Preparation Of Auditory Processing Ability Test Materials And Application In Children With Learning Difficulties

Auditory processing ability means the decoding, organization and integration of sound signalsby auditory system, which affects listening recognization and comprehension directly. If pupils have auditory processing disorders, most of them also have learning difficulties. It is reported that about 30%～50% of children with learning difficulties have auditory processing disorders from overseas researches. There is no doubt that improving problems of auditory processing can increase their academic performance. However, the researches of auditory processing disorders start late in our country, and there are few test materials.This study aims to prepare the test material of auditory processing abilities in accordance with international testing standards, anddiscover the situation of children with auditory processing disordersin the ones with learning difficulties.The main work and results of this research include the following ones:1. Preparation ofthe test materialsof pupils’auditory processing abilityAccording to ASHA’s standard, we choose four tests:low-pass filtered speech test, competing sentences test, dichotic digitals test and frequency patterns test.And then we prepare software, testand getappropriate materials. Finally, we find the normal reference value of Shanghai 2-4 grade children auditory processing ability.2. Investigated the characteristics of normal children’s auditory processing ability(1) The incidence of auditory processing disorderamong the 2～4 grade normal children is 1.923%, consistent with the American data of 2%～3%; (2) In competing sentences test, the fourth-grade pupils preform better than the third-grades obviously. There is no significant difference among grades.(3) Appropriate memory strategies can improve the ability of dichotic listening.3. Investigated the characteristics of auditory processing abilityof childrenwith learning difficulties(1) The incidence of auditory processing disorder among the children with learning difficulties is 41.176%.(2) Auditory processing ability of children with learning difficultiesis poorer than normal children’s, especially the listening ability in noisy environment and the ability to using intrinsic redundancy. Moreover, the auditory processing ability of children with learning difficulties does not rise with the increasing of grade completely. And the third grade is in an unstable period.(3) When intervening the auditory processing abilities of children with learning difficulties, we should focus on improving listening skills in noisy environment.