In many ways, it can be harder to figure out and meet the needs of children with CAPD or partial hearing losses than for those who are profoundly deaf. The same holds true for kids with visual processing problems or seriously impaired vision in comparison with those who are blind.

To begin with, it’s often hard to figure out that a child has impaired hearing or vision. For one thing, gifted kids use their cognitive abilities to compensate for what they are missing visually or auditorily. This often hides both the child’s giftedness and the impairment, as well as being exhausting and frustrating for the child. In addition, kids seldom have any idea that other people see or hear more clearly than they do. They just assume that they’re stupid for not being able to figure out what those blurry lines say or what the fuzzy sounds mean. Therefore, they don’t know to say “I’m not seeing well enough and need glasses” or “my hearing isn’t as good as it should be.” For this reason, I strongly recommend that every child should see an eye doctor by first grade. Any children showing signs of having trouble understanding what people are saying or paying attention auditorily should have their hearing assessed by an audiologist who is knowledgeable about auditory processing disorders.

Even though we may recognize that a child is having difficulties of some sort, many of our 2e kids have other problems, such as AD/HD or Asperger Syndrome, which may have already been diagnosed. In these situations, behaviors or problems caused by processing problems or impairments often get erroneously attributed to the AD/HD or AS, especially when children’s special needs interfere with their ability to tolerate or cooperate with testing. Identification becomes even more difficult when we consider that some children’s processing problems only kick in when the children are trying to see and hear at the same time; and, complicating matters further, not all practitioners are trained to diagnose problems with auditory or visual processing.

Once children are identified as having impaired vision or hearing, or related processing problems, it may still be difficult to realize how severely these problems can affect them. We don’t expect a deaf child to understand what the teacher is saying without some sort of intervention. However, we may not realize that a child with auditory processing deficits also finds it extremely difficult to follow what teacher and classmates are saying without assistance (i.e., FM system to amplify sound, preferential seating, written instructions). Similarly, some children can see enough so that the extent of their visual impairment is not obvious. Parents and teachers may be unaware that these children will never be able to read comfortably, even with large print books, and that they would benefit from learning Braille and being treated as fully visually impaired.

Knowing just how many children are in this situation is difficult because they are so under-recognized. If you have a child diagnosed with any sort of sensory processing problem or impairment (low-vision, hard of hearing), it is important to consider whether your child’s impairment is causing more severe problems than you realize. If your child seems “oppositional” or “unmotivated” for work that is affected by vision or hearing and you know that the child has some impairment in that area, try to imagine going through school wearing earplugs or with scratched up sunglasses. That may be what your child is experiencing.

If first-line attempts to deal with the problem are not effective, it can be helpful to request an assessment from experts at your state school for the blind or deaf. In addition to their obvious areas of expertise, these professionals are often able to recognize that certain behaviors are due to vision or hearing impairment that would otherwise look like symptoms of Asperger Syndrome or AD/HD.