Is this Auditory Processing Delay? Would a person exhibiting some of these symptoms be a candidate for Auditory Processing Delay, or does it possibly suggest some other sort of diagnosis?

Some basic symptoms/examples:


A seeming inability to follow directions.  When zipping a suitcase the other day, subject was instructed to, "Open the top compartment and close the side."  Subject opened both up.  When asked, "Can you repeat what I just said to you?"  He paused, correctly repeated the instructions and understood his error.
An almost comic inability to remember song lyrics or tunes.  He is completely tone deaf and can't even recall simple children's songs, even after excessive amounts of repetition.
While carrying some boxes last week, subject was about to crash into some things.  Someone shouted, "Watch out!" and he kept walking, knocking over some things.  When questioned after, he said, "I didn't know what that meant!"  "Stop?" was suggested, "Do anything but continue doing what you're doing?"  "I guess," he replied, "I didn't think of that."
Frequent excuses of "I forgot" when given a list of instructions/tasks.
Research into auditory processing deficits is a minefield and there is no real consensus as to what is and is not a deficit in auditory processing. Further, and possibly more relevant for individuals with, or dealing with, a processing disorder, is how to treat/manage the disorder. Again, unfortunately, there is no real consensus on the issue. Ferguson (2009) presents a relatively non-technical overview of the issues.

--

Ferguson MA (2009) Diagnosing Auditory Processing Disorders. ENT News, January/February.