The Contribution of Frequency Discrimination Ability to Auditory Temporal Patterning Tests in Children

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (12) ◽  
pp. 4314-4324
Author(s):  
Ashley G. Flagge ◽  
Tara Davis ◽  
Victoria S. Henbest
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Discrimination Task ◽  
Control Measure ◽  
Pediatric Population ◽  
Linear Regression Analysis ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
Pitch Discrimination ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Temporal Patterning ◽  
Discrimination Ability

Purpose The Pitch Patterns Test (PPT) and the Duration Patterns Test (DPT) are clinical auditory processing tests that evaluate temporal patterning skills based on pitch (PPT) or duration (DPT) aspects of sound. Although temporal patterning tests are categorized under the temporal processing domain, successful performance on the PPT also relies on accurate pitch discrimination. However, the relationship between pitch discrimination ability and temporal patterning skills has not been thoroughly evaluated. This study examined the contribution of pitch discrimination ability to performance on temporal patterning in children through the use of a pitch discrimination task and the PPT. The DPT was also given as a control measure to assess temporal patterning with no pitch component. Method Thirty-two typically developing elementary school–age children (6;11–11;3 [years;months]) with normal hearing were given a series of three counterbalanced tasks: an adaptive psychophysical pitch discrimination task (difference limen for frequency [DLF]), the PPT, and the DPT. Results Correlational analysis revealed moderate correlations between DLF and PPT scores. After accounting for age, results of a linear regression analysis suggested that pitch discrimination accounts for a significant amount of variance in performance on the PPT. No significant correlation was found between DLF and DPT scores, supporting the hypothesis that the pitch task had no significant temporal patterning component contributing to the overall score. Discussion These findings indicate that pitch discrimination contributes significantly to performance on the PPT, but not the DPT, in a typically developing pediatric population. This is an important clinical consideration in both assessment and utilization of targeted therapy techniques for different clinical populations.

Nonword Repetition Skills in Gulf Arabic–Speaking Children With Developmental Language Disorder

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (11) ◽  
pp. 3700-3713
Author(s):  
Saleh Shaalan
Keyword(s):  
Phonological Processing ◽  
Language Disorder ◽  
Nonword Repetition ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Developmental Language Disorder ◽  
Gulf Arabic ◽  
Arabic Speaking ◽  
Phonological Complexity

Purpose This study examined the performance of Gulf Arabic–speaking children with developmental language disorder (DLD) on a Gulf Arabic nonword repetition (GA-NWR) test and compared it to their age- and language-matched groups. We also investigated the role of syllable length, wordlikeness, and phonological complexity in light of NWR theories. Method A new GA-NWR test was conducted with three groups of Gulf Arabic–speaking children: school-age children with DLD, language-matched controls (LCs), and age-matched controls (ACs). The test consisted of two- and three-syllable words that either had no clusters, medial clusters, final clusters, or medial + final clusters. Results The GA-NWR distinguished between the performance of children with DLD and the LC and AC groups. Results showed significant syllable length, wordlikeness, and phonological complexity effects. Differences between the DLD and typically developing groups were seen in two- and three-syllable nonwords; however, when compared on nonwords with no clusters, children with DLD were not significantly different from the LC group. Conclusions The GA-NWR test differentiated between children with DLD and their ACs and LCs. Findings, therefore, support its clinical utility in this variety of Arabic. Results showed that phonological processing factors, such as phonological complexity, may have stronger effects when compared to syllable length effects. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12996812

Development of a Pitch Discrimination Screening Test for Preschool Children

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (04) ◽  
pp. 281-292
Author(s):  
Maria Kulick Abramson ◽  
Peter J. Lloyd
Keyword(s):  
Preschool Children ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Normative Data ◽  
Frequency Discrimination ◽  
Auditory Discrimination ◽  
Auditory Memory ◽  
Pitch Discrimination ◽  
Choice Response ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Cross Sectional

Background: There is a critical need for tests of auditory discrimination for young children as this skill plays a fundamental role in the development of speaking, prereading, reading, language, and more complex auditory processes. Frequency discrimination is important with regard to basic sensory processing affecting phonological processing, dyslexia, measurements of intelligence, auditory memory, Asperger syndrome, and specific language impairment. Purpose: This study was performed to determine the clinical feasibility of the Pitch Discrimination Test (PDT) to screen the preschool child’s ability to discriminate some of the acoustic demands of speech perception, primarily pitch discrimination, without linguistic content. The PDT used brief speech frequency tones to gather normative data from preschool children aged 3 to 5 yrs. Research Design: A cross-sectional study was used to gather data regarding the pitch discrimination abilities of a sample of typically developing preschool children, between 3 and 5 yrs of age. The PDT consists of ten trials using two pure tones of 100-msec duration each, and was administered in an AA or AB forced-choice response format. Study Sample: Data from 90 typically developing preschool children between the ages of 3 and 5 yrs were used to provide normative data. Data Analysis: Nonparametric Mann–Whitney U-testing was used to examine the effects of age as a continuous variable on pitch discrimination. The Kruskal–Wallis test was used to determine the significance of age on performance on the PDT. Spearman rank was used to determine the correlation of age and performance on the PDT. Results: Pitch discrimination of brief tones improved significantly from age 3 yrs to age 4 yrs, as well as from age 3 yrs to the age 4- and 5-yrs group. Results indicated that between ages 3 and 4 yrs, children’s auditory discrimination of pitch improved on the PDT. The data showed that children can be screened for auditory discrimination of pitch beginning with age 4 yrs. Conclusions: The PDT proved to be a time efficient, feasible tool for a simple form of frequency discrimination screening in the preschool population before the age where other diagnostic tests of auditory processing disorders can be used.

scholarly journals A Preliminary Exploration of Pitch Discrimination, Temporal Sequencing, and Prosodic Awareness Skills of Children Who Participate in Different School-Based Music Curricula

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 982
Author(s):  
Ashley G. Flagge ◽  
Mary Ellen Neeley ◽  
Tara M. Davis ◽  
Victoria S. Henbest
Keyword(s):  
Phonological Processing ◽  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Musical Training ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Pitch Discrimination ◽  
Language And Literacy ◽  
School Based ◽  
Temporal Sequencing ◽  
School Music ◽  
Music Class

Musical training has been shown to have a positive influence on a variety of skills, including auditory-based tasks and nonmusical cognitive and executive functioning tasks; however, because previous investigations have yielded mixed results regarding the relationship between musical training and these skills, the purpose of this study was to examine and compare the auditory processing skills of children who receive focused, daily musical training with those with more limited, generalized musical training. Sixteen typically developing children (second–fourth grade) from two different schools receiving different music curricula were assessed on measures of pitch discrimination, temporal sequencing, and prosodic awareness. The results indicated significantly better scores in pitch discrimination abilities for the children receiving daily, focused musical training (School 1) compared to students attending music class only once per week, utilizing a more generalized elementary school music curriculum (School 2). The findings suggest that more in-depth and frequent musical training may be associated with better pitch discrimination abilities in children. This finding is important given that the ability to discriminate pitch has been linked to improved phonological processing skills, an important skill for developing spoken language and literacy. Future investigations are needed to determine whether the null findings for temporal sequencing and prosodic awareness can be replicated or may be different for various grades and tasks for measuring these abilities.

The Influence of the Psychophysical Assessment Paradigm on Pitch Discrimination for Adults (and a Pilot Sample of Children)

2021 ◽  
pp. 003151252110440
Author(s):  
Ashley G. Flagge ◽  
Lucile Puranen ◽  
Madhuri S. Mulekar
Keyword(s):  
Discrimination Performance ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Pitch Discrimination ◽  
Adult Women ◽  
Language And Literacy ◽  
Discrimination Accuracy ◽  
Discrimination Ability ◽  
Research Paradigms ◽  
Pilot Sample ◽  
Pattern Of Performance

Pitch discrimination ability has been of research interest due to its potential relationship to language and literacy. However, assessment protocols for pitch discrimination have varied widely. Prior studies with both children and adults have produced conflicting performance findings across different pitch discrimination research paradigms, though they have consistently shown that discrimination accuracy is based on the psychophysical assessment method applied. In the present study, we examined pitch discrimination performance among convenience samples of 19 adult women and ten female children across six different adaptive psychophysical measurement conditions. We found pitch discrimination performance in both groups to be impacted by the measurement paradigm such that, while adults exhibited significantly better discrimination thresholds than did children, the pattern of performance across the six conditions was similar for both the adults and the children.

scholarly journals Age effects on the development of stimulus over-selectivity are mediated by cognitive flexibility and selective attention

2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-96
Author(s):  
Michelle P. Kelly ◽  
Phil Reed
Keyword(s):  
Selective Attention ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Visual Discrimination ◽  
Discrimination Task ◽  
The Other ◽  
Distractor Task ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Cognitive Variables ◽  
Typically Developing Children ◽  
Developmental Trends

Stimulus over-selectivity is said to have occurred when only a limited subset of the total number of stimuli present during discrimination learning controls behavior, thus, restricting learning about the range, breadth, or all features of a stimulus. The current study investigated over-selectivity of 100 typically developing children, aged 3–7 (mean = 65.50 ± 17.31 SD months), using a visual discrimination task. Developmental trends in over-selectivity and their relationship to some cognitive variables (i.e., selective attention, sustained attention, and cognitive flexibility) were the target. Over-selectivity decreased with age, but this effect was mediated by the development of cognitive flexibility. Over-selectivity increased when a distractor task was introduced, which was not mediated by the other cognitive variables under investigation. The current results assist in the establishment of the theoretical underpinnings of over-selectivity by offering evidence of its underlying determinants and relating these to developmental trends.

scholarly journals The relationship between pitch discrimination and Romanian students’ spelling performance

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 233-240
Author(s):  
Dacian Dorin Dolean
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Musical Instrument ◽  
Pitch Discrimination ◽  
Discrimination Ability ◽  
Spelling Performance ◽  
Foreign Language Acquisition ◽  
Spelling Ability ◽  
Performance Ability

Abstract Previous studies have shown that music can have a positive impact on phonological awareness and on foreign language acquisition. The present research investigates specifically the role of pitch discrimination ability in native and foreign language spelling performance. Two groups of elementary school children were selected based on their pitch discrimination abilities (high and low). Their spelling performance in their native and a foreign (fictional) language was assessed. The results indicate that pitch discrimination ability can be linked to spelling ability in both the native and a foreign language. They also suggest that studying a musical instrument might predict enhanced spelling performance ability

The Impact of Sleep Restriction on Daytime Functioning in School-Age Children With and Without ADHD: A Narrative Review of the Literature

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 188-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona Davidson ◽  
Benjamin Rusak ◽  
Christine Chambers ◽  
Penny Corkum
Keyword(s):  
Sleep Problems ◽  
Narrative Review ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
Sleep Restriction ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Daytime Functioning ◽  
Insufficient Sleep ◽  
Cognition And Emotion ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
The Impact

The purpose of this narrative review was to synthesize the existing literature on the impact of sleep on daytime functioning in both typically developing (TD) children and children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Correlational studies in children suggest that insufficient sleep and impaired daytime functioning are significantly associated; however, this does not address the causal relationships between sleep and daytime functioning. The review results indicated that there is limited experimental sleep manipulation research in children. In the eight studies that employed experimental methods to examine sleep restriction, the consequences of insufficient sleep were greatest for attention and inconsistent for other domains, such as cognition and emotion regulation. Despite the significant co-occurrence of ADHD and sleep problems, the experimental sleep research focused on the daytime impact of shorter sleep in children with ADHD is extremely limited and as such more research is needed.

Are ‘‘Dichotic’’ Deficits Uniquely Dichotic? Investigating Dichotic Performance with the Dichotic Digits Difference Test (DDdT) in a Large Clinical Population of Children Referred for an Auditory Processing Assessment

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon Cameron ◽  
Harvey Dillon
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Large Population ◽  
Clinical Population ◽  
Clinical Group ◽  
Central Auditory Processing ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Central Auditory Processing Disorder ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Z Scores ◽  
Listening Task

Background: Previous studies in a large population of typically developing (TD) children and a smallclinical group showed high correlations between the dichotic and diotic conditions of the Dichotic Digitsdifference Test (DDdT), as well as between DDdT performance and measures of memory and attention.Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate the performance on the DDdT in a large clinical sample.Research Design: Correlational analysis between the DDdT diotic condition and the dichotic free recall (FR)right-ear, left-ear, and total (ear-averaged) conditions, as well as between DDdT and memory performance.Study Sample: One hundred one children (6 years, 3 months to 15 years, 0 months, mean 9 years, 6 months)were referred for assessment to the Australian Hearing Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) service.Results were compared with data from 112 TD children collected from previously published studies.Data Collection and Analysis: Z-scores were used to account for the effect of age on performance.Mean differences between clinical and TD children were investigated using analysis of variance(ANOVA). Pearson product-moment correlations determined the strength of relationships between DDdTconditions and the number memory forward (NMF) and reversed (NMR) subtests of the Test of AuditoryProcessing Skills—Third Edition.Results: Performance by the clinical group on the DDdT dichotic FR (RE, LE, and total) conditions wassignificantly correlated with the diotic condition (r = 0.7; 0.7, 0.8; p < 0.001). Significant correlations werefound between the DDdT diotic and dichotic FR conditions and the NMF (r = 0.5–0.6, p < 0.001) andNMR (r = 0.2–0.5, p < 0.025–0.001). ANOVA revealed no significant difference between the TD andclinical groups (p = 1.0000) in respect to the advantage they got from dichotic listening (calculated asdichotic FR total minus diotic score). Multiple regression revealed that diotic performance and short-termmemory accounted for 68% of the variation in dichotic performance. Random measurement erroraccounted for a further 16%.Conclusions: Factors other than dichotic performance strongly impact a child’s ability to perform a dichoticdigit listening task. This result has widespread implications in respect to the interpretation of CAPDtest results.

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