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

Aim: 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.

Method: 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.

Results: APD was found to be present in 43.