Language Disorders - The Drake Institute

An auditory processing disorder is marked by an individual’s inability to process or distinguish between distinct sounds or consonants. This is due to weak connections in the auditory cortex of the brain – the location of neural circuits that support language. Individuals with this kind of disorder cannot distinguish between similar short words, like “da” and “ba”. Likewise, consonants that race by in less than a millisecond, like “k” and “s” are difficult to distinguish in everyday speech. As a result an individual with an auditory processing disorder misses words in conversation, ina a classroom setting, and at work. Additional, a person who cannot distinguish sounds orally will have difficulty connection them to their written representation therefore limiting a person’s ability as well.

Consider this question; “Who was the first president of the United States?” An individual without a processing disorder will process the question. A learning disabled individual will process the words. A child processing in this way in the classroom will process the information and think about an answer once the rest of the class has moved on to something else, thus, placing him/her behind in class. They miss information that follow and the contest of that information.

Program Synergy
At the Institute we pay special attention to how the various different therapies coordinate together, not just full care but at the right time. Treatments for learning disorders can become significantly more potent when applied when the patient’s Attentional system is at a certain stage, and not before. In fact without this all important ingredient treatment effects that require a certain neurological base won’t hold on at all or never develop fully. It is for this reason that care provided by outside sources must be made aware of the timing and characteristics of Drake care. The Program Coordinator is invaluable in assisting you with the timing of each form of therapy and how they work best together.