APD is diagnosed when an individual presents with listening difficulties that cannot be explained by an actual hearing impairment or significant cognitive or language problems (Witton, 2010). These symptoms can include inappropriate or inconsistent responses to directions or questions, being easily distracted, having difficulty localizing sound, comprehending and following speech, paying attention, and ultimately problems with spelling and reading (Kucukunal et al., 2020). What does this look like for a child in a classroom setting? It looks like a child not paying attention, not listening to their educator, and not engaging with activities or lessons. This introduces a pedagogical concern of: how often are educators dismissing the symptoms of APD as “poor behaviour” and not recognizing that a child needs a proper diagnosis and additional support in the classroom? The fear is if children are dismissed as ‘behaviours’ they ultimately get ignored by a natural pull educators have towards children who are already more engaged in the curriculum and activities the educator has pre-planned for the classroom. This is not to put blame on the educators, but in a neoliberal educational setting, educators are expected to produce results, i.e., children who are ready for school and the next steps of their lives.
Eschenbeck et al.,’s (2017) study evaluated the stressors and coping strategies in 70 children who are deaf or hard of hearing, or with APD. As educators, we already know that all children can experience stress for a variety of reasons. That stress becomes compounded when they are already facing feelings of isolation if they feel as though they cannot connect to the world around them. Fitting with what we understand about APD, they reported increased problems with schoolwork and greater psychosocial difficulties, such as internalizing their symptoms (Eschenbeck et al., 2017). Internalizing symptoms can also take on varying forms. One example is avoidant coping, by telling themselves the problem does not matter, or that there is no problem at all. If that is the route a child is taking, it is going to be much more difficult for those around to determine what the real problem is. Another form of internalizing can be blaming themselves for the problem, which can lead to feelings of inadequacy and be harmful to their self-esteem.
The question with both these scenarios is, why do they feel like they cannot confide in a trusted adult that they are struggling? A significant finding from this study was that girls with APD were more likely to seek social support whereas boys with APD were reported to be more likely to use avoidant methods of coping (Eschenbeck et al., 2017). Understanding these coping methods can be an important tool for educators to help identify the problem, but educators must also look within themselves to make sure they are prepared to put in the emotional effort of being that trusted adult the child can confide in. This is where I contend that empathy plays a significant role. Due to a variety of factors including the individual’s perceptions and experiences, that individual is likely to have similar but not identical emotions as the person they are empathizing with, and while empathic processes can be based on automatic responses, they can also be based controlled responses guided by the individual’s cognition (McGowan et al., 2021). This means that even if an individual does not possess a natural inclination towards empathy, they can cognitively guide themselves towards that way of thinking. This is an interesting concept to unpack. The implication here is that empathy is ultimately a choice, something the individual must choose to use if it does not always come naturally.
Eschenbeck, H., Gille, V., Hein-Dreger, U., Schock, A., & Schott, A. (2017). Daily stress, hearing-specific stress and coping: Self-reports from deaf or hard of
hearing children and children with auditory processing disorder. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 22(1), 49-58.
Kucukunal, I. S. (2020). Teachers’ opinions regarding the symptoms of central auditory processing disorder in children with reading and writing difficulties.
South African Journal of Education, 40(2), 1-9.
McGowan, K., Christenson, L. A., Muccio, L. (2021). Collaborative professional learning: An exploration of empathy in early childhood teacher education. Journal
of Research in Childhood Education, 35(1), 111-121.
Witton, C. (2010). Childhood auditory processing disorder as a developmental disorder: The case for a multi-professional approach to diagnosis and
management. International Journal of Audiology, 49(2), 83-87.
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