[Application of Preschool Auditory Processing Assessment Scale in children with attention deficit hyperactivity...

To investigate the characteristics of auditory processing (AP) in preschool children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) using Preschool Auditory Processing Assessment Scale (hereafter referred to as "auditory processing scale").

A total of 41 children with ADHD and 41 typically developing (TD) children were assessed using the auditory processing scale, SNAP-IV rating scale, and Conners' Kiddie Continuous Performance Test (K-CPT). The auditory processing scale score was compared between the TD and ADHD groups. The correlations of the score with SNAP-IV and K-CPT scores were assessed.

Compared with the TD group, the ADHD group had significantly higher total score of the auditory processing scale and scores of all dimensions except visual attention (P<0.05). In the children with ADHD, the attention deficit dimension score of the SNAP-IV rating scale was positively correlated with the total score of the auditory processing scale (r_s30=0.531, P<0.05; r_s27=0.627, P<0.05) as well as the scores of its subdimensions, including auditory decoding (r_s=0.628, P<0.05), auditory attention (r_s=0.492, P<0.05), and communication (r_s=0.399, P<0.05). The hyperactivity-impulsivity dimension score of the SNAP-IV rating scale was positively correlated with the hyperactivity-impulsivity dimension score of the auditory processing scale (r_s=0.429, P<0.05). In the children with ADHD, the attention deficit dimension score of the K-CPT was positively correlated with the total score (r_s30=0.574, P<0.05; r_s27=0.485, P<0.05) and the hyperactivity-impulsivity dimension score (r_s=0.602, P<0.05) of the auditory processing scale.

Preschool children with ADHD have the risk of AP abnormalities, and the auditory processing scale should be used early for the screening and evaluation of AP abnormalities in children.