For the longest time I have always thought I had ADHD (primarily inattentive type). So I went to see a psychiatrist and he had me fill out a survey for ADHD. I "scored" high enough to qualify for ADHD so he started writing prescriptions left and right. I am now to the point where I am taking 90mg of Adderall complemented with 150mg of Wellbutrin. It barely even works and the side effect profile is not worth it anymore. So I did some research and discovered something called Auditory Processing Disorder, or APD. I read that doctors are commonly misdiagnosing their patients as having ADHD when in reality they simply have APD.

Here are some of the symptoms of APD. The items in bold are ones that I experience on a daily basis.

1. Difficulty hearing in noisy situations
2. Difficulty following long conversations
3. Difficulty hearing conversations on the telephone
4. Difficulty learning a foreign language or challenging vocabulary words
5. Difficulty remembering spoken information (i.e., auditory memory deficits)
6. Difficulty taking notes
7. Difficulty maintaining focus on an activity if other sounds are present
8. Difficulty with organizational skills
9. Difficulty following multi-step directions
10. Difficulty in dividing attention
11. Difficulty with reading and/or spelling

Each one of those items in bold simply blew me away as to how extraordinarily real they describe myself. The definition for ADHD is much more broad under DSM-IV. I am beginning to believe that I do indeed have APD and not ADHD. However, there is no medication currently on the market to treat APD. It seems as though I am worthless to society now.

Well....................

There are other symptoms that differentiate ADHD-I from (C)APD (the ones you list often occur in ADHD-I as well):


Decoding problems. Substituting certain phonemes (especially consonant phonemes) for others. Hearing fifty for fifteen. Hearing "The cat in the hat" as "The bat in the rat" (not the best example, but I'm tired).
Difficulty determining word junctions. Words will sound jumbled together or like garbage. Difficulty decoding input if the beginning of a sentence is missed.
Slow auditory processing. (Leads to difficulty taking notes).
Hypersensitive hearing.
Poor determination of the location of a noise.
Distractability.


The decoding issues are exacerbated by background noise. Usually it takes a documented problem with acquiring language at an early age to warrant a CAPD diagnosis.

The decoding issues are exacerbated by background noise. Usually it takes a documented problem with acquiring language at an early age to warrant a CAPD diagnosis.Well if this is any indication for you, I didn't say my first word until I was almost 5 years old. Most toddlers begin to speak at age 2. Ever since that point I have suffered greatly from a speech impediment dealing with "slide letters" such as W, R, and L.

Before you jump on that bandwagon , go to an audiologist and get a baseline hearing test. This could be a hearing problem that is exacerbating your ADHD. You should talk to your doctor about it. He/she might have some ideas to share.

Me :D


For the longest time I have always thought I had ADHD (primarily inattentive type). So I went to see a psychiatrist and he had me fill out a survey for ADHD. I "scored" high enough to qualify for ADHD so he started writing prescriptions left and right. I am now to the point where I am taking 90mg of Adderall complemented with 150mg of Wellbutrin. It barely even works and the side effect profile is not worth it anymore. So I did some research and discovered something called Auditory Processing Disorder, or APD. I read that doctors are commonly misdiagnosing their patients as having ADHD when in reality they simply have APD.

Here are some of the symptoms of APD. The items in bold are ones that I experience on a daily basis.

1. Difficulty hearing in noisy situations
2. Difficulty following long conversations
3. Difficulty hearing conversations on the telephone
4. Difficulty learning a foreign language or challenging vocabulary words
5. Difficulty remembering spoken information (i.e., auditory memory deficits)
6. Difficulty taking notes
7. Difficulty maintaining focus on an activity if other sounds are present
8. Difficulty with organizational skills
9. Difficulty following multi-step directions
10. Difficulty in dividing attention
11. Difficulty with reading and/or spelling

Each one of those items in bold simply blew me away as to how extraordinarily real they describe myself. The definition for ADHD is much more broad under DSM-IV. I am beginning to believe that I do indeed have APD and not ADHD. However, there is no medication currently on the market to treat APD. It seems as though I am worthless to society now.

yeah i have this problem pretty bad as well. in hearing tests done in high school and everything i scored perfectly, but hearing conversations are a much tougher task, and even tougher to stay focused

Have you considered the possibility of BOTH? They go together often.

Scuro

This is part of my problems. I have a severe assymetrical high frequency hearing loss , leading to tinnitus and exacerbating my hypersensitivity. That leaves me very ADDish and prone to sensory problems in general.

Me :D

Have you considered the possibility of BOTH? They go together often.If I remember my statistics correctly, about 50% of the time they occur together.

Scattered

If I remember my statistics correctly, about 50% of the time they occur together.

Scattered

The real question is that is the CAPD that occurs with ADHD/HFA always the same as CAPD alone? According to current theory, CAPD is said to be caused by an underdeveloped CANS (Central Auditory Nervous System), which in turn is caused by underactivity of this area during development (which happens in the case of cronic ear infections).

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Well if this is any indication for you, I didn't say my first word until I was almost 5 years old. Most toddlers begin to speak at age 2. Ever since that point I have suffered greatly from a speech impediment dealing with "slide letters" such as W, R, and L.

Well, if you believe that this was caused by decoding issues (and the other issues as described above), maybe you are CAPD. Did you have a history of ear infections during childhood.

Like the rest of what has been posted, you can have both ADHD and CAPD, although CAPD does cause ADHD like symptoms. CAPD itself doesn't cause time management and organization issues, but information may be missed due to the APD and may give the apperance of disorganization.