What if Your Child Can’t be a Good Listener? Exploring Auditory Processing with Dr. Deborah Swain

Dr. Dan and Dr. Swain talk about hearing and listening on this episode. It’s all about “what we do with what we hear” and “how the ear speaks to the brain” and that some children simply don’t have the innate ability to be a good listener and behavior is the only clue that a child is struggling. Dr. Deborah Ross-Swain is the former Chief of Speech Pathology at the University of California Davis Medical Center and the owner and Clinical Director of The Swain Center for Listening, Communicating and Learning. She has over 35 years of experience in the areas of auditory processing, ASD, learning and Early Intervention and is a nationally recognized speaker, writer and researcher and author. Her book Auditory Processing Disorders: Assessment, Management and Treatment is the foundation for today’s insightful discussion which includes a discussion about assessments, social challenges, diagnosis, and learning challenges. Dr. Dan leads this detailed discussion about how parents can become more aware and in doing so support their child. Dr. Dan is moved at the end of the episode when Dr. Swain shares that her Parent Footprint moment has always been about respecting each of her four children and how that respect has come back full circle for her.