Seattle Auditory Processing Services - Kirkland, Washington

R F.

Ashley was wonderful! She provided validation of my struggles both through testing and with her kind understanding words. When explaining the results, she explained the results in a way that I could understand why I was struggling and for the first time in my life I have a way forward that will hopefully reduce the number of times I say "huh?" or "what was that?" in a day.

Jack

Tldr; if your hearing tests are coming back within the normal range but you still can’t understand the people around you and it’s affecting you negatively, come see Ashley. She will treat you with compassion, she will believe you and never doubt you when you say something is wrong, and she will do the work to get you the help you need.

A long and overly detailed history:
(Skip to the bottom for Author’s Notes on potential deterrents)

All my life I have been made to feel as if my inability to understand other people’s spoken words was a byproduct of my own self-centeredness. As my hearing tests consistently came back showing that my hearing capabilities were within the normal range, my loved ones began insisting that the reason for my lack of understanding was from, “not listening,” “not focusing,” “not caring,” “thinking about what I wanted to say next,” and so on and so forth. They would tell me that it was “okay, we understand, you’re just excited about what you have to say,” or “don’t worry, I know you dont listen very well so I know I’m going to have to repeat myself.” They would condescendingly tell me to look them in the eyes while they were speaking so that they “knew” I was listening. They would shout at me, they would berate me for my selfishness, tell me to stop joking around, they would refuse to repeat themselves, they would roll their eyes at me and they would isolate me. I have known something was wrong all my life, but, because of the things everyone was saying, I assumed that it was due to a self-centered disinterest in everyone else that I, somehow, did not know I was feeling. I even had a primary care doctor tell me, “Sometimes it isn’t a hearing problem, it’s a listening problem.” I began to make rules for myself. I would refuse to allow my mind to wander while others spoke, making sure to keep my attention entirely on the person speaking. I began working to read lips (and failing tbh). I continued to struggle all my life, and up until 3yrs ago, I placed the blame entirely on my self. Finding out that Auditory Processing Disorder existed was like a light in the darkness of my perpetual shame (dramatic but true). It took me two years to start considering actually pursuing a diagnosis, but once I heard about Ashley Al-Izzi’s practice, the process was so quick and simple that I still feel surprised when I think of how my life experience was so radically validated within less than a month. I’m 31 now and was almost that age when I was diagnosed. While I do still struggle with anger about things that have been said to me for (literal) decades, I now feel comfort from the knowledge that those statements were both ignorant and incorrect. The truth of my experience bolsters my confidence to refute the unkind lies that people pressed onto me.

Author’s Notes:
- The process was thus: I submitted a form on Ashley’s website. Within two days, she called me. We made an appt for 2 weeks from then. The appt itself took less than an hour. 4 business days later, she called me and gave me the results.

-An APD diagnosis is by no means a miracle cure for my comprehension difficulties. The immeasurable improvement in my self esteem has, however, been an unremitting joy.

-I am so grateful for the hard work Ashley puts in to work with this community.

Potential deterrents:
-Testing can be expensive, the classes or other recommendations may be even more so, which can be demoralizing.
-APD testing is an area that is in desperate need of further study. Ashley does everything she can but even if your experience is the same as mine, there is a possibility of not receiving a diagnosis.

*That said, DO NOT BE DETERRED. Ashley will do everything she can to help you.*

Thank you for reading my dissertation. lol whoops

Jen M.

Ashley was incredibly supportive and thorough in working with Arun, and her recommendations were incredibly helpful.