Children and Listening

Just as children begin crawling, standing, and walking at about the same age, they also develop speech and language skills in a parallel fashion. Listening skills also develop on a continuum and are essential for successful language development. Parents, pediatricians, and preschool teachers are often concerned about early identification and management of children who seem to have poor listening skills.

Good listening does not come easily for all children. A child who can hear perfectly fine but does not have good listening skills may be a child with auditory processing problems. Early identification of auditory processing difficulties is critical since they are often interpreted as behavioral problems and result in a delay of appropriate treatment. It is therefore important to know how to identify an auditory processing problem, what it looks like, and how to treat it.

Auditory processing problems can occur in children who have normal intelligence and normal hearing sensitivity. In other words, a child may “hear” find, but be unable, at times, to listen. These children may be easily distracted. They may be unable to follow directions, even ones they have followed on previous occasions. In spite of having normal intelligence, these children may perform poorly in school. They may misbehave or seem inattentive as a result of their inability to understand. They may even seem more tired than is typically expected because they are exerting so much energy in endless, unsuccessful attempt at paying attention to what is being said to them. Children with auditory processing problems may also present themselves as being socially immature. They may prefer younger children to their peers, as the amount of linguistic information cast upon them may be less demanding.

Most children, even very young ones, are able to filter our extraneous noises and focus on spoken information. A child with an auditory processing problem is not able to consistently weed out that information which is important. Background noises such as a radio, TV, or other people talking may interfere with their ability to comprehend language. If you, your pediatrician, or teacher suspect that your child has listening problems of this nature, your child should be seen by an audiologist (for an evaluation) and by a speech-language pathologist (for treatment). An individualized program based on your child’s developmental level should be implemented.

Your child’s program should be individualized. However, there are many things a parent or professional can do to foster good listening skills. The following is a list of ideas, which can be incorporated at home and at school to enhance your child’s listening skills.

Call your child’s name before asking him a question or requesting the child to do something. This will help gain the child’s attention and get him prepared to listen. You can also use different phrases to gain attention, so that the child doesn’t begin to tune out any one phrase.

In a classroom, seat the child away from distractions. A child will listen better when seated near the teacher where extraneous visual (i.e. art projects) and auditory (i.e. classroom noises such as coughing, talking, and the pencil sharpener) input can be minimized.

• Gestures should be minimized to avoid visual distractions.
• Present directions in simple language.
• Use visual cues such as writing on the blackboard or using pictures to help illustrate a point.
• Teach the child to say, “I don’t understand” when the communication is unclear.
• Frequently check a child’s understanding by asking the child to tell you what was heard.
• Encourage your child to participate in auditory language activities, such as reading out loud.
• Read to your child slowly and ask questions to make sure your child understands. If the child is old enough, have him or her tell the story back to you.
• Talk to your child about situations which might be difficult for them, such as going to restaurants or birthday parties where they may be a lot of noise.

A child cannot be expected to listen attentively all the time. However, good listening can be a problem for some children who have normal intelligence and normal hearing. A child who exhibits the behaviors discussed above may be a child with auditory processing problems. Early identification and appropriate treatment of these problems are critical to your child’s development.

Sabra Gelfond, a certified speech-language pathologist in Bethesda, Maryland, is recognized for her work in identifying and treating speech and language disorders in young children. She is the director of The National Speech/Language Therapy Center, an organization which offers a variety of therapeutic services. Ms. Gelfond is a member of WISER and can be reached at (301) 493-0023.