Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) is an auditory-specific perceptual deficit in the processing of auditory stimuli that occurs in spite of normal peripheral hearing thresholds and normal intellectual capacity American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA, 2005). The diagnostic process of APD typically involves a test battery consisting of sub-tests designed to examine the integrity of various auditory processes of the central auditory nervous system (CANS). One category of these sub-tests is the low-pass filtered speech test (FST), whereby a speech signal is distorted by using filtering to modify its frequency content. One limitation of the various versions of the FST currently available is that they are administered using a constant level of low-pass filtering (e.g. a fixed 1 kHz corner frequency) which makes them prone to ceiling and floor effects (Farrer & Keith, 1981). As a consequence, the efficacy and accuracy of these tests is significantly compromised (Martin & Clark, 1977). The purpose of the present study was to counter these effects by utilising the University of Canterbury Adaptive Filtered Speech Test (UCAST) which uses a computer-based adaptive procedure intended to improve the efficiency and sensitivity of the test over its constant-level counterparts. A comprehensive APD test battery was carried out on 18 children aged 7-13 suspected of APD and on an aged-matched control group of 10 children. Fifteen of the APD suspected children were diagnosed with APD based on their performance on a traditional APD test battery, comprising the Compressed and Reverberated Words Test (CRWT), the Double Digits test (DDT), the Frequency Pattern test (FPT) and the Random Gap Detection test (RGDT). In addition, the UCAST was administered to examine whether the low-pass filter limit at which children score 62.5% of words correct i) differed significantly between children who either passed or failed the APD test battery; ii) correlated with their score on the traditional APD battery (TAPDB); and iii) correlated with their score on a commercially available low-pass filtered speech test, the Filtered Words Subtest of SCAN-C (Keith, 2000b). Results demonstrated a significant difference between the UCAST low-pass filter limit at which APD and control children scored 62.5% words correct (two-way repeated measures ANOVA, p < 0.01). Significant correlations were found between the UCAST and three of the four tests used in the TAPD - the DDT, the RGDT and the FPT (Pearson Correlation coefficient, p < 0.01). No correlation was found between the UCAST and the CRWT or between the UCAST and the SCAN-C (FW) test (p > 0.05). These findings provide evidence that an adaptive filtered speech test may discriminate between children with and without APD with greater sensitivity and specificity than its constant-level counterparts.

Auditory processing disorder (APD) is characterized by deficits in the auditory modality that are not due to a global processing problem or to deficiencies in the peripheral auditory system. Diagnosis of APD is time-consuming and could benefit from an objective test. Temporal processing ability is often impaired in cases of APD, which includes deficits on gap detection tasks. Previous attempts to correlate gap detection thresholds to electrophysiological responses have used the P1-N1-P2 response, mismatch negativity (MMN), and 40 Hz auditory steady-state response (ASSR), but these attempts have not been successful, especially using between-channel gap detection tasks. The current study used a modulation gap detection task and recorded the above responses to supra- and subthreshold gaps and stimuli with no gap. A significant P2 response and a later positive peak distinguished perception of a suprathreshold gap. Improvements over previous studies, the relation to auditory training, and limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

Auditory processing disorder (APD) is a label that describes a variable set of symptoms that share a common feature of difficulty listening to sounds in the absence of an actual audiological deficit (Moore, 2006). Clinical assessment of APD typically involves a test battery consisting of tests designed to examine the integrity of various auditory processes of the central auditory nervous system. Individuals with APD have difficulty recognising speech when parts of the signal are missing. One category of tests used to assess the extent to which this deficit is associated with reduced performance on the task is the low-pass filtered speech test. The University of Canterbury Adaptive Speech Test-Filtered Words (UCAST-FW) is a computer-based adaptive low-pass filtered speech test developed for the assessment of auditory processing skills in adults and children. Earlier studies with the UCAST-FW (McGaffin, 2007; Sincock, 2008; Heidtke, 2010; Abu-Hijleh, 2011) have produced encouraging results. However, there appear to be a number of confounding factors. The UCAST-FW is testing New Zealand listeners using an Australian recording of American test material. The purpose of the current study was to develop a new four-alternative forced choice test to replace the Northwestern University Children’s Perception of Speech (NU-CHIPS) stimuli the UCAST-FW currently utilises. The new test consists of 98 sets of four test items, (one target item and three foil alternatives) designed to be used in a four-alternative forced choice picture-pointing procedure. Phonemic analysis of the new word list and the NU-CHIPS word lists revealed a similar distribution of phonemes for target words of both word lists. The development of the new word list is described and the clinical applicability is explored.

This study examined the nature of the undergraduate curricula for Auditory Processing Disorders (APD) for communication pathologists (speech-language therapists and audiologists) within the South African context. An exploratory descriptive survey design was utilised. The respondents were the authoritative voices in the area of APD, i.e. academics based at training institutions involved in the training of Speech-Language Therapists and Audiologists in the field of APD. They represented five of the six South African training institutions training speech-language therapists and audiologists. Information on the training programmes offered in APD was obtained with the use of a specifically designed questionnaire. This was further supplemented by copies of the course descriptors and / or study guides supplied by the respondents from the respective training institutions. A curriculum analysis framework was utilised to analyse the curricula (Jansen&Reddy, 1998). The findings of the study indicated that the curricula offered in APD at all training institutions compared well to current research and literature in the field of APD. However, information was not transparent on how the South African social and contextual issues were incorporated into training in APD. The researcher proposed that the curricula currently in use did not require major changes but appropriate amendments are required to be considered. The critical paradigm of inquiry was advocated to be used when training in the area of APD. Additionally, the researcher motivated for and recommended additions to the curricula on APD to address the South African situation as an essential part of the curriculum. The researcher’s principle guideline for amending the curricula was to incorporate these issues into the training based on the adoption of an ecological approach to assessment and remediation of APD. / Dissertation (M(Communication Pathology))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology / unrestricted

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.

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The Auditory Continuous Performance Test (ACPT) was evaluated on one group of subjects who had been diagnosed as having attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and another group for whom ADHD had been ruled out. Although the specificity of the ACPT was acceptably high for a screening test, the sensitivity was very low. The conclusions drawn from these results are limited because of small sample size (n = 23). However, until reports based on large study samples are forthcoming, the use of the ACPT as a screening test for ADHD appears questionable.

Clinical Questions: What top-down and bottom-up interventions across the psychology, audiology, educational, and speech language pathology domains are most effective for children and adolescents with Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD)? What considerations for planning research and intervention might be offered to a classroom teacher to further support students diagnosed with CAPD, especially in relation to the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), formerly known as Response to Intervention (RTI)? Method: Inter-Disciplinary Literature Review Study Sources: PsycInfo, Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts, ProQuest, International Journal of Audiology, American-Speech-Language Hearing Association, Journal of Neurotherapy, Medline-Esbcohost, ERIC Ebscohost, Professional Development Collection Education, and What Works Clearinghouse Number of Included Studies: 16 Age Range: 2-13 years Primary Results: 1) Phonological awareness training was the primary reading educational construct found among the included interventions in this literature review. 2) Most CAPD studies employed a combination of both bottom-up and top-down treatments in intervention. This finding may possibly indicate that in order for a CAPD intervention to be even more beneficial to the student, both bottom-up and top-down treatments should be considered and incorporated in relation to the student's individualized needs. Conclusions: Results confirmed very little research and few intervention implications on CAPD students within the educational research discipline, including special education. Search results primarily included methods to improve listening in the classroom environment, but did not specifically mention intervention in relation to CAPD and its implications. Results also confirmed that a multi-disciplinary effort is needed to provide clinical decision and effective intervention for the CAPD population.