Auditory Processing Disorders in children suspected of Learning Disabilities--a need for screening?

The current study aims to assess: (a) the prevalence of auditory processing in a population of children reporting learning difficulties, (b) the correlation of APD diagnosis with age, the intelligence coefficient (IQ) and with the presence of a specific learning disability such as dyslexia and (c) to evaluate the reliability of each auditory processing test used in this study in identifying APD.

We evaluated one hundred and twenty-seven consecutive children referred to the academic tertiary LD Clinic of the Psychiatric Department by means of a psychoacoustic mainly non-verbal test battery.

APD was found to be present in 43.3% and co-existing with developmental dyslexia in 25% of cases. The diagnosis of APD correlated with age in that children with APD were younger by 2 years than those without a diagnosis of APD. The diagnosis of APD did not correlate with IQ or with the diagnosis of dyslexia.

High prevalence of APD in the targeted group of children suspected of Learning Disabilities sets the grounds for a possible benefit in screening for the disorder.