Auditory Processing vs ADHD: What Parents Can Ask
A child who seems not to listen is showing you a behavior. No sign we hold has been shown to separate auditory processing disorder from ADHD. Auditory processing disorder and ADHD can come together in one child. In our view, if one comes up, ask about the other too. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
TL;DR
- A child who seems not to listen is showing you a behavior. The behavior alone does not tell you why. No sign we hold has been shown to separate auditory processing disorder from ADHD. We cannot tell you whether your child has auditory processing disorder. We cannot tell you whether your child has ADHD. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
- Auditory processing disorder and ADHD can come together in one child. Riccio and colleagues (1994) studied 30 children from one clinic. Each of them met the criteria for central auditory processing disorder. Half of them also met the criteria for ADHD. The study counted children who had both. It does not show that one was mistaken for the other. We could read only that study's summary. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
- One review looked at children diagnosed with auditory processing disorder (de Wit and colleagues, 2018). It compared them with children diagnosed with ADHD, dyslexia and other conditions. On tests of intelligence, memory, attention and language, the groups scored much the same. Its 13 studies were of moderate quality. The ADHD comparison rested on one small study. The review's authors said poor research quality may have affected that result. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
- Auditory processing disorder and ADHD can come together in one child. In our view, if one comes up, ask about the other too. In our view, take a hearing concern to your child's doctor or an audiologist. In our view, take a question about ADHD to your child's doctor. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
- A checklist can describe listening trouble. It cannot tell you whether your child has auditory processing disorder. Our page on free and online auditory processing checklists has more. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
What you see, and what it does not tell you
A child who seems not to listen is showing you a behavior. The behavior alone does not tell you why.
No sign we hold has been shown to separate auditory processing disorder from ADHD. We cannot tell you whether your child has auditory processing disorder. We cannot tell you whether your child has ADHD. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
When auditory processing disorder and ADHD both come up
Co-occurring, as we use the word, means found in the same child. When two conditions co-occur, both are found. That is different from one being mistaken for the other.
”Co-occurringAuditory processing disorder and ADHD can come together in one child.
Riccio and colleagues (1994) studied 30 children from one clinic. Each of them met the criteria for central auditory processing disorder. Half of them also met the criteria for ADHD. The study counted children who had both. It does not show that one was mistaken for the other. We could read only that study's summary. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
A review that included ADHD
One review looked at children diagnosed with auditory processing disorder (de Wit and colleagues, 2018). It compared them with children diagnosed with ADHD, dyslexia and other conditions. On tests of intelligence, memory, attention and language, the groups scored much the same. Its 13 studies were of moderate quality. The ADHD comparison rested on one small study. The review's authors said poor research quality may have affected that result. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
What audiology bodies say
A British audiology body describes auditory processing disorder as listening trouble with normal hearing (British Society of Audiology, 2018). One large UK study argued that auditory processing disorder is mainly an attention problem (Moore and colleagues, 2010). This is not settled. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
A US audiology body says audiologists should diagnose auditory processing disorder (American Academy of Audiology, 2010). We cannot tell you whether your child has auditory processing disorder. In our view, take a hearing concern to your child's doctor or an audiologist. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
What a listening checklist can and cannot do
A checklist can describe listening trouble. It cannot tell you whether your child has auditory processing disorder. A US audiology body says audiologists should diagnose auditory processing disorder (American Academy of Audiology, 2010). The same body says a checklist alone is not enough to diagnose it. In our view, a checklist can help you put what you see into words. Take it, with your own notes, to your child's doctor. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
Our page on free and online auditory processing checklists has more.
Questions to ask
Your child's doctor
In our view, these are fair questions for your child's doctor.
- Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
- Ask whether an audiologist should see your child.
- Ask whether attention should be looked at too.
- Tell the doctor what you see at home, and when it happens.
An audiologist
In our view, these are fair questions for an audiologist.
- What will the tests look at?
- What can the results tell us?
- Should we also ask our child's doctor about attention?
If ADHD comes up
Auditory processing disorder and ADHD can come together in one child. In our view, if one comes up, ask about the other too. In our view, take a question about ADHD to your child's doctor. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
Our page on attention difficulty and ADHD says who can diagnose ADHD.
When to ask for help
Each of these is a reason to ask for help on its own.
- Little change, even with steady practice and good teaching.
- Schoolwork well below what school expects.
- A teacher who raises a concern about learning.
- Extreme upset about schoolwork.
- Complete avoidance of school or learning.
- Hopelessness about learning.
- Sadness or worry that lasts.
- Significant delays in speech, language or motor development.
- A skill that was there and has gone. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.
If no skill has gone, start with the teacher. Say what you are seeing at home, and what you have tried. Beyond the teacher, the right person depends on what it turns out to be about. If the work is too hard, someone who works on that school skill. If worry or mood is the thing, someone who works with children's mental health. In our view, delays in speech, language or movement are worth raising with your child's doctor. In our view, if you are worried enough to ask, a professional evaluation is worth asking about.
Any talk of hurting themselves is a same-day call to your doctor or a crisis line.
In the classroom
If a student often misses spoken directions, tell the family what you saw. Do not name a condition. The family can take what you saw to their child's doctor.
Two sentences for an email home: "Today she missed two spoken directions in a row. When do you see that at home?"
Tonight, write down two questions you want to ask your child's doctor. Add one time this week your child missed what you said. This is a record, not a test.
”What to do tonightWhat to use next
An overview of processing skills. Our work on each runs alongside reading, spelling or math instruction, not in place of it.
Common questions from parents
Is it ADHD or auditory processing disorder?
A child who seems not to listen is showing you a behavior. The behavior alone does not tell you why. No sign we hold has been shown to separate auditory processing disorder from ADHD. Auditory processing disorder and ADHD can come together in one child. In our view, take a hearing concern to your child's doctor or an audiologist. In our view, take a question about ADHD to your child's doctor. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
Can a child have auditory processing disorder and ADHD?
Auditory processing disorder and ADHD can come together in one child. Riccio and colleagues (1994) studied 30 children from one clinic. Each of them met the criteria for central auditory processing disorder. Half of them also met the criteria for ADHD. The study counted children who had both. It does not show that one was mistaken for the other. We could read only that study's summary. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.
What should we ask if our child seems not to listen?
In our view, these are fair questions for your child's doctor. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently. Ask whether an audiologist should see your child. Ask whether attention should be looked at too. Tell the doctor what you see at home, and when it happens.