A processing disorder is a deficiency in a persons ability to effectively use the information gathered by the senses. It can affect a childs or adults ability to learn and thrive in an academic setting, leading to low self-esteem and socialization difficulties. Processing disorders can be categorized into different types, including:

• Auditory Processing Disorder (APD): This is a hearing problem that affects about 3%–5% of school-aged children. Kids with APD cant understand what they hear in the same way other kids do because their ears and brain dont fully coordinate. They may have trouble understanding speech, especially in the presence of background noise, and may drop the ends of words or mix up similar sounds.

• Visual Processing Disorder (VPD): This is a type of processing disorder that affects a persons ability to interpret visual information. It can cause difficulty with tasks such as reading, writing, and recognizing shapes and colors.

• Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD): This type of processing disorder can result in over-responsiveness to sensory input, like extreme sensitivity to loud noise or itchy clothing, or under-responsiveness, which might present as a lack of awareness of personal space or a desire for thrill-seeking.

A processing disorder is not always the result of impaired hearing, impaired vision, attention disorders, intellectual disability, or learning deficit. There is no official disorder in any diagnostic manual called "Processing Disorder," and there is limited consensus across professional disciplines about whether such a thing even exists. However, many health professionals relate back to the umbrella term of "Processing Disorder" by simply using different names for a diagnosis.

There is no cure for processing disorders, and treatment is specific to each person. However, there are steps that can be taken to reduce the impact of processing disorders on daily life. Treatment usually focuses on areas such as classroom support, making other skills stronger, and therapy. For example, electronic devices like an FM system can help a child with APD hear the teacher more clearly, and speech therapy can help a child with APD recognize sounds and improve conversational skills.