Le Trouble du Spectre Autistique (TSA) est souvent caractérisé par un profil auditif atypique et des atteintes au niveau du langage. Des études antérieures examinant la perception auditive simple et complexe dans les TSA et le développement typique présentent des conclusions mitigées quant à la nature des profils auditifs des deux groupes. De plus, des données contradictoires ont été rapportées en termes d’aptitudes cognitives chez les personnes atteintes de TSA. En conséquence, la relation qui existe entre la perception auditive et les habiletés verbales et non-verbales chez les TSA demeure mal comprise. En conséquence, cette étude cherche à mieux comprendre la relation entre le traitement du son et les aptitudes cognitives, en visant de comparer des enfants atteints de TSA à des enfants au développement typique. Dans la présente étude, les participants ont effectué une tâche auditive à bas-niveau et une tâche auditive mélodique à haut-niveau. Les capacités cognitives verbales et non-verbales ont été mesurées à l’aide des composantes du Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI), un test de quotient intellectuel (QI). Les deux groupes ont obtenu des résultats similaires sur les deux tâches auditives ainsi que sur les mesures de QI. De plus, cette étude a démontré que les habiletés verbales ne permettent pas de prédire la performance sur la tâche auditive à bas-niveau ou sur la tâche auditive à haut-niveau dans les deux groupes. Cependant, les habiletés non-verbales semblent prédire une meilleure perception auditive sur les deux tâches auditives, et ce, pour les deux groupes. Ces résultats soulignent la présence d’habiletés auditives intactes dans un échantillon d’enfants atteints de TSA ayant un QI qui se situe dans la moyenne. De plus, l’étude actuelle met en évidence une relation entre la perception auditive et le raisonnement non-verbal, plutôt que le raisonnement verbal. Ainsi, les résultats de cette étude permettent d’approfondir la connaissance sur les différences individuelles qui existent dans la perception auditive auprès des personnes atteintes de TSA dans les contextes verbales et non-verbales, pour enfin contribuer à une meilleure caractérisation du phénotype du TSA. / Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is often characterized by atypical sensory perception and cognitive profiles. However, previous studies have found mixed findings with regard to auditory processing in ASD. Discrepant findings have been reported in terms of cognitive abilities in ASD. Accordingly, auditory perception and its relation to verbal and non-verbal cognitive abilities in ASD remains poorly understood. The objective of the present research was to examine the association between auditory pitch processing and verbal and non-verbal cognitive abilities in children with ASD, compared with age- and IQ-matched typically developing (TD) children. Participants were 17 children with ASD and 19 TD children, matched on age and IQ. Participants were tested on performed a low-level pitch direction task and a higher-level melodic pitch global-local task. Verbal and non-verbal cognitive abilities were measured using the Verbal IQ and Performance IQ components of the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI). No group differences in performance were found on either auditory task or IQ measure. Furthermore, verbal abilities did not predict performance on the auditory tasks in either group. However, non-verbal abilities predicted performance on both of the auditory tasks in ASD and TD. This work contributes to a better understanding of sensory processing and cognitive reasoning in children with ASD and typically-developing children. Specifically, these results indicate that tonal pitch-based auditory processing is preserved in individuals with ASD with average IQ. These findings also suggest that auditory perception is related to non-verbal reasoning rather than verbal abilities in both ASD and TD, implying that there may be common perceptual-cognitive profiles in these subgroups of children with ASD that are similar to typical development. Accordingly, this work supports the idea that some individuals with ASD have ‘islets of ability’ amidst their sensory and cognitive difficulties. These results motivate future studies to examine whether similar perceptual-cognitive associations might be observed in a broader sample of individuals with ASD, such as those with language impairment or lower IQ.

This study formed part of a larger project that is concerned with the adaptation of a test of cognitive academic language proficiency, the Woodcock Muñoz Language Survey (WMLS). The WMLS has been adapted from English into isiXhosa and the present study is located within the broader study that is concerned with establishing overall equivalence between the two language versions of the WMLS. It was primarily concerned with the Verbal Analogies (VA) scale. Previous research on this scale has demonstrated promising results, but continues to find evidence of some inequivalence. This study aimed to cross-validate previous research on the two language versions of the WMLS and improve on methodological issues by employing matched groups. It drew upon an existing dataset from the larger research project. The study employed a monolingual matched two-group design consisting of 150 mainly English speaking and 149 mainly isiXhosa learners in grades 6 and 7. This study had two sub aims. The first was to investigate item bias by identifying DIF items in the VA scale across the isiXhosa and English by conducting a logistic regression and Mantel-Haenszel procedure. Five items were identified by both techniques as DIF. The second sub aim was to evaluate construct equivalence between the isiXhosa and English versions of the WMLS on the VA scale by conducting a factor analysis on the tests after removal of DIF items. Two factors were requested during the factor analysis. The first factor displayed significant loadings across both language versions and was identified as a stable factor. This was confirmed by the Tucker’s Phi and scatter plot. The second factor was stable for the English version but not for the isiXhosa version. The Tucker’s phi and scatter plot indicated that this factor is not structurally equivalent across the two language versions / Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych)

Magister Artium - MA / In the majority of the schools in South Africa (SA), learners commence education in English. This English milieu poses a considerable challenge for English second-language speakers. In an attempt to bridge the gap between English as the main medium of instruction and the nine indigenous languages of the country and assist with the implementation of mother-tongue based bilingual education, this study focuses on the cross-validation of a monolingual English test used in the assessment of multilingual or bilingual learners in the South African context. This test, namely the Woodcock Muñoz Language Survey (WMLS), is extensively used in the United States in Additive Bilingual Education in the country. The present study is a substudy of a broader study, in which the original WMLS (American-English version) was adapted into SA English and Xhosa. For this specific sub-study, the researcher was interested in investigating the scalar equivalence of the adapted English version of the Verbal Analogies (VA) subscale of the WMLS across English first-language speakers and Xhosa first-language speakers. This was achieved by utilising differential item functioning (DIF) and construct bias statistical techniques. The Mantel-Haenszel DIF detection method was employed to detect DIF, while construct equivalence was examined by means of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) utilising an a priori two-factor structure. The Tucker's phi coefficient was used to assess the congruence of the construct across the two language groups / South Africa

<p>This study formed part of a larger project that is concerned with the adaptation of a test of cognitive academic language proficiency, the Woodcock Mu&ntilde / oz Language Survey (WMLS). The WMLS has been adapted from English into isiXhosa and the present study is located within the broader study that is concerned with establishing overall equivalence between the two language versions of the WMLS. It was primarily concerned with the Verbal Analogies (VA) scale. Previous research on this scale has demonstrated promising results, but continues to find evidence of some inequivalence. This study aimed to cross-validate previous research on the two language versions of the WMLS and improve on methodological issues by employing matched groups. It drew upon an existing dataset from the larger research project. The study employed a monolingual matched two-group design consisting of 150 mainly English speaking and 149 mainly isiXhosa learners in grades 6 and 7. This study had two sub aims. The first was to investigate item bias by identifying DIF items in the VA scale across the isiXhosa and English by conducting a logistic regression and Mantel-Haenszel procedure. Five items were identified by both techniques as DIF. The second sub aim was to evaluate construct equivalence between the isiXhosa and English versions of the WMLS on the VA scale by conducting a factor analysis on the tests after removal of DIF items. Two factors were requested during the factor analysis. The first factor displayed significant loadings across both language versions and was identified as a stable factor. This was confirmed by the Tucker&rsquo / s Phi and scatter plot. The second factor was stable for the English version but not for the isiXhosa version. The Tucker&rsquo / s phi and scatter plot indicated that this factor is not structurally equivalent across the two language versions</p>

<p>In the majority of the schools in South Africa (SA), learners commence education in English. This English milieu poses a considerable challenge for English second-language speakers. In an attempt to bridge the gap between English as the main medium of instruction and the nine indigenous languages of the country and assist with the implementation of mother-tongue based bilingual education, this study focuses on the cross-validation of a monolingual English test used in the assessment of multilingual or bilingual learners in the South African context. This test, namely the Woodcock Mu&ntilde / oz Language Survey (WMLS), is extensively used in the United States in Additive Bilingual Education in the country. The present study is a substudy of a broader study, in which the original WMLS (American-English version) was adapted into SA English and Xhosa. For this specific sub-study, the researcher was interested in investigating the scalar equivalence of the adapted English version of the Verbal Analogies (VA) subscale of the WMLS across English first-language speakers and Xhosa first-language speakers. This was achieved by utilising differential item functioning (DIF) and construct bias statistical techniques. The Mantel-Haenszel DIF detection method was employed to detect DIF, while construct equivalence was examined by means of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) utilising an a priori two-factor structure. The Tucker&rsquo / s phi coefficient was used to assess the congruence of the construct across the two language groups</p>

<p>This study formed part of a larger project that is concerned with the adaptation of a test of cognitive academic language proficiency, the Woodcock Mu&ntilde / oz Language Survey (WMLS). The WMLS has been adapted from English into isiXhosa and the present study is located within the broader study that is concerned with establishing overall equivalence between the two language versions of the WMLS. It was primarily concerned with the Verbal Analogies (VA) scale. Previous research on this scale has demonstrated promising results, but continues to find evidence of some inequivalence. This study aimed to cross-validate previous research on the two language versions of the WMLS and improve on methodological issues by employing matched groups. It drew upon an existing dataset from the larger research project. The study employed a monolingual matched two-group design consisting of 150 mainly English speaking and 149 mainly isiXhosa learners in grades 6 and 7. This study had two sub aims. The first was to investigate item bias by identifying DIF items in the VA scale across the isiXhosa and English by conducting a logistic regression and Mantel-Haenszel procedure. Five items were identified by both techniques as DIF. The second sub aim was to evaluate construct equivalence between the isiXhosa and English versions of the WMLS on the VA scale by conducting a factor analysis on the tests after removal of DIF items. Two factors were requested during the factor analysis. The first factor displayed significant loadings across both language versions and was identified as a stable factor. This was confirmed by the Tucker&rsquo / s Phi and scatter plot. The second factor was stable for the English version but not for the isiXhosa version. The Tucker&rsquo / s phi and scatter plot indicated that this factor is not structurally equivalent across the two language versions</p>

<p>In the majority of the schools in South Africa (SA), learners commence education in English. This English milieu poses a considerable challenge for English second-language speakers. In an attempt to bridge the gap between English as the main medium of instruction and the nine indigenous languages of the country and assist with the implementation of mother-tongue based bilingual education, this study focuses on the cross-validation of a monolingual English test used in the assessment of multilingual or bilingual learners in the South African context. This test, namely the Woodcock Mu&ntilde / oz Language Survey (WMLS), is extensively used in the United States in Additive Bilingual Education in the country. The present study is a substudy of a broader study, in which the original WMLS (American-English version) was adapted into SA English and Xhosa. For this specific sub-study, the researcher was interested in investigating the scalar equivalence of the adapted English version of the Verbal Analogies (VA) subscale of the WMLS across English first-language speakers and Xhosa first-language speakers. This was achieved by utilising differential item functioning (DIF) and construct bias statistical techniques. The Mantel-Haenszel DIF detection method was employed to detect DIF, while construct equivalence was examined by means of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) utilising an a priori two-factor structure. The Tucker&rsquo / s phi coefficient was used to assess the congruence of the construct across the two language groups</p>