Hi,
My 8-yr old was recently diagnosed with a mild auditory processing delay. Results of the different tests assessing auditory processing abilities showed significant difficulties in the following areas:
• Auditory figure-ground (understanding speech in presence of noise)
• Short-term auditory memory
• Strong right ear advantage
His performance on specific tests showed the following:
[b]Staggered Spondaic Word Test (SSW):[/b]
His obtained results were outside of normal limits for the left competing condition, which is indicative of Tolerance Fading Memory Patterm (Katz, 1998). This indicates a problem with understanding speech in presence of noise and auditory memory.
[b]Word Recognition Scores in Noise W-22 list 3D (WRS):[/b]
Below normal limits for both ears. He has moderate difficulty understanding speech in the presence of noise.
[b]Digit Memory Span:[/b]
Results confirm his difficulty with short-term auditory memory.
The audiologist recommended Earobics Step 2 for 50 minutes a day, five days a week, for six weeks. However, after trying it out, he says it seems babyish and really basic. He can read very well (though he had a rough start when learning), so reading is not an issue at this point.
Has anyone had experience with FastForword or Earobics as an intervention for children who can read well, but have difficulties in the same areas as my son?
Thanks,
Julie
Re: Earobics vs. FastForword for Auditory Processing Delay
P.S. My son could not read well when he did this programs but the programs do not involve reading but listening.
Re: Earobics vs. FastForword for Auditory Processing Delay
I am attending college and hope to work with children with special needs. Thank you for the information about Earobics and FastForword. What your experiences were when working with these programs are very important, you are not trying to sell either product but give real life information vs in the lab information. Thank you
My son had auditory processing deficits. We did Fast Forward and Earobics. Fast Forward artificially slows down the sounds to teach the brain to eventually process faster. Earobics did not. My son did FFW first and then EArobics. However, if your son can do Earobics auditory development program, he should. It means that he doesn’t need FFW. FFW is also expensive while EArobics is cheap. You don’t want to spend money on things your son doesn’t need. There is a step 1 and a step 2 for Earobics but neither of these programs are reading.
Earobics is most effective when done at least 30 minutes a day. Part of the effectiveness of FFW is its intensity—it is hours a day.