Child Auditory Processing Disorder Testing
Auditory Processing Disorder testing for children from £995. The Hearing Clinic is one of the few CQC-registered private clinics in England offering specialist paediatric APD tests and management. Rest easy knowing your child’s hearing is supported by dedicated experts, every step of the way.
Your child’s hearing test was normal – but you know something isn’t right
If your child has been told they have normal hearing but continues to struggle – in the classroom, in group conversations, with instructions – you may have come across the term Auditory Processing Disorder. And you may have found that getting a proper assessment is harder than it should be.
Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) is not a hearing loss. It’s a condition affecting how the brain interprets sound, which means it won’t show up on a standard hearing test. Children with APD can hear perfectly well in quiet environments but struggle profoundly when listening conditions become more demanding. The classroom, the playground, the dinner table – all the places where children are expected to listen and learn – can become genuinely exhausting.
NHS APD assessments for children typically involve long waits, limited availability, and referral criteria that many struggling children don’t meet.
A private APD test for kids at The Hearing Clinic costs £995, with access to a specialist within weeks, a thorough assessment using the latest protocols, and a detailed written report that your child’s school, SENCO and GP can actually use.
Calm, gentle testing from a leading child APD clinic
Angelique Da Costa – dedicated paediatric APD specialist
Comprehensive report for school, SENDCO, and GP
CQC-registered – independently verified clinical standards
Meet Angelique Da Costa – your child APD specialist
Angelique leads children’s APD assessment and management at The Hearing Clinic, specialising in supporting children whose listening difficulties have gone unrecognised or unexplained – including those with co-occurring conditions such as ADHD, dyslexia, autism, and language disorder.
Her child auditory processing disorder tests are thorough, evidence-based and child-centred, providing parents, schools and other professionals with clear, detailed recommendations to support each child effectively. She also works with families to find the most suitable APD management solution, which may include low-gain hearing aids, auditory training, and classroom adjustments.
The importance of early intervention for APD
Early identification of Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) can make a meaningful difference to your child’s confidence, learning, and everyday communication. If your child struggles to follow instructions, seems easily distracted in noisy classrooms, or is often misunderstood, they could have an auditory processing disorder.
The Hearing Clinic provides gentle, child-friendly APD assessments in a calm, reassuring environment, taking the time to understand your child’s unique needs. With the right support, we help your child feel more confident, capable, and understood at school and beyond.
Is an APD assessment right for your child?
An auditory processing disorder test may be appropriate if your child:
- Has had a normal hearing test but is still struggling to follow conversations or instructions
- Has been assessed for or diagnosed with ADHD, dyslexia, or autism, and you suspect a listening component
- Has a history of glue ear or repeated ear infections in early childhood
- Is finding phone calls or group conversations particularly difficult
- Is falling behind at school despite appearing to try hard
- Struggles particularly in noisy environments like classrooms or playgrounds
- Has been described by teachers as inattentive, distracted, or slow to process verbal instructions
Common signs of APD in children
APD signs can be easy to overlook or misattribute – particularly because children often develop coping strategies that partially mask their difficulties. The following are the most common indicators that an APD for kids may be worth investigating.
- Struggling to hear in background noise
Difficulty focusing in noisy environments such as classrooms or playgrounds. - Cannot remember longer instructions
Challenges with following multi-step directions. - Difficulty understanding accents and cannot follow fast speech
Trouble keeping up with conversations and different speech patterns. - Becomes unsettled at school
Struggles to stay focused in class.
- Mishears or misunderstands what is being said
Frequent need for repetition, especially in group settings. - Difficulty concentrating unless it is very quiet in the room
Needs quieter environments for tasks that require attention. - Often daydreams
Frequently drifts off during listening tasks. - Disliking speaking on the phone
Finds phone conversations confusing or difficult.
Could it be hearing loss rather than APD?
Some of the signs of APD overlap with those of hearing loss, which is why we always carry out a full diagnostic children’s hearing test before an APD assessment. If your child hasn’t yet had a hearing test, this is where we’d start. If they have already been tested and the result was normal, that’s an important piece of information that points us towards APD rather than peripheral hearing loss.
Signs that may indicate hearing loss rather than APD include:
- Not responding to their name – Often ignores being called out
- Frequently asking for repetition – Regularly asks people to repeat
- Struggling to follow conversations – Has trouble keeping up in talks
- Delayed speech development – Takes longer to form clear words
- Turning up the volume excessively – Prefers sound much louder than others
What does an Auditory Processing Disorder test for children involve?
Before your appointment
You’ll be asked to complete questionnaires about your child’s listening difficulties before attending. These help us understand the full picture before we begin testing and make the most of your appointment time.
We’ll also ask for any relevant reports – from the school, an educational psychologist, a speech and language therapist, or a paediatrician – as these help us interpret your child’s results in context.
Fact-finding and peripheral hearing assessment
Testing takes place over 2 days. The first part of your appointment is a fact-finding and peripheral assessment, which costs £495. The test starts with us building a relationship with your child, listening to them to find out how they experience their auditory world. This may be the first time you fully understand the impact of the challenges they face.
Child APD assessment
The child APD assessment itself costs £995 and takes approximately two hours. We spend an hour together, followed by a 60-minute break, and then we finish the testing in a second hour. The testing includes a battery of age-appropriate APD tests assessing different aspects of auditory processing – how your child processes speech in noise, distinguishes between similar sounds, follows auditory sequences, and integrates information from both ears. Tests are designed to be engaging rather than clinical, and Angelique is experienced at keeping children comfortable and focused throughout.
Your report
Following the assessment, you’ll receive a detailed written report covering your child’s results, a clear diagnosis where applicable, and specific recommendations for school, home and any further specialist involvement. This report is written to be genuinely useful: actionable, clearly explained, and suitable for sharing with teachers, SENCOs, GPs and other professionals.
Your follow-up consultation
Once you have had an opportunity to read your child’s APD report, we will schedule a 30-minute virtual meeting or phone call to discuss the findings and to answer any questions that you have about your child’s management plan.
This is what one of our patients has to say about our APD assessment and management:
“Genuinely caring and professional; a leader in the field of APD in the UK”
Hi Trisha and The Hearing Clinic Team,
We visited Bridgette last year and attained a diagnosis of APD for my 10 year old daughter. The care and after care was absolutely fantastic, it went above and beyond anything I have previously experienced. My daughter has since come on leaps and bounds with her reading, for a child that could never access phonics and struggled with near sounds, she is now reading at “age expected” level from being four years behind. We will always return the The Hearing Clinic, even though it’s a 3 hour journey for us, absolutely worth every travelled mile. We are so incredibly thankful!
Get your child the answers – and the support – they deserve
Book a child’s APD assessment at our Hertfordshire clinic – one of the very few CQC Registered private clinics in the UK offering specialist APD tests for children.
How is APD in children managed?
APD in children is highly manageable with the right combination of support. Depending on your child’s assessment results, their management plan may include:
In some cases, low-gain hearing technology can help by improving the clarity of speech reaching the auditory system – even where there is no measurable hearing loss. They help by amplifying specific frequencies that are often missed (without overloading other sounds), aiding in clear auditory processing.
Remote microphone systems transmit the teacher’s voice directly to your child’s low-gain hearing aids, significantly reducing the effect of classroom noise and distance. These are one of the most effective interventions for children with APD in a school setting.
Structured listening programmes designed to strengthen specific aspects of auditory processing over time. We use a combination of one-to-one auditory training and app-based auditory training games to help improve the underlying auditory processing deficits within the auditory system.
Practical adjustments that reduce listening demand – preferential seating, written instructions alongside verbal ones, reduced background noise, and extended processing time. Your report will include specific recommendations that your child’s school can implement.
Where co-occurring conditions such as ADHD, dyslexia or autism are involved, we can liaise with or refer to educational psychologists, speech and language therapists, and paediatricians to ensure your child receives joined-up support.
Information for teachers, SENDCOs and GPs
If you are referring a child for APD assessment, or have received one of our APD reports and would like to discuss its recommendations, we welcome contact from education and healthcare professionals.
Our reports are written to be directly useful in an educational context – they include specific classroom accommodation recommendations, suggested assistive technology, and guidance on how to structure verbal instruction for children with APD. We are also able to provide summary letters for school EHCP applications or GP referral letters where needed.
Glue ear occurs when the Eustachian tube does not open and close properly, disrupting the regulation of air in the middle ear. When the tube becomes blocked, a sticky substance forms and stops the eardrum from vibrating. Glue ear can develop following a cold, flu, ear infection, or allergies, but it can occur at other times.
What does an APD test for a child cost?
A full diagnostic hearing assessment is required before APD testing and costs £495 at The Hearing Clinic. The APD test for children costs £995 and includes the full assessment and a comprehensive written report.
We’ll walk you through the full process and costs clearly before you commit to anything. If your child has already had a hearing assessment that meets the required criteria, you may be able to proceed directly to APD assessment – please call us to discuss.
Not sure if an APD assessment is the right next step? We’re here to help
Many of the families we see have already been on a long journey before they find us – normal hearing tests, school concerns, unanswered questions. Our team will listen, answer your questions honestly, and help you work out whether an assessment makes sense for your child. No pressure, no obligation. Complete the form, and we’ll call you back.
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Have more questions?
Don’t hesitate to contact us
We’re here to support you every step of the way. Whether you have questions about your hearing health, need help booking an APD test for your child, or simply want to chat with our friendly team, we’re just a message away.
APD testing requires a level of concentration and cooperation that most children reach from around age 7. The Hearing Clinic carries out paediatric APD assessments from age 7 upwards. A peripheral hearing assessment is required first and can be carried out from age 4.
Yes – and this is one of the most important things to understand about APD. A standard hearing test measures whether your child can detect sound. It doesn’t test what their brain does with that sound. Children with APD typically have normal hearing test results, which is one reason the condition so often goes undiagnosed for years.
APD, ADHD and dyslexia are distinct conditions, but they frequently occur together, and their symptoms can overlap significantly. Having one doesn’t rule out the others. A specialist APD assessment helps identify whether an auditory processing difficulty is part of the picture, so the right support can be put in place.
It is a legal requirement to be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) when testing children’s hearing. This is to ensure high standards of safety, care and quality. We are one of a small handful of CQC registered hearing clinics in the UK which means that you are in safe hands. There are some hearing clinics that offer APD testing who are not CQC registered to please be careful when considering your choice of hearing clinic.
You’ll receive a detailed written report with findings and recommendations. We’ll talk you through the results at a dedicated follow-up appointment, and the report is written to be shared with the school, your GP, and any other professionals involved in your child’s care. We also offer follow-up appointments to discuss progress and adjust the management plan as your child develops.
No, you can contact us directly. If your GP or school has raised concerns about your child’s listening or processing, it’s helpful to share any relevant reports or letters when you get in touch, but they’re not required to book.
A full diagnostic hearing assessment with APD fact finding (£495) is required before APD testing. An APD assessment at The Hearing Clinic is £995, including the full assessment and written report. We’ll confirm the full pathway and costs clearly before you commit.
Yes – the report is yours to share as you see fit. It’s written specifically to be useful in a school context and includes classroom accommodation recommendations that teachers and SENDCOs can act on directly.
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An amazing insight into what top level hearing care looks like. The hearing solution provided has been life changing.
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David
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Always very professional and prompt service Everyone very pleasant Evironment very comfortable Recommend highly
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Anne-Marie Breen
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I would totally recommend the hearing clinic. They are professional and very knowledgeable but also very friendly and easy to talk to.
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Linda Benton
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Jo was both professional and understanding. She took so much trouble to get my microsuction right, ensuring I was comfortable throughout the process. I now have a much better understanding of my ears and of how to prevent wax building up in future.
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Richard
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I highly recommend the hearing clinic at Harrogate. I was on holiday at the time but managed to get an appointment after suffering muddled hearing for a few weeks. I have had my ears syringed in the past but never micro suctioned, which turned out to be a painless procedure.
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Carolyn Dunn
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This is my third set of hearing aids that I’ve purchased from them — something I wouldn’t do if I didn’t have complete trust in both the technology and the people supporting me. Each time, Claire has guided me towards the right choice for my needs, and the improvement in my everyday life has been remarkable.
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Wilson
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On enquiry I received an appointment swiftly. The service offered was excellent and the practitioner informative, efficient and extremely pleasant. I have booked a further appointment and was extremely impressed with the service. Well done.
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Marjorie Cheryl
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Very caring with my mother who has alzheimers and explained every stage of what was happening in an easy understandable way.
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