Age-related changes in the visual perception of phonologically significant contrasts

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether the ability to speechread phonological contrasts is influenced by age. Forty-eight subjects were equally represented in three age groups: 8-9 years, 11-12 years and adults (20-29 years). The Hebrew version of the Speech Pattern Contrast (HeSPAC) test was administered by speechreading alone. Results showed that: age influenced performance; performance was contrast-dependent (place contrasts highly visible, manner and vowel height partially visible and voicing contrast invisible); hierarchy of contrast performance was similar for all age groups; Hebrew and English differ in the visual accessibility to speech contrasts in final voicing only; and females were found to be poorer speechreaders than males for the partially visible contrasts. The results suggest that speechreading at the phonological level follows a developmental course. The implications of these findings extend to recommendations provided to children in noisy listening conditions, speechreading training in hearing-impaired children and those with central auditory processing disorders (CAPD), and to the design of sensory aids.