How Does Auditory Processing Disorder Affect Learning?
Amanda Unrau CCC-SLP
02/10/25 | Last modified: 03/04/25
Auditory processing disorder (APD) is a disorder that impacts the ability to process incoming auditory information, including speech. Because individuals with APD struggle to interpret sounds, this can impact learning since a major modality of learning is through hearing. This article will discuss the connection between auditory processing disorder and learning, including how APD affects learning as well as the next steps for supporting learners with APD.
The Connection of Auditory Processing and Learning Skills
APD manifests in unique ways in different children. There are three types of central auditory processes: auditory discrimination, binaural processing, and temporal processing. Breakdown may occur at any point in this process. Weakness in any of these areas can be the cause of or exist together with learning disabilities, speech language impairments, attention deficit disorder, or developmental disabilities.
How does auditory processing disorder affect learning in each of these three areas?
Auditory discrimination
This is the ability to hear and distinguish between different sounds. Individuals with weak auditory discrimination make it difficult to attach meanings to the sounds they cannot hear well. This leads to poor phonological processing, reading decoding and comprehension, and spelling. In addition, overall language development will suffer.
Binaural processing
This is the ability to synthesize, manipulate, and attach meaning to more than one auditory input source at a time. Because of the overwhelm to the system caused by the amount of auditory information, comprehension in individuals with weak binaural processing will suffer. This can lead to poor writing, note taking, and instruction following. Poor binaural processing may also cause poor development of receptive and expressive language skills.
Temporal processing
This is the perception of sound or changes in sound within a specified period of time, such as recognizing patterns in rapid speech. Individuals with weak temporal processing can have poor phonological, reading, and spelling skills, as well as difficulty following directions, sequencing, and taking notes. They may have weak auditory attention, working memory, and problem solving skills.
How APD Affects Learning
Poor auditory processing can manifest in learning difficulties in a number of areas, including the following:
Reading Comprehension
Auditory processing disorder and reading and closely related. Individuals with APD often have poor phonological awareness. They can memorize and recognize whole words, but not the individual sounds and sound-letter relationships that make up words. This leads to poor decoding skills. When reading is very effortful, students have to work so hard to decode words that they are unable to focus on the content of what they are reading. This leads to poor reading comprehension. Poor reading comprehension may lead to poor overall academic performance since much learning takes place through reading.
Following Verbal Instructions
Individuals with APD have difficulty processing incoming language, and verbal instructions are no exception. Children are so focused on interpreting the instructions, they may not have the capacity to also remember the sequence of multi-step directions that contain modifiers (e.g., sequential, spatial, or temporal concepts). This can cause students with APD to lose pace in class or miss out on homework instructions. Difficulty following sequences can also cross over into difficulty sequencing the events in a story.
Language Development
Language and communication can take many forms, and verbal language is one of the main ways many people communicate. Language skills develop in children through exposure. Foundational skills are continually built upon throughout childhood. When children with APD miss out on much of this language exposure because they are unable to process what they hear, it can cause language delays. Children with APD may exhibit language delays in the form of poor receptive or expressive language (difficulty understanding what they hear and poor verbal output). They may have weak vocabulary and grammar skills, which will be evident in their written and verbal language.
Math
Children with APD can experience poor math skills. As mentioned above, students with auditory processing disorder often have poor reading comprehension skills. Like many other subjects, math involves quite a bit of reading. Students with poor reading comprehension will struggle to read and interpret word problems. On top of that, difficulty following sequences, such as multi-step directions, presents a challenge when sequencing math operations.
Classroom Difficulties
Auditory processing disorder can cause a variety of difficulties that impact classroom participation and performance. Individuals with APD have difficulty blocking out and focusing in the presence of background noise, and a school can often be a noisy environment. Inability to focus means an inability to attend to what is being said, leading to students missing out on key teaching and instructions. In addition, processing delays impact working memory, which is the ability to hear information, hold it in short term memory, and then use or apply that information. Working memory allows students to master new concepts and store them in long term memory.
Social Impact
APD can have an impact on social skills. Difficulty understanding what is heard includes difficulty understanding supralinguistic aspects of language, such as sarcasm, jokes, or changes in tone of voice. In addition, it can be challenging for individuals with APD to participate in conversations because by the time they process what is said in order to respond, the conversation may have already moved on. Noisy environments add another layer of difficulty when trying to keep up with conversation. When social interactions are too big a struggle, these students may linger on the outskirts and struggle to make friends.
Next Steps for Supporting Learning with APD
What should you do if you suspect APD is impacting the learning of your child or student? Here are some steps you can take:
Consult specialists
It is important to include professionals in the process of helping a student with APD instead of trying to go it alone. Special education teachers, psychologists, audiologists, speech language pathologists, and occupational therapists all can help with the evaluation and treatment of individuals with APD. Some children may require and qualify for direct therapy services with one of the above professionals.
Implement interventions
There are a variety of treatment options available for individuals with auditory processing disorder. Some interventions include:
- Speech therapy: Children with auditory processing disorder can greatly benefit from speech therapy. As mentioned in the previous section, individuals with APD often have language delays. Speech therapists help to boost language, phonological awareness, and social skills. They also teach strategies and modifications for working with your APD as you build language skills, in order to experience academic success.
- Auditory training: Auditory training is a direct remediation approach that helps to change the way the brain processes sound in order to improve auditory performance. This type of training can be conducted formally in a sound booth with an audiologist or informally at home or school. Auditory training consists of frequent, intense sessions with immediate participant feedback and reinforcement.
- Classroom accommodations: Students with APD also benefit from the use of auditory processing disorder accommodations in the classroom to help them function better in the school environment. Accommodations can include changes to the environment or instruction, or using technology. Examples include reducing or eliminating background noise, incorporating visuals into instructions and teaching, or using noise-blocking headphones during work time.
Forbrain
Forbrain is another type of technology that helps children with APD. Forbrain is a headset students wear that uses auditory feedback to hear and understand speech more clearly. It works by enhancing the user’s voice through bone conduction while filtering out background noise, improving attention, memory, and speech clarity.
Many educators, therapists, and parents use Forbrain as a tool to support language development and auditory processing skills in children with APD
Discover APD Early: Try Forbrain’s Free APD Test
Because of APD’s impact on learning, it is important to evaluate and diagnose auditory processing disorder as soon as possible. Then students can begin receiving interventions that can help improve their ability to learn effectively.
To determine if you should pursue an APD assessment, take Forbrain’s sound-based Auditory Processing Disorder Test. This free test is a great first step that helps to identify and understand auditory challenges. Test takers can use the information they receive on their auditory challenges to pursue further evaluation or intervention if needed.
Final Words
Auditory processing disorder and learning are closely connected. Unfortunately, that can mean that students with APD will experience classroom and academic struggles in the areas of language, reading comprehension, math, and social skills. Fortunately, there are options available for these individuals to receive help and improve their skills.
If you aren’t sure where to start, check out Forbrain’s free Auditory Processing Disorder Test. It can help guide you in the process of pursuing an evaluation and possible interventions to improve learning in students with APD.
References
Bellis, Teri James, & Anzalone, Ashley M. Intervention Approaches for Individuals with (Central) Auditory Processing Disorder. Contemporary Issues in Communication Source.
Ferre, Jeanane M. (2014, May). Central Auditory Processing and the Common Core. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Source.
Gemm Learning. (Accessed 2025, January 27). Auditory Processing Disorder and Learning: How APD Impacts Learning in Class and At Home. Gemm Learning. Source.
Shinn, Jennifer Brooke. (2003, July). Temporal processing: The basics. The Hearing Journal 56(7), 52, DOI: 10.1097/01.HJ.0000292557.52409.67 Source.
Sound Storm. (Accessed 2025, January 27). How do APDs Affect a Child’s Learning and Development at School. Sound Storm. Source.
Amanda Unrau
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