My child is bright, but struggling to remember the letters. He has trouble hearing directions and mishears words, but he hears other things perfectly.

When a child is struggling in a classroom, teachers will often say it’s a processing problem. Parents can be confused. “My child is struggling with reading, or following classroom directions, or remembering the parsha; what does a processing problem mean and what can we do to help our child?”

“Processing” can refer to auditory processing, which refers to how sound arrives at the language centers in the brain. Alternatively, it could mean language processing, which is what the brain does with the sound once it arrives. These are two separate but interrelated activities that occur as we listen, speak and learn.

Simply put, auditory processing is what occurs as sound enters the ear, moves through the auditory nerve and up to the brain. There are many different skills that take place as that happens. First we alert to sound, meaning that we become aware of a sound. Then we locate where the sound is coming from; maybe we turn our head or move our eyes. Finally we recognize the sound and know it is different from a similar sound. For example, you call your child from across the room. First they become aware that someone is calling, then they realize where the sound is coming from, and then they recognize that you are saying Shmueli as opposed to Shloimy. Other skills involve memory; Shmueli is my name. Another skill is the ability to comprehend speech in the presence of background noise (Mommy, did you say put away your shoes, I thought you said….).

Children who seem inattentive in the classroom, have trouble remembering which letter goes with which sound, and/or always need directions repeated could be struggling with auditory processing skills. In fact, research shows that 83% of children struggling with reading demonstrate an auditory processing disorder.