because of primary language problems. In a study comparing children with a diagnosis of dyslexia and those with a diagnosis of APD, they found the two groups could not be distinguished. Analogous results were observed in studies comparing children diagnosed with SLI or APD, the two groups presenting with similar diagnostic criteria. As such, the diagnosis a child receives may depend on which specialist they consult: the same child who might be diagnosed with APD by an audiologist may instead be diagnosed with SLI by a speech-language therapist or with dyslexia by a psychologist. Causes Acquired Acquired APD can be caused by any damage to or dysfunction of the central auditory nervous system and can cause auditory processing problems. For an overview of neurological aspects of APD, see T. D. Griffiths' 2002 article "Central Auditory Pathologies". Genetics Some studies have indicated an increased prevalence of a family history of hearing impairment in these patients. The pattern of results is suggestive that auditory processing disorder may be related to conditions of autosomal dominant inheritance. The ability to listen to and comprehend multiple messages at the same time is a trait that is heavily influenced by our genes, say federal researchers. These "short circuits in the wiring" sometimes run in families or result from a difficult birth, just like any learning disability. Auditory processing disorder can be associated with conditions affected by genetic traits, such as various developmental disorders. Inheritance of auditory processing disorder refers to whether the condition is inherited from your parents or "runs" in families. Central auditory processing disorder may be hereditary neurological traits from the mother or the father. Developmental In the majority of cases of developmental APD, the cause is unknown. An exception is acquired epileptic aphasia or Landau-Kleffner syndrome, where a child's development regresses, with language comprehension severely affected. The child is often thought to be deaf, but normal peripheral hearing is found. In other cases, suspected or known causes of APD in children include delay in myelin maturation, ectopic (misplaced) cells in the auditory cortical areas, or genetic predisposition. In a family with autosomal dominant epilepsy, seizures which affected the left temporal lobe seemed to cause problems with auditory processing. In another extended family with a high rate of APD, genetic analysis showed a haplotype in chromosome 12 that fully co-segregated with language impairment. Hearing begins in utero, but the central auditory system continues to