At the My Brain Wellness Center in-depth diagnostic testing is provided to uncover all hidden obstacles to learning. An I.T.P. or Individual Therapy Protocol is then developed to help individuals with the mastery of spelling, reading, math, auditory processing and memory skills. Our clients learn to how to become better and more effective listeners and learners.

My Brain Wellness Center uses the latest research in neuroscience and brain plasticity to help strengthen skills and open up new pathways to learning. The brain has a natural ability to physically change itself by creating new pathways and connections in response to your experiences, this is called neuroplasticity. Plasticity can be positively stimulated by engaging in the right activities, often enough, over a sufficient period of time, resulting in positive life changes. At the My Brain Wellness Center therapeutic programs are used which create measurable changes in the brain that are long term and lasting!

WHAT IS CENTRAL AUDITORY PROCESSING?

Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) also called Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) is a receptive language disorder, in which a person hears sounds but can’t process the information correctly into words and language. People with APD intermittently experience an inability to process verbal information. When people with APD have a processing failure, they do not process what is being said to them. They may be able to repeat the words back word for word, but the meaning of the message is lost. Simply repeating the instruction is of no use if a person with APD is not processing. Neither will increasing the volume help.

People with central auditory processing disorder can’t recognize the difference between sounds in words even when the sounds are loud enough. That is they can’t differentiate between the words that sound similar like hat, cat or hall, ball. This is because something adversely affects the processing or interpretation of information.

About 5 percent of the school-going children are affected from this disorder.

WHAT ARE THE BEHAVIORS OF CHILDREN WITH APD?

Children who have auditory processing disorders may behave as if they have a hearing loss. While not all children present all behaviors, Keith (1995) offers the following examples of behaviors that may be displayed by children who have APD:

*Inconsistent response to speech
* Frequent requests for repetition (What? Huh?)
* Difficulty listening or paying attention in noisy environments
* Often misunderstanding what is said
* Difficulty following long directions
* Poor memory for information presented verbally
* Difficulty discerning direction from which sound is coming
* History of middle ear infection.

WHAT ARE ACADEMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF CHILDREN WHO HAVE APD?

In addition to the preceding behaviors, children may also present a variety of academic characteristics that may lead teachers and parents to suspect APD. Baran (1998) offers the following characteristics. Again, all children will not present all characteristics.

* Poor expressive and receptive language abilities
* Poor reading, writing, and spelling
* Poor phonics and speech sound discrimination
* Difficulty taking notes
* Difficulty learning foreign languages
* Weak short-term memory
* Behavioral, psychological, and/or social problems resulting from poor language