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Possible Causes of Auditory Processing Disorder in Autism
Auditory processing disorders are fairly common in children withautism.The cause(s) are unknown, but there are some theories. One theory holds that the brain’s hippocampus, which is responsible for processing auditory information, could be less developed in people with autism.
Another possibility, according to researchers at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, is that children with autismarehearing normally, but are processing sound more slowly than non-autistic children.
In another theory, researchers at universities in Finland and the United States wrote that autistic children do not pay attention to certain sounds and that their attention shifts slowly.An interesting observation these researchers mentioned was that autistic children actually preferred odd sounds to the sound of their mother’s voice. At the same time, they paid attention to and understood music well.
To examine the question of whether sensory processing is impaired in children with autism, another study compared the responses of high-functioning autistic children to speech sounds (vowels) versus musical tones.The result was that sound processing and sound discrimination were found to be normal inautistic children. However, they did not pay attention to changes in speech.
Help for Autism and Auditory Processing Disorder
There are techniques and technologies available to help autistic children with auditory processing disorders, such as auditory integration training.
7 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Moore DR.The diagnosis and management of auditory processing disorder. Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch. 2011;42(3):303-8. doi:10.1044/0161-1461(2011/10-0032)Ocak E, Eshraghi RS, Danesh A, Mittal R, Eshraghi AA.Central Auditory Processing Disorders in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders.Balkan Med J. 2018;35(5):367–372. doi:10.4274/balkanmedj.2018.0853Quattrocki E, Friston K.Autism, oxytocin and interoception.Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2014;47:410–430. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.09.012Edgar JC, Fisk Iv CL, Berman JI, et al.Auditory encoding abnormalities in children with autism spectrum disorder suggest delayed development of auditory cortex.Mol Autism. 2015;6:69. Published 2015 Dec 30. doi:10.1186/s13229-015-0065-5Ceponiene R, Lepistö T, Shestakova A, et al.Speech-sound-selective auditory impairment in children with autism: they can perceive but do not attend.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003;100(9):5567–5572. doi:10.1073/pnas.0835631100Marco EJ, Hinkley LB, Hill SS, Nagarajan SS.Sensory processing in autism: a review of neurophysiologic findings.Pediatr Res. 2011;69(5 Pt 2):48R–54R. doi:10.1203/PDR.0b013e3182130c54Sinha Y, Silove N, Wheeler D, Williams K.Auditory integration training and other sound therapies for autism spectrum disorders: a systematic review.Arch Dis Child. 2006;91(12):1018–1022. doi:10.1136/adc.2006.094649Additional ReadingAuditory Processing Disorder. National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.
7 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Moore DR.The diagnosis and management of auditory processing disorder. Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch. 2011;42(3):303-8. doi:10.1044/0161-1461(2011/10-0032)Ocak E, Eshraghi RS, Danesh A, Mittal R, Eshraghi AA.Central Auditory Processing Disorders in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders.Balkan Med J. 2018;35(5):367–372. doi:10.4274/balkanmedj.2018.0853Quattrocki E, Friston K.Autism, oxytocin and interoception.Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2014;47:410–430. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.09.012Edgar JC, Fisk Iv CL, Berman JI, et al.Auditory encoding abnormalities in children with autism spectrum disorder suggest delayed development of auditory cortex.Mol Autism. 2015;6:69. Published 2015 Dec 30. doi:10.1186/s13229-015-0065-5Ceponiene R, Lepistö T, Shestakova A, et al.Speech-sound-selective auditory impairment in children with autism: they can perceive but do not attend.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003;100(9):5567–5572. doi:10.1073/pnas.0835631100Marco EJ, Hinkley LB, Hill SS, Nagarajan SS.Sensory processing in autism: a review of neurophysiologic findings.Pediatr Res. 2011;69(5 Pt 2):48R–54R. doi:10.1203/PDR.0b013e3182130c54Sinha Y, Silove N, Wheeler D, Williams K.Auditory integration training and other sound therapies for autism spectrum disorders: a systematic review.Arch Dis Child. 2006;91(12):1018–1022. doi:10.1136/adc.2006.094649Additional ReadingAuditory Processing Disorder. National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Moore DR.The diagnosis and management of auditory processing disorder. Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch. 2011;42(3):303-8. doi:10.1044/0161-1461(2011/10-0032)Ocak E, Eshraghi RS, Danesh A, Mittal R, Eshraghi AA.Central Auditory Processing Disorders in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders.Balkan Med J. 2018;35(5):367–372. doi:10.4274/balkanmedj.2018.0853Quattrocki E, Friston K.Autism, oxytocin and interoception.Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2014;47:410–430. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.09.012Edgar JC, Fisk Iv CL, Berman JI, et al.Auditory encoding abnormalities in children with autism spectrum disorder suggest delayed development of auditory cortex.Mol Autism. 2015;6:69. Published 2015 Dec 30. doi:10.1186/s13229-015-0065-5Ceponiene R, Lepistö T, Shestakova A, et al.Speech-sound-selective auditory impairment in children with autism: they can perceive but do not attend.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003;100(9):5567–5572. doi:10.1073/pnas.0835631100Marco EJ, Hinkley LB, Hill SS, Nagarajan SS.Sensory processing in autism: a review of neurophysiologic findings.Pediatr Res. 2011;69(5 Pt 2):48R–54R. doi:10.1203/PDR.0b013e3182130c54Sinha Y, Silove N, Wheeler D, Williams K.Auditory integration training and other sound therapies for autism spectrum disorders: a systematic review.Arch Dis Child. 2006;91(12):1018–1022. doi:10.1136/adc.2006.094649
Moore DR.The diagnosis and management of auditory processing disorder. Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch. 2011;42(3):303-8. doi:10.1044/0161-1461(2011/10-0032)
Ocak E, Eshraghi RS, Danesh A, Mittal R, Eshraghi AA.Central Auditory Processing Disorders in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders.Balkan Med J. 2018;35(5):367–372. doi:10.4274/balkanmedj.2018.0853
Quattrocki E, Friston K.Autism, oxytocin and interoception.Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2014;47:410–430. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.09.012
Edgar JC, Fisk Iv CL, Berman JI, et al.Auditory encoding abnormalities in children with autism spectrum disorder suggest delayed development of auditory cortex.Mol Autism. 2015;6:69. Published 2015 Dec 30. doi:10.1186/s13229-015-0065-5
Ceponiene R, Lepistö T, Shestakova A, et al.Speech-sound-selective auditory impairment in children with autism: they can perceive but do not attend.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003;100(9):5567–5572. doi:10.1073/pnas.0835631100
Marco EJ, Hinkley LB, Hill SS, Nagarajan SS.Sensory processing in autism: a review of neurophysiologic findings.Pediatr Res. 2011;69(5 Pt 2):48R–54R. doi:10.1203/PDR.0b013e3182130c54
Sinha Y, Silove N, Wheeler D, Williams K.Auditory integration training and other sound therapies for autism spectrum disorders: a systematic review.Arch Dis Child. 2006;91(12):1018–1022. doi:10.1136/adc.2006.094649
Auditory Processing Disorder. National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.
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