Remediating spatial processing disorder in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

Area of Science:

• Pediatric audiology
• Neuroscience
• Indigenous health

Background:

• Indigenous Australian children have higher rates of otitis media and hearing loss, leading to spatial processing disorder (SPD).
• Early intervention is crucial for addressing SPD and its long-term impacts on development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of Sound Storm auditory training for remediating SPD in Indigenous Australian children.
• To assess the feasibility of implementing this auditory training in a school setting.

Main Methods:

• Fifteen Indigenous Australian children (ages 6-13) with SPD participated.
• Pre- and post-training assessments included audiometry, specialized listening tests (LiSN-S, LiSN-U), and teacher questionnaires (LIFE-R, APDQ).
• Sound Storm auditory training was administered in a regional school setting.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements were observed in the noise-to-signal ratio for Sound Storm training.
• Seven out of nine children completing sufficient training showed SPD remediation on the LiSN-S.
• Five children demonstrated normal spatial advantage scores on the LiSN-U post-training.

Conclusions:

• Sound Storm auditory training is a viable option for remediating SPD in Indigenous Australian children within schools.
• Challenges include maintaining student motivation and managing logistical factors like school absences and holidays.
• Further research is needed to optimize program delivery and address implementation hurdles.