count each statement that fits your child, even if it only applies occasionally. (Please note that some statements may not apply to your child depending on their age). 

Listening and Understanding

• Has difficulty localizing a sound.
• Has difficulty hearing when multiple people are talking.
• Is easily distracted by background noise.
• Frequently misunderstands what people have said. 
• Asks for repetition or clarification (e.g. says “what” or “huh” for more information).
• Has difficulty following spoken multi-step directions 50% of the time.
• Has difficulty participating in conversation or class discussions.
• Poor vocabulary (e.g., does not understand many words or verbal concepts appropriate for his/her age).
• Does not understand or recall what has been read.
• Has difficulty recalling the sequence of events of a routine or story.
• Misunderstands spoken messages based on changes in tone of voice or prosody
• Misunderstands messages containing nonliteral and figurative language (e.g., jokes, sarcasm, idioms)

Speaking and Communicating

• Exhibits a delayed response to auditory stimuli.
• Has difficulty responding to verbal questions.
• Struggles to find the words to express themselves.
• Prefers using gestures and facial expressions instead of words to communicate.
• Frequently mispronounces words, especially multisyllabic words.
• Exhibits poor grammar and syntax (e.g., errors in verb tense, pronouns, etc.)
• Exhibits errors in word order (e.g., “Me store go”).
• Speak in simple sentences with a lack of compound/complex sentences (e.g. “I ate ice cream” instead of “Last night, I ate chocolate ice cream with hot fudge after dinner”).
• Responds inappropriately or not at all during conversations.

Phonological Awareness

• Mixes up words with similar sounds.
• Has difficulty with rhymes.
• Has difficulty identifying the individual sounds in words.
• Has difficulty identifying the initial or final sounds in words.
• Has difficulty blending sounds together.
• Has difficulty segmenting words into individual sounds. 
• Exhibits frequent spelling errors.
• Has difficulty decoding words while reading. 

Attention, Memory, and Learning

• Cannot focus on auditory input for more than a few seconds.
• Appears to daydream or be in their own world.
• Has difficulty following conversations.
• Has difficulty remembering and following daily routines.
• Poor recall of what has been said.
• Has delayed language skills.
• Has a phonological or articulation disorder.
• Poor spelling skills.
• Poor reading skills and reading comprehension.
• Poor musical ability (e.g., difficulty singing and learning sounds or nursery rhymes).
• Poor note-taking ability.
• Has difficulty remembering homework assignments and instructions.
• Requires extra time to complete class work or homework.

Interpretation of Results 

Go through the statements and count how many apply to your child. The higher the number, the greater the likelihood that an APD evaluation may be needed.

Write the total number of statements you have checked in each section below:

Listening and Understanding: ___/12

Speaking and Communicating: ___/9

Phonological Awareness: ___/8

Attention, Memory, and Learning: ___/13

If you have marked at least half of the statements in most sections of the checklist, pursue the next steps listed below for your child or student.

What to Do After Completing the Checklist

Following completion of the checklist, take the following next steps:

• Share the checklist results with the child’s teacher. Find out if they notice similar signs in the classroom, and discuss potential APD accommodations to the academic environment.

• Contact a licensed audiologist and/or speech language pathologist for a full professional evaluation.

• Look into treatment options and assistive technology. These can include speech therapy, auditory training programs, and assistive listening devices. 

Why Use a Checklist for APD?

If you are concerned that your child or student may have auditory processing disorder, a checklist can help you recognize early signs of APD. With specific symptoms to look for, an APD checklist can guide your observations of your student or child so that you know what to look for. 

Tracking these signs and symptoms over time provides you with specific detailed information about the child. This checklist can be used to help you determine if the child may need a formal auditory processing disorder evaluation.

Early Signs of Auditory Processing Disorder

These are common APD symptoms, divided by age:

Preschoolers

• Difficulty sitting for story time

• Difficulty learning songs or nursery rhymes

• Easily distracted by noises

• Confusion of similar sounding words (e.g., big/pig)

• Need directions repeated

• Difficulty learning verbal presented concepts and may wait and watch other children before participating

• More successful with nonverbal concepts such as shapes and colors

School-Aged Children

• Difficulty understanding speech in noisy environments

• Difficulty following complex multi-step auditory directions

• Inability to localize sound

• Poor reading and spelling skills

• Delayed speech and language skills

• Poor reading comprehension

Teens

• Poor focus and mental fatigue

• Difficulty understanding speech when multiple people are talking

• Poor social skills and inability to participate in conversation

• Poor working memory, which leads to poor recall of academic information and inability to memorize

• May demonstrate below average performance in one or more classes

• Difficulty completing multiple-choice, short-answer, or essay format tests

• Difficulty understanding class lectures and poor note-taking ability

• Difficulty learning foreign languages

• Difficulty interpreting nonliteral language (e.g., idioms, metaphors, sarcasm)

Forbrain’s APD Test

Forbrain’s Auditory Processing Disorder Test is another valuable initial screening tool. This free sound-based APD test assesses various auditory processing skills to determine any areas of weakness. Following the test, you will receive a report with results via email. Armed with the specific areas of concern, you can pursue next steps if needed, such as a professional evaluation or intervention. 

This test is different from the checklist because it assesses an individual’s skills in the moment they are presented with sound-based or real-life scenarios. It is also less objective than an auditory processing checklist because you are not observing the child, but the child is completing the test themselves.

Final Words

If you are concerned that your child or student may have auditory processing disorder, using an auditory processing disorder checklist is an important first step in identifying which signs and symptoms of APD the child demonstrates. Forbrain’s Auditory Processing Disorder Test can also be used to obtain a clearer picture of the child’s areas of weakness in auditory processing. It is important to use one or both of these initial screening tools as soon as possible, since early identification and intervention of APD helps to improve outcomes. 

References

ASHA. (Accessed 2025, February 5). Audiology Information Series: Central Auditory Processing Disorder in School-Age Children. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. https://www.asha.org/siteassets/ais/ais-central-auditory-processing-disorder.pdf

Auditory Processing Center. (Accessed 2025, February 5). Fisher’s Auditory Problems Checklist. Auditory Processing Center. https://www.auditorycenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/APC-Fishers-Auditory-Checklist.pdf

Auditory Processing Center. (Accessed 2025, February 5). Symptoms of APD in Preschool and Kindergarten. Auditory Processing Center. https://auditorycenter.com/symptoms-of-auditory-processing-disorder-apd/symptoms-of-apd-in-preschool-children/

Auditory Processing Center. (Accessed 2025, February 5). Symptoms of APD in Teenager. Auditory Processing Center. https://auditorycenter.com/symptoms-of-auditory-processing-disorder-apd/symptoms-of-apd-in-teenagers/

Kids Hear. (Accessed 2025, February 5). CAPD Checklist. Kids Hear. https://kidshear.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/CAPD-Check-List.pdf