Have you ever been on a call and had trouble hearing the person on the other side? Have you ever been in the back of a classroom and can’t understand what your teacher is saying? Not hearing all the words and having to guess what people say is extremely frustrating. Now imagine if this is every minute of every day. This is what it is like to have APD/Auditory processing disorder.
Hi everyone, my name is Abhik Agrawal, I am seventeen years old, and I live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 2020 I was diagnosed with APD at the Children’s hospital. The diagnosis was a surprise for my family and me. Over the years I have wondered why I couldn’t hear everything that people say. So, for instance, I remember when I was playing basketball outside with my classmates. A friend said,” Hey pass the ball,” and I said” What?” and then did something different than what my friend said. I remember that my teammates got mad at me since I didn’t hear my friend correctly and when my teammates got mad at me, I got mad at myself. I remember feeling bad about myself and wondering what is wrong with me? I always did well on hearing tests at school, so I did not think it was a hearing issue. Sometimes when people spoke to me, I felt confused as to what people were talking about. I thought that I was dumb and stupid.
In 2020 my teacher at the Waldorf School of Pittsburgh, Ms. Anne Clair Goodman, commented to my parents that I worked very hard and always looked extremely tired. She was right, I usually didn’t really talk to anybody, and I always sat by myself at lunch. I always felt tired after school even though I got many hours of sleep. After hearing my teacher’s observation, my parents took me to the Children’s Hospital where I got tested and diagnosed with APD. When I learned that I have APD I got scared. It sounded like something bad and serious. When the doctor explained what it was, I was relieved that I have APD because now I know why I keep saying “what”. However, I was also worried that now people would think something is wrong with my hearing and that I can’t hear them.
What is APD you might ask? APD is an issue with the way my brain and ears talk to each other. Say someone is talking to you, and there is a lot of background noise, you might say “What” or “Can you say that again? This happens because although you can hear the person, the brain needs time to process the speech. The symptoms of APD are difficulty understanding speech in noisy environments, following directions, distinguishing between similar sounds, and learning disability. Someone with APD has to work very hard decoding common speech. Sometimes even when the water is running in the background, I have trouble hearing what my mom is saying. The result is that the person may seem very shy, or quiet. The person can seem confused during a conversation or need a person to repeat themselves.
APD has no cure. Like many conditions that people have, I have to learn how to live with this and be happy. The reason I am doing this website is because I want to help people who are sensitive to noisy places. This includes people who are hearing impaired, or have conditions like APD, Autism, Tourette syndrome, etc. which leads them to not tolerate loud surroundings. I think if I just share my life, and we work together, things will get better.
Finally, I want to thank some people who saw a disability as a place from which to work on changing things for the better. Firstly, Anne Clair Goodman from The Waldorf School of Pittsburgh inspired me to believe in myself. My teachers Tim Stapleton, and Blain Schiff helped me to conceive of this project and are wonderful people.