Behavioral Auditory Processing in Children and Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Audiology

Background:

• Auditory processing deficits are prevalent in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), affecting both children and adults.
• These deficits are confirmed through subjective reports and objective behavioral testing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare auditory processing performance between children and adults with ASD and their neurotypical peers.
• To investigate the influence of age on auditory processing in individuals with ASD relative to controls.

Main Methods:

• A quasi-experimental design with four groups: children with ASD, neurotypical children, adolescents/young adults with ASD, and neurotypical adolescents/young adults.
• Data collected via subjective questionnaires and objective behavioral auditory processing tests.
• Analysis involved ANOVA and nonparametric methods, with effect sizes calculated for group comparisons.

Main Results:

• Individuals with ASD consistently demonstrated poorer auditory processing performance and ratings than neurotypical peers across most measures.
• Adults with ASD generally performed better than children with ASD on several auditory processing tasks.
• Significant differences were supported by medium to large effect sizes.

Conclusions:

• The study's measures effectively identified auditory processing differences in individuals with ASD.
• Auditory processing difficulties are present in both children and adults with ASD, with children showing more pronounced challenges.
• Accommodations are crucial in educational and professional settings to ensure individuals with ASD can access auditory information effectively.