Samenvatting

Zijn auditieve verwerkingsproblemen een te onderscheiden stoornis?Focus group discussions with speech-language pathologists (SLP) showed that there exists uncertainty among SLP's about the definition, the characteristics of auditory processing disorders (APD) in children. Also in literature there is controversy about the definition and characteristics of APD (McFarland & Cacace, 2008; Miller & Wagstaff, 2011). Our goal was to identify to what extent APD coheres with other developmental disorders, namely speech-language impairment (SLI), reading disorders (Dyslexia), Attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD) and Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and to investigate if APD can be seen as a separate clinical disorder. For data collection we used a new developed application on our APD-community on Taalexpert.nl. We collected characteristics of APD, SLI, Dyslexia, ADHD, and ASD in the literature and asked professionals in the Netherlands who work with children with possible APD to classify the collected characteristics among the above mentioned developmental disorders. Simultaneously we conducted a systematic review to the characteristics of APD and the relation with other developmental disorders. We reviewed 1) what characteristics are associated with APD; and 2) what characteristics of APD also occur in SLI, Dyslexia, ADHD, and ASD. We present an overview of the characteristics found for APD in relation to the other developmental disorders. We also want to contribute to the ongoing discussion if APD can be seen as a separate clinical disorder. When research and practice meet each other and share their talents, they can move the world for children with APD.