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Auditory Processing is what happens when we hear, including how we channel information through our auditory system to locate, distinguish, and understand sounds. This process is essential for developing Oral Communication Skills. Auditory Processing helps lay the foundation for reading and writing, even into adulthood
We are able to interpret sounds as meaningful input through the Auditory Processing skills of discrimination, recognition, and comprehension. Adults use these skills to distinguish differences between words and other sounds and to understand language. The ability to discriminate speech in noisy environments tends to become weaker as adults age, along with the decline in other cognitive functions.
It is important to note that difficulties with Auditory Processing can occur even when there are no Hearing impairments. For example, Auditory Processing challenges can make it hard to locate where speech is coming from, or to process complex auditory signals (such as differentiating between similar sounds).
