Jj is for Jottings 136. Developing Auditory Processing Skills.
Following on from the article on auditory skills, we turn to the topic of developing auditory processing skills. An article on communication milestones from 12 months to 5 years can be found here. But now we will explore the development of auditory processing skills in a little more detail.
One general way of developing auditory processing skills is to read to your children.
Jj is for Jottings 80. Decodable Readers.
As mentioned in the previous article (see here), decodable readers support the teaching of phonics in a cumulative manner. The rules and patterns of the English language are taught sequentially. As the student learns the rules, he practices using decodable readers. In this way there are no nasty surprises involving unknown words, because they know the rules and every word can be decoded. This gives the reader both skills and confidence, and makes learning to read much less of a challenge.
Jj is for Jottings 53. To Fidget or Not to Fidget?
Fidget spinners are all the rage at school and in homes at the moment – flat, triangle-shaped pieces of hard plastic or metal with a ball-bearing in the centre that the user spins between two fingers. Are they just a distraction in the classroom? Continue reading
Sam, the toenail-eating dog in Spring 2014, aged 15 years.
Jj is for Jottings 22. Auditory Sequential Memory: Some Useful Figures.
Thinking/cognition involves auditory sequential memory (also referred to as short term auditory processing or short term auditory memory) and visual sequential processing, working memory and executive function.
Auditory and visual sequential processing is how many pieces of information you can take in.
Working memory is how many pieces of information you can take in, hold it in your memory and DO something with it (manipulate the pieces).
Executive function is where you have taken in the information and remembered it, and now you are bringing in other information from long term memory and using visualisation (thinking in pictures) and conceptualisation (thinking in words) to manipulate the information and make associations i.e. think.
Auditory sequential memory is measured quite simply by using digit span – how many single numbers are remembered when presented one second apart. eg. 9-5-2-4. The average adult has a digit span of 7 (but this starts to decline after the late 20’s). At birth the sequential processing is 0. Typically it takes around 15 years to go from 0-7. Here’s a little guide:
Age Number of Digits
3 years 2-3
4 years 3-4
5 years 3,4,5
6 years 5-6
7-15 years 7 Continue reading
