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AUDIOLOGY CENTER
The Texas Children's Hospital
Audiology Center provides hearing aid evaluations and fittings for
infants and children of all ages. There are a variety of ways to
communicate with and educate a hearing-impaired child. If the
parents choose an oral approach, then hearing aids must be fit as
soon as possible in order for the child to learn speech and language
to his/her full potential.
A child is never too young to have his
hearing tested or to be fit with hearing aids. In fact, research
shows that the sooner the hearing loss is identified and hearing
aids are fit, the greater the chance the child has of learning
speech and language.
The audiologists at Texas Children's
Hospital have extensive experience fitting and dispensing a variety
of hearing aids, including digital-programmable,
analog-programmable, and conventional hearing aids. Once a child is
identified with a hearing loss, the audiologist will counsel the
parents on the communication and educational implications of the
hearing loss and will base the hearing aid recommendation on the
type and degree of hearing loss.
The Texas Children's Hospital
Audiology Center provides auditory processing disorder (APD) or
central auditory processing disorder (CAPD) evaluations. We use a
multidisciplinary approach in order to evaluate the whole child so
that maximum functional benefit can be achieved. Therefore, we work
closely with the Learning Support Center at Texas Children's
Hospital to provide a multidisciplinary approach for the evaluation
and identification of auditory processing disorder.
APD is the difficulty or inability
to process auditory information. Some signs of APD are: difficulty
following multiple step commands; distractibility, especially in
background noise; spelling and reading difficulties, receptive
language delay or disorder, difficulty understanding information
when given auditorily, requesting many repetitions.
The child must be at least 8 years
old and must first be evaluated by the Learning Support Center at
Texas Children's Hospital to exclude other disorders that could
affect our test results, making the interpretation of the APD test
results extremely difficult.
There are many disorders that can mimic
APD; therefore, it is our policy to ensure that these disorders are
excluded prior to APD testing so that the child’s true problem can be
identified and managed. The APD
Team includes Amy Magruder, AuD.;
Charlotte ten Brink, M.S.; and
Laura W. Howe, M.S.
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