Auditory processing and cluttering in young children

This study examined the differences among scores on four tests of auditory processing of 6 children who clutter and 6 control subjects matched for age, sex, and grade. Scores on a consonant-vowel dichotic listening task indicated that directing the attention of the attended ear improved the percentage of correct responses for both groups of children. Those who clutter, however, showed a greater percentage of change during the directed right and left ear conditions. Cluttering children performed poorer on right and left competing conditions of the Staggered Spondaic Word Test. No differences were found between groups for the auditory attention task and the time-compressed speech task. Implications for processing of dichotic stimuli and diagnosis of children who clutter are discussed.