Ten-year-old Dylan Darlington has big goals – he wants to be a palaeontologist when he grows up and discover new species of dinosaurs! Frustratingly, having to deal with Audio Processing Disorder (APD) makes it difficult to learn in a classroom environment – that’s where Satan’s Little Helper stepped in to help out!
Dylan is ambitious and loves to learn, but can find school tough due to Audio Processing Disorder (APD). As well as the challenges he faces from APD, Dylan has ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Sensory Processing Disorder and Dysgraphia, which affects his writing and fine motor skills. This unique set of challenges make it hard for Dylan to get the information he needs needs among the background noise in the classroom, and he struggles to get his thoughts and words onto paper. Dylan wrote to us, with his mum Angela’s help, to tell Satan’s Little Helper about his condition. “The APD means that my ears have trouble filtering out and blocking out noise that I don’t need, and make it hard to be able to hear what I do need to hear,” he says. “This can make it frustrating and hard to learn, to keep up with a conversation, or even to play with my friends.” Despite these challenges, Dylan has a thirst for knowledge. “He wants to invent a cloning device, so there is more of him to do amazing things,” says Angela. Satan’s Little Helper wanted to do something for Dylan, and so set him up with an iPad and the SoundStorm App – an app for children with APD, designed to help them learn to filter out background noise and focus only on the sounds they need. Dylan finds it challenging but can feel the benefits! “I try to do one or two sets before school each day when I have the concentration for it. I like it even though it’s tricky and confusing with different voices. I know it’ll help me,” he says. And it’s helping his siblings too! “They have similar struggles to me, so they have used the app too.” Satan’s Little Helper loves it when he can make a difference for the whole family – and can’t wait to hear about some new dinosaur discoveries!
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