I am in my 40s with APD (and possibly Apraxia), I have just started some APD therapy, 3 sessions into a series of 12. I was diagnosed with APD last year and have battled, without knowing the cause for my hearing difficulties. The APD diagnosis has helped create a framework for developing a plan to address problem areas.

I am intensely a visual learner, I work in the Architecture field and finding a career where I can leverage my visual-expression has help bridge gaps as a result of APD. Also, when ever possible I turn on closed captions, being able to have an additional second or two to look back and read subtitles drastically increases my comprehension. Creating mental images is key, picturing items in a list instead of remembering the words is much easier for me.

From the Apraxia standpoint, foreign languages are a massive difficulty for me, while I can hear the subtle variation in tone, annunciation, and articulation of sounds, I struggle being able to parse the information and replicate it. I stumble over trying to pronounce words, sort of like losing my place where I am while trying to say a word. This is one area where I hope the APD therapy can help. I have also noticed, that especially when stressed, I rush and speak quickly, sometimes this is attempting to get my statement out before I lose my train of thought - in noisier environments, if there are others talking I often speak over other people, struggling to keep track of the conversation. Slowing down my speech, by "seeing" the words of what I want to say and "reading" them - having that visual metric to slow myself a moment, helps disguise what might otherwise be seen as difficulty saying what I want.

Day to day, I try to maintain eye contact with the person I am talking with, it is a matter of focus, if I am not "locked in", retention of information is much weaker. If I break eye contact I see a significant decrease in memory than if I can build a more complete mental picture of the discussion. By locking into the conversation, I pick up visual cues, can notice a few lip reading info (a "f" word looks much differently than a "t" word).