[Auditory processing disorder: Our experience with questionnaires]

Impairments of sound discrimination, speech comprehension in background noise, memory, etc. can be assessed within the diagnosis of an auditory processing and perception disorder (AVWS) in a structured manner using the questionnaire (DGPP-AVWS-FB) provided by the German Society for Phoniatrics and Pedaudiology. The aim is to report on experiences with the use of this questionnaire in a pedaudiology practice. In particular, it was to be determined whether information on the auditory behaviour provided by parents is similar or different to information provided by kindergarten teachers (KGK) or teachers at school (LK).

During a nine-month period, all parents who presented their children to be examined for a possible AVWS were handed the DGPP-AVWS-FB to be completed by them and by KGK/LK. In order to compare the agreement of the judgements, two questionnaires on attention and concentration or on executive functions (DISYPS II, BRIEF or BRIEF-P) were also given. Data from children with peripheral hearing impairment or cognitive developmental disorder were not used. The correlation coefficient was then calculated for the respective items, scales and indices.

Completed questionnaires were available at the end of the study period for a total of 20 primary school children and 7 kindergarten children. In kindergarten children, only KGK but not parents, in school children however, 1x only parents, 16x only LK and in the remaining 3 others both parents and LK suspected an impaired auditory processing. The evaluation of the DGPP-AVWS-FB ultimately reflected this different assessment of the symptoms: with the exception of children in whom both parents and LK suspected an AVWS, the information provided by the parents showed only little agreement with the information provided by the KGK/LK. In comparison, the responses to the other two questionnaires were also different, but the data on attention and hyperactivity in kindergarten children tended to be more similar.

The data presented could be explained by a different behavior of the children at home or in kindergarten/school. It could also be that the same behavior is evaluated differently. Low correlations are already known for questionnaires on attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and executive functions.For the clinical routine it is recommended to document the reported symptoms standardized with the DGPP-AVWS-FB and in particular to determine whether an abnormal auditory behavior is noticeable in only one or two or more environments.