What’s that sound?
Support for children with auditory filtering issues
Have you ever thought about how many sounds we encounter on a day-to-day basis? Babies crying, hand dryers, crowds of people and background music at the shops. Can you imagine if you couldn’t filter out every background noise you heard? Can you imagine if you heard every bell ringing, every dog barking, every bird chirping, every person talking all at once? It would be enough to make you go crazy!
Some children with auditory filtering issues do experience all noises around them all at once! Some children (and adults!) have difficulty filtering out the sound of a clock ticking, or discriminating between extraneous (non-important) background noise to be able to filter into what’s important (for example the sound of the teacher or parent calling their name!).
So what is auditory filtering?
Auditory filtering is the ability to filter in important auditory information and filter out non-important or background sounds. Research shows some children have issues with the auditory filtering process. Some children also have trouble processing two types of sensory input at one time, for example if they are looking at lego and trying to figure out how to put something together, they may not be able to filter in the sound of your voice. Some children actually concentrate better on what you’re saying by not looking at you while you’re talking too!
How does auditory filtering impact my child’s function?
Children with auditory filtering issues sometimes seem to drift off into the distance, have trouble following 2-3 step instructions or may always respond to last thing you said instead of the whole sentence. For example, if you say, “Tidy your room and then we can have icecream after dinner,” they may only hear the “icecream after dinner” part and then become upset when they realise they need to clean their room first!
How can I improve my child’s ability to manage if they have auditory filtering issues?
Do homework in a quiet, distraction-free environment, away from any noise. For example, no TV or music on in the background, away from siblings or away from household electronics such as blenders and vacuums.
Instead of giving verbal instructions from behind or in another room (for example giving a time warning to stop watching TV), get down to your child’s level, face-to-face to make sure their attention is on you before giving the instruction or a time heads up.
Break down more complex instructions into clear steps. For example, instead of saying, “It’s time to get ready to go,” you might have more success by giving the same instruction in the same way everyday: “Put on your uniform, brush your teeth and put your shoes on”.
In a school setting, request for your child to sit closer to the teacher to reduce noise and distraction from other children. This can also improve their ability to tune in to what the teacher is saying.
Children with auditory filtering issues sometimes seem to drift off into the distance, have trouble with following 2-3 step instructions or may always respond to last thing you said instead of the whole sentence.
This blog has covered some ways to support children with auditory filtering issues. Some children can also demonstrate fear or avoidance of specific sounds, such as dogs barking, hair dryers, toilets flushing, hair clippers, aeroplanes, lawn mowers or vacuum cleaners. For some children, their responses to certain noises may affect their daily function. For example, creating fear of leaving the house to go for a walk or appearing worried or distressed every time you need to vacuum the house! If your child is demonstrating fear or avoidance around specific sounds, read our blog on Auditory Over-Responsiveness for some additional information around this topic!
If you have any additional questions or concerns, contact our friendly team of occupational therapists, speech therapists and physiotherapists. We can give you specific recommendations on how to support your child to learn, play and develop into their potential!