How Our Auditory System Affects Learning - Underlying Causes of Autism and Processing Disorders

Autism spectrum (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

by Maggie Dail

Today, we are faced with many labels or conditions that affect learning.

Many have a partial underlying cause in our auditory system including autism spectrum disorders, ADD/ADHD, developmental delay, dyslexia, central auditory processing disorder, and auditory processing disorder.

Hypersensitivities to sound may cause an individual to shut out sounds as a defensive mechanism and behave as if he were deaf.

On the other hand the same sensitivity may cause another to scream and hold her ears.

Learning will be impeded until these sensitivities are normalized.

Another difficulty arises when there is fluid in the ear. Since the Eustachian tubes in young children are more horizontal, fluid can build up and bacteria can form in this warm moist environment.

Pressure from the fluid can cause pressure and pain - an ear ache. Repeated ear infections during the first two years of life can greatly affect development of the auditory system. During an infection, the individual hears as if under water and the sounds are not consistent.

This in turn can cause receptive auditory problems as well as speech problems. Treating these ear infections without antibiotics or tubes will greatly enhance learning.

Difficulty following oral directions and learning to read using phonics represent just two problems reflected by low auditory sequential processing. When an individual has low auditory sequential processing they cannot remember a series of information long enough to use that information.

For example, an individual should be able to look up a phone number or be told a phone number long enough to dial the phone.

When parents ask their children to do a short list of chores and within minutes they have forgotten what it was they were to do and they engage in another activity - often play, parents often assume that this is disobedience. It could be disobedience, but it could also be low auditory sequential processing.

When a child sounds out a relatively short word, but at the end cannot say the word, it is often due to low auditory sequential processing. Optimally, the solution for these difficulties is not accommodating a deficit, but increasing the auditory sequential processing.

Another major underlying cause for many of these children (and adults) is metabolic - diet / nutrition related. Often these children have what is called "leaky gut syndrome" meaning that nutrients cannot be easily absorbed for use in the body.

Many options arise to consider. Elimination diets often remove the offending foods. Other diets work to resolve the issue; some by fixing the leaky gut and others by restoring a balance among nutrients. Families should research the alternatives and find the one that fits their family.

Neurodevelopmentalists look for underlying causes of the missing pieces in development and recommend activities and resources for families, guiding them to solutions.

Maggie operates the Center for Neuro Development in Lakewood, Washington, along with her husband Ronnie. Maggie earned a M.A.in Special Education from Adams State University in 1989.

She has been in an internship / independent study leading to certification with the International Christian Association of Neurodevelopmentalists. They offer local, on site services as well as long distance consultation. They work with homeschoolers as well as those who attend school.
http://www.centerforneurodevelopment.com

Free E-Book: Unlocking Learning Potential: From Gifted to Challenged
http://www.centerforneurodevelopment.com/free_e_book

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Enhance Academic Performance With a Digital Voice Recorder

Transcribing dictation with a Dictaphone wax cylinder dictation machine, in the early 1920s. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

by Jack F Somers

How many times have you had those "I wish I knew then what I know now" moments?

For me, one of those moments really hit me when I started using dictation and transcription tools such as the Olympus DS-700 for work.

Sure, it was a time saver, but it was actually most useful for accurate data gathering and preparing presentations.

It got me to thinking, "Man, I wish I had one of these back in college!"

I'm a notoriously bad note taker. It's not that I don't understand the important stuff; it's that I'm such a slow writer that I was missing out on half of the lectures because I was writing down the other half.

Does that sound familiar to you? If so, then pay close attention, because I'm going to share some very critical ways that dictation devices and transcription software can make you a better student, namely: note taking, group discussions and presentation practice. Let's take a closer look at each of these.

Recording and Transcribing Lectures

Oh, the dreaded lecture hall! I much preferred smaller class sizes, but when you need to teach basic physiology to 200 people at once, what are you going to do, right? Let's just say that the sciences weren't my strong suit in college. I was a note taking machine, however, writing as quickly as a I could and doing my best to keep up.

When I'd go to review my notes later, I'd have a bunch of random words and definitions without much continuity. In addition, my professor used to like to draw a lot of illustrations on the board, so I'd do my best to copy those illustrations, too. The end result was sort of a mess.

With a dictation device, however, I could have recorded the entire lecture and had that to go back to any time I found gaps in my notes. In fact, if I could have paired it with a transcription program, such a Dragon NaturallySpeaking, I could have printed out the entire lecture, word-for-word and gotten much more copious notes.

Group Discussions

I was sort of a lone wolf in college. I much preferred to do assignments on my own rather than working in groups. Part of it was that, pass or fail, all responsibility fell on me. In group situations, however, it seemed that everybody had a different idea of how they wanted to do things ... which leads me to the next thing I didn't like about group discussions.

Have you ever tried taking notes in a situation where four different people are all trying to get a different point across? It ain't easy.

It can sometimes take hours for groups to reach a consensus. Over those hours, little pieces of information that led to consensus are revealed. When you can record the entire discussion, however, you have an accurate record of who said what and how the next steps should proceed. When you are relying on others to get a project done right, this kind of organization is very helpful.

Presentation Practice

Sooner or later, you are going to have to stand in front of a group of people and deliver a presentation. And, of course, we've all see those presenters who are just terrible. Their speech is full of "um"s and "you know"s and they speak in monotones that just make you sleepy.

Here's the funny thing: they don't know they are doing it! In fact, you could be one of those people and not even know it.

The best way to practice giving presentations is to record yourself and listen to the playback. You would be surprised how often you say "um". You'll also start to pick up on other little idiosyncrasies in your speech pattern. As they say, knowing is half the battle. Once you have identified the parts of your delivery that need work, you can correct them and give a great presentation.

In Conclusion

The above mentioned situations are just some of the more common situations. Students with different majors will naturally have even more specialized situations in which having an absolutely accurate record of events will greatly improve overall academic performance.

As I mentioned at the beginning, I wish I had known then. You, however, know now while there is still time to do something about it.

The authorized online partner for cutting digital voice recorders such as the Olympus DS-7000, DTPSS is a Olympus, Philips. Dictaphone and Nuance dictation and transcription sales and service leader.

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