Speech perception in the Specific Learning Disorder with and without Persistent Speech Sound Disorder.

Area of Science:

• Developmental psychology
• Speech-language pathology
• Educational psychology

Background:

• Specific Reading Disorders (SRD) impact reading acquisition.
• Persistent Speech Sound Disorders (PSSD) affect speech articulation.
• The relationship between SRD and PSSD in school-aged children requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if speech perception abilities can differentiate school children with SRD who also have PSSD from those with SRD alone.
• To explore the impact of co-occurring PSSD on speech perception skills in children with SRD.

Main Methods:

• 80 children across grades 2-6 were assessed.
• Participants included a control group (CG), SRD group without PSSD (RGI), and SRD group with PSSD (RGII).
• Auditory processing and non-word perception (DNPLS) were evaluated; data analyzed using statistical tests and ROC curve analysis.

Main Results:

• Children with SRD and PSSD (RGII) scored significantly lower on non-word perception than controls (CG) and SRD without PSSD (RGI).
• No significant difference was found between CG and RGI in non-word perception.
• A threshold of <30.5 correct answers on the non-word task identified children with SRD and PSSD.

Conclusions:

• Non-word discrimination effectively differentiates school-aged children with SRD and PSSD from typical children.
• The presence of PSSD exacerbates speech perception difficulties in children with SRD.
• The findings suggest PSSD is a significant factor influencing speech perception in children with reading disorders.