A Test of Auditory Language Processing Regression: Adult Aphasia versus Normal Children Ages 5–13 Years

Abstract

A total of 364 children, grouped in one year increments from five through 13 years of age, were compared to a group of 47 adult aphasic subjects on the Revised Token Test. The purpose for comparing the child groups to the aphasic group was to systematically assess a Language Processing Regression Hypothesis whereby a reduced efficiency of language processing in aphasia was compared to an increased level of language processing as a function of increased age of the normal children. Using discriminant analyses, the patterns of test performance were compared between the aphasic and each of the child groups. The number of subjects misclassified (children as adult aphasic, or adult, aphasic as children) was minimal for all of the comparisons and serves as counterevidence for the Regression Hypothesis. The numbers of subjects correctly classified into their respective groups was low for comparisons with the 5 through 9 year groups, where the bulk of the subjects were unclassifiable. However, a precipitous rise i...