Auditory processing skills of school-age children diagnosed with dyspraxia

Abstract

Objective: We aimed to analyse the auditory processing skills of children with developmental dyspraxia (DD) and verify the potential relationships between DD and central auditory processing disorder.

Methods: 40 children between the ages of 6-8 years, 20 children diagnosed with DD and 20 children with normal development, were included in the study. After the demographic information forms for children were filled out, all participants were given a hearing test. To evaluate the auditory processing skills, filtered words(FW), auditory figured ground (AFG), competing words (CW), and competing sentence (CS) tests, which are the sub-steps of the SCAN-C test, were applied.

Results: The Scan-C test FW, AFG, CW, CS tests were applied to the groups separately and dichotically for the right and left ears. The number of correct answers was higher in the normally developing control group. A statistically significant difference was found between the FW Right; FW Left; CW Right; CW Left and CS Right; CS Left groups (p<0.05).

Conclusion: A delay experienced at the stages of transmission, processing, and perception of the incoming stimuli may lead to functional problems such as attention, learning, and motor and psychosocial effects. To prevent problems to be encountered in the later periods of life, early diagnosis should be made through appropriate tests, and early intervention is necessary to eliminate problems and prevent developmental delays. A multidisciplinary team interaction can be useful for an integrated treatment plan.