Developmental profiles and auditory perception in 25 children attending special preschools for language-impaired children.

AIM: To study different developmental profiles and auditory perception in a representative group of children with language impairment (LI). METHODS: A multidisciplinary investigation was carried out in a group of 25 children attending units specifically for language-impaired children. An assessment of the cognitive level, motor performance, behaviour and auditory perception was performed and the results were compared with those for age-matched groups of children. RESULTS: Among those with moderate or severe language impairment (LI), around 90% had additional developmental disorders. In three tests of auditory perception, children with LI had problems with working memory and speech discrimination. No problems were found with the children's temporal resolution in auditory perception. Another conclusion from the auditory perceptual tests was that the children's cognitive abilities were important for their success in these tests. CONCLUSION: Neurodevelopmental deviations are very common in LI children. The optimal route for the assessment and treatment of these children would be a multidisciplinary approach.

Temporal resolution of auditory perception in relation to perception, memory, and language skills in typical children.

This study examined temporal resolution of auditory perception (TRAP) in relation to speech perception and phonological working memory in one experiment and in relation to measures of rapid naming, understanding of grammatical contrasts, and phonological awareness in a second experiment. In the TRAP test, 6- to 9-year-old children discriminated four pairs of two sine tones, 878 Hz and 1350 Hz, presented in blocks with stepwise decreasing interstimulus intervals from 256 ms to 8 ms. In Experiment 1, weak but significant correlations between TRAP and speech perception and phonological working memory were found, as well as a significantly lower TRAP performance by girls. Experiment 2 indicated a significant relation between TRAP and the phonological awareness task. The results give qualified support to the notion of a weak relationship between TRAP and speech perception and language skills among typical children. However, the gender differences in TRAP performance, the limited variance explained by the regression models, and the finding that only one of the language parameters correlated with TRAP do not support the notion of a causal relationship between language skills and TRAP. The possibility that TRAP is connected to general neurological maturation rather than specifically to language abilities is discussed.

Speech discrimination and phonological working memory in children with ADHD.

This study examined phonological working memory and speech discrimination among children with attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with and without motor problems. Forty-one children were assigned to three groups; children with ADHD (N=9), children with ADHD plus developmental coordination disorder (ADHD+, N=13), and age-matched control children (N=19). The subjects' ability to classify stimulus pairs was examined in two experiments. The first experiment required subjects to discriminate pairs of monosyllabic stimuli with contrasting consonants to test speech discrimination without using a working-memory load. In the second protocol, subjects were exposed to two- to five-syllabic non-word pairs with contrasting vowels in order to test speech discrimination with a working-memory load. The subjects classified the pairs as being either the same or different in both experiments. No significant differences were found between the subject groups in the discrimination task with monosyllables. When exposed to the two- to five-syllabic stimuli, the ADHD+ group scored significantly lower than both other groups. This was attributed to a higher sensitivity to working-memory load. Some possible explanations of this effect are discussed.