When YOUR CHILD ISN'T LISTENING ... IT MIGHT BE AUDITORY PROCESSING DISORDER (APD)

by Monique Peters

Learning Coach

Learnerobics

24 March, 2026

As the mother of a child with learning and reading challenges, you get "clues" along the way, even if you don't recognise them at first.

I remember when my son was very young, even as a toddler, there were little moments that didn’t quite make sense. One of the earliest signs was how confused he seemed when trying to understand people on the phone. I dismissed it, believing it would work itself out – and for a while it seemed to.

Then there was a stutter that developed a couple of years later.  I worried a lot then, but the speech therapy worked wonders, and within six months it was gone.

With the clarity of hindsight, those moments didn’t go away — they multiplied.

He avoided things like craft. The extra explanation he needed took all the fun out of it. Social situations were increasingly confusing for him, and misunderstandings were becoming more common. Homework would take an incredibly long time, and then became a battleground, a source of conflict that pitted us against each other every night.

It was puzzling because he was reading in Years 2 and 3, so I knew it couldn’t be dyslexia. 

He passed a hearing test in Year 4 and in Year 5, an assessment brought up “markers”, but not enough for a diagnosis of anything.

At the time, I ‘soldiered on’.  Just trying to survive.  I just couldn’t find why learning seemed much harder for him than it should be.

It was only in Year 6 when I read the book The Brain That Changes Itself by Dr Norman Doidge, that I discovered this may be related to auditory processing disorder (APD), a condition that affects how quickly the brain can process the sounds of language.

The Signs That Don’t Always Look Like a “Learning Problem”

One of the most confusing parts of auditory processing disorder is that it doesn’t always look obvious.

My son was reading in Year 3.

He passed a hearing test.

His teachers reassured me.

We tried speech therapy.  We tried tutoring.

But nothing seemed to change the real problem.

He could read the words on the page, but his comprehension was low. Tasks were often incomplete. Instructions needed repeating — again and again. The extra work I made him do just to keep up with his peers only turned us into sparring partners.

This is something I now see often in my work with families at Learnerobics.

Children who:

• seem bright, but struggle to follow instructions  - are stuck in various stages of still “learning to read”, never reaching fluency

• if they are reading, their comprehension remains low 

• take much longer than expected to complete tasks

• make the same spelling mistakes over and over

• need constant repetition

• suffer socially and mentally

It’s not that they’re not trying.

It’s that their brain is struggling to process sound and make sense of language efficiently.

What It Looks Like Socially

For my son, the hardest part wasn’t just schoolwork.

It was what happened around it.

He was often misunderstood by other children. Kids would pick on him, avoid him, and he wasn’t invited to parties. He was bullied in the classroom, in the playground and even on the bus ride home.

I would get calls from the school about yet another misunderstanding, often resulting in consequences which should have been shared, at least.

Sometimes other children would “dob him in” for things he didn’t do — simply because it was fun for them. Then, on top of that, having to watch those kids receive awards for all their ‘outstanding’ work, was, well, let’s just say, crushing.

When a child struggles with auditory processing, they can miss social cues, misinterpret situations, or respond in ways that seem “off” to others.

The Emotional Cost

My son hated going to school.

But I still sent him, believing I was doing the right thing. If only I'd known then, what I know now.

By Year 9, the stress had taken such a toll that he needed two terms off school. His body was overwhelmed, and he couldn’t digest food.

We changed schools, hoping for a fresh start.

But by then, it had already taken its toll.

What I Understand Now About APD

Auditory processing disorder is not about hearing — it’s about how the brain processes sound.  It’s about making sense from the sounds the brain hears.  It’s about understanding.

I often explain it like trying to understand someone speaking through a COVID mask. You can hear them, but parts of the message are unclear.

This is why children with APD don’t develop a clear map of speech sounds that their brain can access quickly to assemble words and attach meaning.

This also challenges them when learning to read, because their brain cannot efficiently match those speech sounds to a tiny symbol, we call a letter.

For example, if they do not hear the difference between /i/ and /e/ or /b/ and /p/, how do they know if they are hearing “big” or “beg” or “pig” or “peg”?

The Hope: The Brain Can Change

These challenges are not about intelligence — they are about brain skills.

Through neuroplasticity, the brain can strengthen skills like attention, memory, and language processing.

At Learnerobics, we use an evidence-based program called Fast ForWord to support auditory processing and build the brain skills needed for learning and reading.

We also support parents with coaching, not only because this journey can feel overwhelming, but to give you new insights from brain research and how you can use them to support your child.

A Different Ending

Today, at 24, my son is now an author and a storyteller. He has drafted 17 books and is in the process of editing them, before self publishing.

He probably won’t choose to go to university, but he is learning on his own terms, and has become very capable at finding out what he needs to pursue his dreams.

There is always hope.

If This Sounds Like Your Child

If your child is struggling with reading, listening, or following instructions, it may be worth exploring what auditory processing is and how it affects all four domains of language - listening, speaking, reading and writing.

You don’t need to wait for a diagnosis.

At Learnerobics, we offer a free consultation to help you understand what may be happening in your child’s brain and what you can do next.

When learning or reading is hard, working with the brain just seems to make sense.