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The Listening
Checklist
(Adapted from When Listening Comes Alive, Paul
Madaule, Moulin Publishing, 1994)
Listening problems are often a key component in many developmental and
behavioral difficulties. Yet, listening and hearing are not the same;
many individuals with listening difficulties have normal (or above
average) hearing. Since listening cannot be seen or tested easily,
we've devised a checklist as a guide to help you determine if perhaps
poor listening ability is an issue for your child.
Check all that apply to
your child. Note that many children have some of the tendencies listed
below. It is important to view your responses cumulatively to determine
if your child may be struggling with a listening problem. There is no
"score" on this checklist; however, if you check a number of items as
applicable to your child, you may wish to call the Spectrum
Communication Center to discuss your responses or to schedule an
initial assessment.
Check all that apply to your child:
Receptive
Language
(Listening)
As
a young or preverbal
child:
- Does not consistently
respond to name
- Does not readily make
eye
contact
- Short attention span
- Tends to become totally
absorbed in an activity resulting in detachment from others
- Seems "in own world"
- Reacts strongly to loud
environments
- Seems oblivious to loud
or
startling sounds
As
an older or verbal
child:
- Short attention span
- Easily distracted,
especially by peripheral noises or activities
- Oversensitive to
certain
sounds
- Misinterprets questions
or
requests
- Weak auditory
discrimination: confuses similar sounding words or consonants
- Says "what" or asks
others
to repeat their statements often
- Cannot follow complex
instructions or instructions with more than one or two steps
- Reacts strongly to
sounds
or music that s/he does not want to hear
Expressive
Language
(Speaking)
As
a young or preverbal
child:
- Lacks "purposeful" play
(manipulates toys but does not pretend or imitate more complex play)
- Does not attempt to
imitate sounds or actions of others
- Does not point
- Does not babble
- Does not attempt to say
words
- Does not wave bye-bye
- Does not attempt to
communicate wants
As
an older or verbal
child:
- Verbalizations are
largely
"echolallic" (verbatim repetitions of phrases, primarily learned
- from videos or
recordings)
- Tends not to use words
to
communicate wants
- Voice quality is flat
or
monotone
- Speak hesitantly,
lacking
flow or rhythm
- Sings out of tune
- Sentence structure is
poor
or stereotyped
- Vocabulary is weak
- Confuses or reverses
letters
- Cannot read
- Reading is difficult,
especially reading out loud
- Spelling is poor
- Dyslexic
Tactile
Issues
- Avoids getting messy:
wants hands washed immediately after messy activity
- Reacts strongly to
hygiene
activities such as brushing teeth, washing or cutting hair, clipping
nails
- Overly distressed by
certain fabrics or damp clothing (a shirt that gets a water spot on it
- must be changed)
- Strongly resists
wearing
shoes
- Seems oblivious to hot
or
cold
- Does not cry when
injured
- Strongly resists
treatment
of an injury (the band-aid is worse than the injury)
- Very picky eater:
avoids
certain textures or temperatures of foods
- Gags on food
Motor
Skills
As
a young child:
- Constantly in motion
- Lacks coordination
- Low muscle tone
(prefers
to flop on the floor, avoids sitting up straight)
- Overly cautious
- Overly reckless
- Doesn�t clap hands
- Has difficulty using
utensils
- Does not attempt to use
utensils
As
an older child:
- Lack of hand preference
- Confuses left and right
- Does not tend to cross
the
midline of the body (reaches with right hand for objects on the right
and left hand for objects on the left)
- Poor posture; frequent
slouching or slumping
- Uncoordinated
- Fidgety, can�t sit
still
- Poor sense of rhythm
- Craves intense motion
such
as spinning
- Messy handwriting
- Cannot get organized
- Resists structure
Social
Behaviors
As
a young child:
- Avoids other children
- Is oblivious to other
children
- Tends to avoid groups,
preferring to play alone
As
an older child:
- Frustrates easily
(reactions are extreme)
- Poor self-image, low
self-esteem
- Does not make friends
easily
- Does not join in group
activities
- Tends to withdraw or
avoid
most social settings
- Frequently irritable
- Inordinately tired at
the
end of the school day
- Low motivation;
uninterested in school or other activities
- Immature for age (seems
to
lack desire to grow up)
Developmental
History
- Stressful pregnancy
- Excessive interventions
during pregnancy and/or birth
- Difficult birth
- Premature birth
- Cesarean birth
- Early separation from
mother
- Excessive medical
interventions as a newborn or infant
- Early emotional trauma
(loss of caregiver, etc.)
- Adopted as an infant
- Adopted as a toddler or
older child
- Delay in motor
development
- Delay in language
development
- Recurring ear infections
- Excessive antibiotic use
- Negative reactions to
vaccinations
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