This analogy provides a good way of understanding why many intelligent children experience difficulty learning at school. Children who are not good at listening cannot get information into their minds accurately, and so will experience difficulties with thinking. Unless something is done to radically improve their listening skills, their cognitive and language development will be slowed down.

One of the most obvious signs that a child is having difficulty with listening is - an inability to follow a series of instructions. For example, "Put your shoes away, pack your bag, have a shower, then go to bed." Failure to carry out all of the instructions given is often mis-diagnosed as naughtiness or laziness, when more often than not, it is because the child has poorly developed listening skills and so is only able to process one or two instructions at a time. In the longer term, this often leads to problems with reading and spelling; and even dyslexia. Children who are struggling with learning and communication often develop secondary emotional and social problems such as extreme shyness, aggressiveness, hyper-activity, or even ADD- attention deficit disorder.