Like Sound Through Water: A Mother's Journey Through Auditory Processing Disorder

The author, Karen Foli, is the mother of Ben, a child troubled by sound perception. She made several pilgrimages to "experts" to find salvation for him. The "experts" became what they were by comparing what they already knew. They were of marginal help. Her child did not conform to what they already knew.Selfishly she pursued a selfless journey to find the answer to her child's needs. Driven by maternal love, she was determined to follow her intuitiion, and in the process became an "expert" herself. Her book is an autbiographical journey taking her and her son where no mother had gone before.I sat beside her, felt her anguish, anger and fear, on every trip she made to her final successful effort to free the intelligence she knew was locked within her child. The book is a witness to courage in action, driven by the intensity and determination of a mother's love and the solution found to APD, or auditory processing disorder.

It was amazing to step into this account of Ben's family and their fight for a correct diagnosis and treatment. After reading the first chapter of Karen Foli's book, I told my husband, "This is our story. I could have written this book." After almost two years of testing and different therapy options, I finally had a professional confirm my suspicions two weeks ago: your child fits the criteria of a child with APD. WHile reading, I ached with the familiarity of the emotions Ms. Foli so transparently shared. Surprisingly, at a point in the book that seemed almost like an aside--the day she found a snake in her driveway--I found myself bursting into much-needed tears. I could so relate to "Snake-killing Mom" and the fierce desire to protect my family at any cost. This book is more than a wonderful resource for parents of APD children.It should be read by any parent of a child with special medical or developmental needs. It is a testament to the power of love and commitment in fighting for a child's future.

Dr. Foli has crafted a book which seamlessly combines a heart-wrenching story of love and commitment, with an informative work examining the symptoms and difficulties associated with Auditory Processing Disorder. With no exaggeration, I could not put this book down once I began reading it. The similarities between Dr. Foli's son's and my own son's development were chilling - the similarities between my own feelings of guilt and grief and those so eloquently described by Dr. Foli were profound. This book is a must-read for parents of children with APD, as well as extended family, teachers, speech therapists, and school administrators who interact with APD children. I expect that my copy of "Like Sound Through Water" will have passed through many hands by the time my son graduates (from college, magna cum laude)!

This book is a rare find: a memoir that reads like a novel but offers so much more to the reader than a compelling story. It shows what can happen when a mother and father keep looking for the answer to the question, Why can't our son communicate with his world as other children can? Why can't he speak? Why can't he understand what is said to him?It provides one of the best examples I've ever read of how a mother's love and belief in her child can overcome the efforts of professionals and experts to label the child, even though the label clearly doesn't fit. When I finished the book, I was filled with hope and the belief that there's so much that can be done to help these children reach their potentials.Foli brings the reader into her home and family, unfolding the story of the journey she and her son, Ben, took to find a correct diagnosis and help. One of the things I love the most about this book is how Foli brings each event in this often difficult journey to life with sometimes painful details and often refreshingly honest humor. For example, there's a heartbreaking scene early in the book in which the child's grandfather realizes that his grandson simply doesn't understand when spoken to.But the book is more than a memoir that I couldn't put down. It's also a firsthand account--the first one available--of what a child and family experience when a child has auditory processing disorder. I was especially interested in this because a nephew of mine has had similar difficulties communicating: garbled speech, difficulty understanding words. I really appreciated the author's detailed description of the programs and strategies that helped her son: Fast ForWord, Step 4Word, Fokes Sentence Builder, and the Lindamood-Bell LiPS programs.Foli also provides a basic guide to auditory processing disorder in the final chapter, along with brief case studies of other children and their experiences overcoming APD. The additional resources ending the book offer a good starting place to find more information on the disorder. All in all, this book is a refreshingly honest, well-written, and informative memoir of a mother who never, ever gave up on her son.

A mother can usually sense if there is a problem with her child -- but what if the solution is not right in front of you? In this book you'll follow the personal experiences of a courageous mother, Karen Foli, and her son Ben. The book, "Like Sound Through Water: A Mother's Journey Through Auditory Processing Disorder," by Karen Foli, allows readers to follow along on Karen's personal journey during her young son's life. You'll be there at her son's birth; read about the problems Ben has at school; and read about the numerous testing and therapy sessions. Through all of this, Karen has had her share of doubt and disappointments. She knew that Ben was different from other children -- that he wasn't developing as they were. His speech was delayed and he had trouble communicating. Despite negative test results by schools and misdiagnoses by doctors, Karen continued to look for answers. She finally found them from an audiologist, who discovered that Ben had an auditory processing disorder (APD). Ben had problems processing sounds. MyParenTime.com highly recommends this book...the author's words speak to the reader like a close friend. It'll bring you on an emotional, personal and triumphant journey of a mother's struggle to find answers about her son. You'll understand how powerful a mother's love and devotion is, and you'll also learn a great deal about auditory processing disorder.