Award-winner’s mission to help kids

A common barrier to success at school is related to hearing - but doesn’t include the ears.

One in 20 children experience Auditory Processing Disorder [APD], audiologist Angela Alexander says.

‘‘It’s not happening at ear level – it’s happening higher up.

‘‘Kids with ADP can hear, but they don’t understand what they’re hearing,’’ she said.

APD isn’t a hearing disorder. APD affects how the brain processes speech, she said.

The Kansas-born audiologist, who owns Hear Better Audiology on Motutaiko St, is one of two APD experts in the country.

Alexander was runner-up in the Community Contribution category at the recent Service IQ Great Lake Taupo Business Awards, due for her work in the APD field. She won the ‘‘Emerging Business’’ and ‘‘Excellence in Innovation’’ award categories.

‘‘Kids with APD often say ‘huh’, ‘what’ or ‘pardon’,’’ Alexander said.

‘‘They often look lost in noisy environments. They struggle with multi-step instructions.

‘‘They’re often quite bright but still can’t achieve well in school without additional effort.’’

However, the disorder isn’t permanent – children can improve their auditory processing through systematic therapy, Alexander said.

‘‘If you have a child who’s constantly mixing up sounds, like an ‘m’ and an ‘n’, or a ‘b’ and a ‘d’, then we actually go and train them to hear those sounds crisply and clearly quickly so they can digest sounds more accurately.’’

While 5 per cent of New Zealanders experience APD, research from the University of Auckland suggests 35 per cent of Pacific Island children may have auditory processing difficulties, she said.

Alexander studied a Ph.D in audiology at the University of Kansas.

‘‘I struggled to understand my teachers sometimes, when I was a child. I knew family members that were smart, but didn’t achieve academically.

‘‘The first time I heard about auditory processing disorder, it felt like falling in love.

‘‘I knew I had to work with APD and find these kids, who are smart but not achieving,’’ she said.

‘‘I see these children come in and they seem lost. But, after several training sessions, they become more confident and hold their heads high.’’