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Updated: Oct 31, 2025
Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations
Published on: July 1, 2015
Newborn Auditory Brainstem Responses in Children with Developmental Disabilities
Christine F Delgado1, Elizabeth A Simpson2, Guangyu Zeng2
1Department of Psychology, University of Miami, PO Box 248185, Coral Gables, FL, 33124-0721, USA. cdelgado@umiami.edu.
Insights
Newborns later diagnosed with speech impairment (SI) or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) showed slower auditory brainstem responses (ABRs). This suggests early sensory differences at birth may indicate later developmental disabilities.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Audiology
Background:
- Newborn hearing screening is crucial for early detection of hearing loss.
- Auditory Brainstem Responses (ABRs) measure neurological function in response to sound.
- Developmental disabilities encompass a range of conditions affecting development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between newborn auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) and later diagnosed developmental disabilities.
- To determine if ABR waveform phase, a measure of auditory processing latency, differs in children with specific developmental conditions.
Main Methods:
- Integrated data from newborn hearing screening and preschool disability registries.
- Analyzed click-evoked ABR waveform phase in a large cohort of newborns.
- Compared ABR phase values between children with developmental delay, speech impairment (SI), language impairment, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and typically developing comparison children.
Main Results:
- Children later diagnosed with SI and ASD exhibited significantly greater newborn ABR phase values compared to comparison and developmental delay groups.
- Elevated ABR phase values indicate slower neurological responses to auditory stimuli in newborns who later develop SI or ASD.
Conclusions:
- Newborns diagnosed with speech impairment or autism spectrum disorder demonstrate altered auditory neurological processing at birth.
- These findings suggest that sensory differences in auditory processing may be an early indicator of neurodevelopmental conditions like SI and ASD.
Abstract:
We integrated data from a newborn hearing screening database and a preschool disability database to examine the relationship between newborn click evoked auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) and developmental disabilities. This sample included children with developmental delay (n = 2992), speech impairment (SI, n = 905), language impairment (n = 566), autism spectrum disorder (ASD, n = 370), and comparison children (n = 128,181). We compared the phase of the ABR waveform, a measure of sound processing latency, across groups. Children with SI and children with ASD had greater newborn ABR phase values than both the comparison group and the developmental delay group. Newborns later diagnosed with SI or ASD have slower neurological responses to auditory stimuli, suggesting sensory differences at birth.
