Autism Listening Clinic

Research shows that auditory difficulties are among the most common sensory processing challenges experienced by autistic children. These difficulties often include listening skills such as speech discrimination in the presence of noise, and decreased sound tolerance. Audiologists are sometimes involved in the diagnostic process of Autism to rule out a hearing loss, however our research shows that a more comprehensive assessment of a broader range of auditory skills in autistic children is important, as listening difficulties often exist despite normal hearing acuity. Listening difficulties can influence speech and language development, attention, behaviour and academic performance so it is important that auditory skills are assessed and supported to help children achieve their best.

The Autism Listening Clinic offers an assessment of your child’s hearing and listening skills, and evidence-based options to support listening difficulties when warranted. The clinic offers trials of remote microphone technology, one such evidence-based support, which has been shown to improve speech recognition in noise, auditory comprehension, acceptance of noise, teacher- and parent-rated listening behaviours, physiologic stress levels, and self-perceived listening difficulty in autistic children. The program is open to children and teens from the age of four years, and we welcome children of all verbal abilities. No medical referral is required.