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No description available.

Children with central auditory processing disorders (CAPD) have a normal pure-tone audiogram, however, they have difficulty understanding speech in the presence of background noise. The present study examined binaural hearing in normal children and those with possible CAPD. Each subject was administered the SCAN or SCAN-A, screening tests for CAPD, to determine whether they were at risk for CAPD. Participants were then subjected to several monaural and binaural speech tasks, in quiet and noise. Spondee words were utilized in each task, under headphone and soundfield conditions.

Introdução: Diversos estudos têm avaliado as vantagens e desvantagens do bilinguismo em uma gama de habilidades humanas. Para se compreender uma língua estrangeira é necessário o desenvolvimento de habilidades específicas que se inicia a partir de uma informação ouvida. Dessa forma, o estudo das habilidades auditivas e fonológicas em bilíngues tem despertado o interesse de diversos pesquisadores nos últimos anos. Objetivo: avaliar habilidades do Processamento Auditivo Central (PAC) de discriminação e ordenação temporal e habilidades do Processamento Fonológico (PF) em bilíngues. Metodologia: 100 estudantes universitários de (graduação e pós-graduação) foram divididos em dois grupos: Grupo Bilíngue (GB n=50) e Grupo Monolíngue (GM n=50), de acordo com classificação do Quadro Europeu Comum de Referência para as Línguas. Foram considerados bilíngues os participantes classificados como: Independente ou proficiente (B1, B2, C1, C2) e que tivessem certificado em curso formal de língua inglesa ou permanência por dois anos em países deste idioma. Foram considerados monolíngues, participantes inseridos nos níveis A1 e A2 ou que não possuíssem competências previstas nestes itens. As habilidades do PF (consciência fonológica - CF, memória de trabalho fonológica - MTF e acesso rápido ao léxico - RAN) tanto do português quanto em idioma inglês e habilidades do PAC (discriminação e ordenação temporal de duração - TPD e frequência TPF) dos dois grupos foram avaliadas. Os resultados dos desempenhos dos grupos nas diferentes tarefas foram comparados estatisticamente por meio do Mann-Whitney U test (P<0,05) e um teste de regressão logística foi aplicado visando-se observar quais fatores poderiam predizer o bilinguismo. Resultados: Observou-se melhor desempenho do GB em tarefas de CF (português/inglês) e MTF - repetição de nãopalavras (português/inglês). Observou-se, também melhor desempenho do GB em tarefas RAN (português) exceto para nomeação de cores, e melhor desempenho do GB em todas as tarefas RAN em inglês. Observou-se melhor desempenho do GB nos testes de avaliação das habilidades auditivas tanto em TPD quanto TPF. As variáveis com mais forte associação ao bilinguismo foram as tarefas de CF do inglês e tarefas de RAN em inglês. Conclusão: Indivíduos bilíngues apresentam melhores desempenhos em testes fonológicos e auditivos, já que essas habilidades favorecem a identificação e discriminação de variações na fonologia de ambos os idiomas influenciando seu desempenho / Introduction: Several studies have evaluated the advantages and disadvantages of bilingualism in a range of human skills. In order to understand a foreign language, it is necessary to develop specific skills that start from an information heard. Thus, the study of auditory and phonological abilities in bilinguals has aroused the interest of several researchers in recent years. Objective: To evaluate Central Auditory Processing (CAP) skills of discrimination and temporal ordering and Phonological Processing (PP) skills in bilinguals. Methodology: 100 undergraduate and graduate students were divided into two groups: Bilingual Group (BG n = 50) and Monolingual Group (MG n = 50), according to the classification of the \"Common European Framework of Reference For Languages\". Participants with a formal English course certificate or stay of two years in countries of this language were considered bilingual and were classified as: Independent or proficient (B1, B2, C1, C2). Participants inserted in levels A1 and A2 or who did not possess competences foreseen in these items were considered monolingual. The skills of PP (phonological awareness PA , phonological work memory PWM and fast access to the lexicon FAL) of both Portuguese and English language and CAP skills (discrimination and temporal ordering of duration TOD and frequency TOF) of the two groups were evaluated. The results of the groups\' performances in the different tasks were compared statistically using the Mann-Whitney U test (P <0.05) and a logistic regression test was applied aiming to observe which factors could predict bilingualism. Results: Better performance of BG was observed in PA tasks (Portuguese/English) and PWM repetition of non-words (Portuguese/English). We also observed better performance of BG in FAL tasks (Portuguese), except for color naming, and better BG performance in all FAL tasks in English. There was a better performance of BG in the auditory skills evaluation tests in both TOD and TOF. The variables with the strongest association with bilingualism were English PA tasks and English FAL tasks. Conclusion: Bilingual individuals present better performances in phonological and auditory tests, since these abilities favor the identification and discrimination of phonological variations in both languages, influencing their performance

Introdução: Diversos estudos têm avaliado as vantagens e desvantagens do bilinguismo em uma gama de habilidades humanas. Para se compreender uma língua estrangeira é necessário o desenvolvimento de habilidades específicas que se inicia a partir de uma informação ouvida. Dessa forma, o estudo das habilidades auditivas e fonológicas em bilíngues tem despertado o interesse de diversos pesquisadores nos últimos anos. Objetivo: avaliar habilidades do Processamento Auditivo Central (PAC) de discriminação e ordenação temporal e habilidades do Processamento Fonológico (PF) em bilíngues. Metodologia: 100 estudantes universitários de (graduação e pós-graduação) foram divididos em dois grupos: Grupo Bilíngue (GB n=50) e Grupo Monolíngue (GM n=50), de acordo com classificação do Quadro Europeu Comum de Referência para as Línguas. Foram considerados bilíngues os participantes classificados como: Independente ou proficiente (B1, B2, C1, C2) e que tivessem certificado em curso formal de língua inglesa ou permanência por dois anos em países deste idioma. Foram considerados monolíngues, participantes inseridos nos níveis A1 e A2 ou que não possuíssem competências previstas nestes itens. As habilidades do PF (consciência fonológica - CF, memória de trabalho fonológica - MTF e acesso rápido ao léxico - RAN) tanto do português quanto em idioma inglês e habilidades do PAC (discriminação e ordenação temporal de duração - TPD e frequência TPF) dos dois grupos foram avaliadas. Os resultados dos desempenhos dos grupos nas diferentes tarefas foram comparados estatisticamente por meio do Mann-Whitney U test (P<0,05) e um teste de regressão logística foi aplicado visando-se observar quais fatores poderiam predizer o bilinguismo. Resultados: Observou-se melhor desempenho do GB em tarefas de CF (português/inglês) e MTF - repetição de nãopalavras (português/inglês). Observou-se, também melhor desempenho do GB em tarefas RAN (português) exceto para nomeação de cores, e melhor desempenho do GB em todas as tarefas RAN em inglês. Observou-se melhor desempenho do GB nos testes de avaliação das habilidades auditivas tanto em TPD quanto TPF. As variáveis com mais forte associação ao bilinguismo foram as tarefas de CF do inglês e tarefas de RAN em inglês. Conclusão: Indivíduos bilíngues apresentam melhores desempenhos em testes fonológicos e auditivos, já que essas habilidades favorecem a identificação e discriminação de variações na fonologia de ambos os idiomas influenciando seu desempenho / Introduction: Several studies have evaluated the advantages and disadvantages of bilingualism in a range of human skills. In order to understand a foreign language, it is necessary to develop specific skills that start from an information heard. Thus, the study of auditory and phonological abilities in bilinguals has aroused the interest of several researchers in recent years. Objective: To evaluate Central Auditory Processing (CAP) skills of discrimination and temporal ordering and Phonological Processing (PP) skills in bilinguals. Methodology: 100 undergraduate and graduate students were divided into two groups: Bilingual Group (BG n = 50) and Monolingual Group (MG n = 50), according to the classification of the \"Common European Framework of Reference For Languages\". Participants with a formal English course certificate or stay of two years in countries of this language were considered bilingual and were classified as: Independent or proficient (B1, B2, C1, C2). Participants inserted in levels A1 and A2 or who did not possess competences foreseen in these items were considered monolingual. The skills of PP (phonological awareness PA , phonological work memory PWM and fast access to the lexicon FAL) of both Portuguese and English language and CAP skills (discrimination and temporal ordering of duration TOD and frequency TOF) of the two groups were evaluated. The results of the groups\' performances in the different tasks were compared statistically using the Mann-Whitney U test (P <0.05) and a logistic regression test was applied aiming to observe which factors could predict bilingualism. Results: Better performance of BG was observed in PA tasks (Portuguese/English) and PWM repetition of non-words (Portuguese/English). We also observed better performance of BG in FAL tasks (Portuguese), except for color naming, and better BG performance in all FAL tasks in English. There was a better performance of BG in the auditory skills evaluation tests in both TOD and TOF. The variables with the strongest association with bilingualism were English PA tasks and English FAL tasks. Conclusion: Bilingual individuals present better performances in phonological and auditory tests, since these abilities favor the identification and discrimination of phonological variations in both languages, influencing their performance

Older adults with sensorineural hearing loss have greater difficulty understanding speech than younger adults with equivalent hearing (Gates & Mills, 2005). This increased difficulty may be related to the influence of peripheral, central auditory processing or cognitive deficits and although this has been extensively debated the relative contribution to speech understanding is equivocal (Working Group on Speech Understanding and Aging, 1988). Furthermore, changes to the speech mechanism that occur as a result of age lead to natural degradations of signal quality. Studies involving hearing impaired listeners have not examined the influence of such naturally degraded speech signals. The purpose of this study was to determine: (1) whether older hearing impaired listeners demonstrate differences in speech understanding ability or perceived effort of listening on the basis of the age of the speaker and the predictability of the stimulus, and (2) whether any individual differences in speech understanding were related to central auditory processing ability. The participants included nineteen native speakers of New Zealand English ranging in age from 60 to 87 years (mean = 71.4 years) with age-related sensorineural hearing loss. Each participant underwent a full audiological assessment, three measures of central auditory processing (the Dichotic Digits Test, the Random Gap Detection Test and the Staggered Spondaic Words Test), and completed a computer-based listening experiment containing phrases of high and low predictability spoken by two groups: (1) young adults (18 – 30 years) and (2) older adults (70 years and above). Participants were required to repeat stimulus phrases as heard, with the researcher entering orthographic transcriptions into the custom-designed computer programme. An Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to determine if significant differences existed in percentage words correct scores as a factor of speaker group (young versus older speakers) and stimulus predictability (high predictability versus low predictability phrases), with level of presentation (dB) as a covariate. Results demonstrated that although there were no significant differences in percentage words correct with regards to speaker group as expected, lower scores were achieved for low predictability phrases. In addition, increased listener effort was required when listening to the speech from the older adult group and during the low predictability phrase condition. Positive correlations were found between word understanding scores and tests of dichotic separation, which suggests that central auditory processing deficits contribute to the speech understanding difficulties of older adults. The implications of these findings for audiological assessment and rehabilitation are explored.

Responses of six severely language delayed (SLD) children were obtained on three measures of central auditory processing and one measure of language proficiency. The results of these measures were compared to the results obtained from six normal-hearing children, matched in age and Performance IQ on the WISC-R. The 12 children were tested with the Pitch Pattern Sequence Test (PPST), the Dichotic Digit Tests (DDT), and the Pediatric Speech Intelligibility Test (PSI). Differences in the central auditory abilities as well as the history of each child were presented in .a case study format. The results of the history information demonstrated no unusual problems among these 12 subjects. Ten out of 12 subjects demonstrated abnormal results on at least one measure of the central auditory battery.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not children diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) can be distinguished from one another on the basis of both objective and subjective assessment of attention and behavior. First, children and adolescents diagnosed with ADHD, CAPD, and concomitant ADHD/CAPD were compared to participants with emotional problems on measures of attention/concentration, depression, anxiety, and parental reports of internalzing and externalizing behaviors. Overall, statistical analyses did not reveal significant differences between performances of children diagnosed with ADHD and those diagnosed with CAPD. However, clinical comparisons across groups of children diagnosed with ADHD, CAPD, comorbid ADHD/CAPD and Affective Disorders revealed condition-specific clinical profiles, thus providing some support for CAPD as a distinct clinical entity. Second, exploratory cluster analysis was performed to further investigate the relationship between ADHD and CAPD. This procedure lead to the identification of four distinct clusters. However, analyses of these clusters revealed no distinct pattern of performance for children diagnosed with either ADHD or CAPD. Rather, participants with these diagnoses were evenly distributed throughout the clusters. Additionally, no cluster clearly represented the expected clinical profile for a diagnosis of CAPD- namely, significant auditory attentional/processing problems in the absence of other attentional difficulties. Implications for the assessment and treatment of childhood attentional disorders are discussed and recommendations for future research provided.

No description available.