Approaching doctor about Auditory Processing Disorder (APD)

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[Edit: I should say hello and that I like this forum a lot, much more interesting conversations here than pretty much any other forum I've visited - thanks to anyone who takes the time to read this.]

(tldr;? Go straight to the question in bold if too long to read - Sorry for the length)

I'm never sure on how to to go about explain anything, so I'll just jump straight in.

At 21 years of age I discovered APD when researching dyslexia at one point - Before this I didn't know what was "wrong" with me.

I assumed all my social problems just stemmed from shyness (what ever the hell that means), and I'd one day get over it. - Upon discovering this, it was blatantly obvious to me that I have this condition (always a sceptic I shall say it seems so to me - could be something I am unaware of that has similar traits) and these problems were not going to just go away, it is something I would have to live with.

After a year of building up the courage, I brought it up with my GP (doc) when seeing him about something else. He said he was unfamiliar with the condition and that he didn't know what further action to take. He asked me to find out for him and he would see what he could do. I then researched further on who would deal with something like this, and came to the conclusion that even many audiologists may not be able to properly diagnose as it was not widely recognised at the time in the UK, and Northern Ireland is so small it would have much fewer specialists. I e-mailed professionals from different parts of the UK for names/places that they could recommend in my country (Northern Ireland). I never got any responses, I was disheartened and gave up feeling that it was pointless as, as far as I was concerned, no one knew about the condition that had shaped my personality/life.

Cut to now - 6 years later. I recently got tested for a learning disability after bringing concerns up with the disability advisers at my college (spelling/grammar/writing speed, etc.) and it was found that there was a large discrepancy (47 points) between my verbal and non-verbal I.Q (normal and very superior respectively) on the wechsler adults intelligence scale. Just as how one would expect it to be, if one had auditory processing disorder.

I believe this condition does and has affected me quite dramatically during my life, school was horrendous as I could not bare to be in a noisy classroom, working in those condition were a nightmare. I ended up dropping out of school due to stress and did not obtain enough qualifications to be able to apply to University. I am currently doing a uni access course that will get me into a good university next year (doing psychology, how surprising ), before that happens I would like to be diagnosed; so if any problems do come up, I will have a valid reason for asking for a quiet room to do exams in, or whatever I can't foresee now.

Now to the question: How does one go about getting a referral for something like this? How do I explain it to the GP? Do I go to my GP? What is the procedure if I do? Is there any more information I can provide to help answer the question?

For anyone who has more knowledge on APD, do these results below seem typical for someone with APD? I assume the results overlap with Asperger's because so many people with Asperger's seem to also have APD. (I am pretty sure I do not have Asperger's, as I am good at reading body language, reading facial expressions and ascertaining someone's intent/emotional state. Although I seem to have a lot of trouble physically expressing such things through my own body language at times.)

APD? A neurologist and an audiologist. Regular hearing loss (which comes in many forms) has to be ruled out; and then you'd have to be evaluated for APD.

Do you have to have the captions on the television?

If I do not I have no idea what they are saying 50 to 75 percent of the time. I can hear everything else fine but it is lost on me. I do not like online tests for there is a bias.

A Third Party is needed to confirm, Orbidsku.

Hi Callista,

Thank you for your reply Callista. I am aware of the details of how it is diagnosed as I have researched extensively throughout the last 6 years.



Hi Pyroaquatic,

I do use captions frequently, yes, but I have to have the sound muted or I get jumbled between what I hear from the TV and what I hear in my head from reading the subtitles. I am slow at reading and it tires me, so I mostly use earphones when watching TV and alone.

I've never taken an on-line test to see if I have APD - I discovered this through the American Speech and Hearing Associations mission statement on (C)APD+adult APD support groups etc. which led to extensive research from official sources. The tests scores above were more of an aside, certainly not something I would use to diagnose anything at all.

How do you mean a third party is needed to confirm? As in a family member who has observed me as I grew up? Or do you just mean I need a professional for a diagnosis? A professional clearly is what I hope to see.

-Thanks for the responses guys. I appreciate it.

Orbidsku my wife has CAPD as she was born deaf however thanks to surgery where they gave her new ear drums a rare procedure she got 35% hearing. Unfortuately because of the speech delay she has CAPD which mimics apergers. There is a fine line here.
I myself have asepgers but can't stand loud noise or can not focus on a person speaking to me with loud background noise.

I am being tested fro APD as part of psychometric testing for AS/ADD/ADHD......

I also have vestibulopathy....which doesn't help.

Good luck getting answers.......let us know how you go.


Mics

Honestly this is the first time I heard APD come up on this board. It does seem to be related to autism, but it sounds like it is more closely related to HFA, (where as NLVD is more closely related to AS).

It is pretty much the mirror opposite of NLVD. Kind of interesting.

Actually back in school they said I had this on my IEP. I don't know how I feel about that though. I think I can listen when I want to listen.

Would that be a cochlear implant? I can only imagine the degree of APD compared to mine, in a person who was congenitally deaf, must be awfully frustrating sometimes. (Not because of how she acts, how other people do.)
Background noises are horrible, makes socialising a club/crowded room etc. next to impossible at sometimes.



Vestibulopathy, that certainly would not help. I will post back on how it goes, thanks for your post.



A VLD (verbal learning disorder), rather than a NVLD, yeah I can see where you are going with that. Both restrict and shape how one interacts with others. Although I would not say the mirror opposite, only in the case of the expected IQ results; which displays it as a liner dichotomy, where I would describe the real world realities as a non-liner spectrum.

An AS diagnosed friend of mine jokingly refers to it, in my case, as auditory Asperger's; maybe because we happen to see eye-to-eye in our major philosophies on life, in many respects. Who knows.



It's an array of so many different things, you may or may not have it. I imagine it can easily be misdiagnosed when other attention/perception/etc. differences are present, and at the same time, easily overlooked for the same reasons.

Thanks for the replies guys, they have given me things to think about. I made out a mind-map the other day when I was first making plans to approach my Doctor. I'll include a write up of it in case anyone is curious as to how APD can possibly affect someone. Remember, it also varies from person to person.