The impacts of language background and language-related disorders in auditory processing assessment

To examine the impact of language background and language-related disorders (LRDs--dyslexia and/or language impairment) on performance in English speech and nonspeech tests of auditory processing (AP) commonly used in the clinic.

A clinical database concerning 133 multilingual children (mostly with English as an additional language) and 71 monolingual children (7- to 12-year-old native English speakers) with listening concerns was analyzed retrospectively.

Language background had no significant effect on the 3 nonspeech AP tests, but the multilingual group performed worse in most of the speech tests. Children with LRDs generally performed more poorly than those without, except for the masking level difference.

Although language background affects performance in AP tasks that use speech, the effect of LRDs appears to be more wide-ranging insofar as the majority of the AP tests--speech and nonspeech--were significantly affected by their presence. The effects of language background are probably mediated directly through the effects of language expertise, whereas those associated with LRDs appear to arise from associated deficits in memory and attention. The vast majority of so-called AP tests tap abilities far beyond those typically thought of as specifically auditory; thus, they are poor measures of an AP disorder.