Treating Deficits in Auditory Processing Abilities

Area of Science:

• Auditory Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Educational Interventions

Background:

• The link between auditory processing (AP) and reading skills is established but causality remains unclear.
• The effectiveness of AP deficit remediation on real-world outcomes like reading is not well understood.
• A high prevalence (83%) of AP deficits was observed in a special school for speech and language disorders.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of two deficit-specific auditory processing (AP) therapy programs.
• To compare the outcomes of AP therapies against a control therapy group.
• To investigate the relationship between improvements in AP skills and reading ability.

Main Methods:

• 335 children from three school regions were assessed using the Feather Squadron Diagnostic Assessment AP test.
• Participants were assigned to either a deficit-specific AP therapy (Insane Earplane, Zoo Caper Skyscraper) or a control group.
• Pre- and post-therapy AP measures were compared across groups; reading abilities were assessed in one region.

Main Results:

• Both experimental AP therapies were significantly effective in their targeted areas, unlike the control group.
• One AP therapy showed significant reading improvement (p < .01), and the other showed near-significant improvement (p < .02).
• The control group did not demonstrate significant improvements in AP or reading skills.

Conclusions:

• Deficit-specific, bottom-up auditory processing (AP) therapies yield significant improvements in both AP and associated real-world skills.
• These findings support the efficacy of targeted AP interventions for children with AP deficits.
• A strong correlation exists between auditory processing and speech/language difficulties, as evidenced by high AP deficit rates in a specialized school.