Speech Perception In Children Research Articles

Visual Speech Perception in Children With Language Learning Impairments.

The purpose of the study was to assess the ability of children with developmental language learning impairments (LLIs) to use visual speech cues from the talking face. In this cross-sectional study, 41 typically developing children (mean age: 8 years 0 months, range: 4 years 5 months to 11 years 10 months) and 27 children with diagnosed LLI (mean age: 8 years 10 months, range: 5 years 2 months to 11 years 6 months) completed a silent speechreading task and a speech-in-noise task with and without visual support from the talking face. The speech-in-noise task involved the identification of a target word in a carrier sentence with a single competing speaker as a masker. Children in the LLI group showed a deficit in speechreading when compared with their typically developing peers. Beyond the single-word level, this deficit became more apparent in older children. On the speech-in-noise task, a substantial benefit of visual cues was found regardless of age or group membership, although the LLI group showed an overall developmental delay in speech perception. Although children with LLI were less accurate than their peers on the speechreading and speech-in noise-tasks, both groups were able to make equivalent use of visual cues to boost performance accuracy when listening in noise.

Percepção de fala em deficientes auditivos pré-linguais com desordem do espectro da neuropatia auditiva usuários de aparelho auditivo de amplificação sonora

To analyze speech perception in children with pre-lingual hearing loss with auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder users of bilateral hearing aid. This is a descriptive and exploratory study carried out at the Research Center Audiological (HRAC/USP). The study included four children aged between 8 years and 3 months and 12 years and 2 months. Lists of monosyllabic words, two syllables, nonsense words and sentences, the Infant Toddler-Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale (IT-MAIS) and the Meaningful Use of Speech Scale (MUSS), hearing, and language categories were used. All lists were applied in acoustic booth, with speakers, in free field, in silence. The results showed an average 69.5% for the list of monosyllabic words, 87.75% for the list of two-syllable words, 89.92% for the list of nonsense syllables, and 92.5% for the list of sentences. The therapeutic process that includes the use of bilateral hearing aid was extremely satisfactory, since it allowed the maximum development of auditory skills.

Development of Open-Set Word Recognition in Children: Speech-Shaped Noise and Two-Talker Speech Maskers.

The goal of this study was to establish the developmental trajectories for children's open-set recognition of monosyllabic words in each of two maskers: two-talker speech and speech-shaped noise. Listeners were 56 children (5 to 16 years) and 16 adults, all with normal hearing. Thresholds for 50% correct recognition of monosyllabic words were measured in a two-talker speech or a speech-shaped noise masker in the sound field using an open-set task. Target words were presented at a fixed level of 65 dB SPL throughout testing, while the masker level was adapted. A repeated-measures design was used to compare the performance of three age groups of children (5 to 7 years, 8 to 12 years, and 13 to 16 years) and a group of adults. The pattern of age-related changes during childhood was also compared between the two masker conditions. Listeners in all four age groups performed more poorly in the two-talker speech than the speech-shaped noise masker, but the developmental trajectories differed for the two masker conditions. For the speech-shaped noise masker, children's performance improved with age until about 10 years of age, with little systematic child-adult differences thereafter. In contrast, for the two-talker speech masker, children's thresholds gradually improved between 5 and 13 years of age, followed by an abrupt improvement in performance to adult-like levels. Children's thresholds in the two masker conditions were uncorrelated. Younger children require a more advantageous signal-to-noise ratio than older children and adults to achieve 50% correct word recognition in both masker conditions. However, children's ability to recognize words appears to take longer to mature and follows a different developmental trajectory for the two-talker speech masker than the speech-shaped noise masker. These findings highlight the importance of considering both age and masker type when evaluating children's masked speech perception abilities.

Lexical effects on children's speech processing: individual differences reflected in the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ).

This study was undertaken to examine whether children exhibit the same relationship that adults show between lexical influence on phoneme identification and individual variation on the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ). Data from 62 4- to 7-year-olds with no diagnosis of autism were analyzed. The main task involved identification of the initial sound in pairs of voice-onset time continua with a real word on one end and a nonword on the other (e.g., gift-kift, giss-kiss). Participants were also given the children's version of the AQ and a 2nd instrument related to autistic-like traits, the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS). The lexical shift was related to the AQ (particularly to its Attention Switching subscale) but not to the SRS. The size of lexical effects on children's speech perception can be predicted by AQ scores but not necessarily by other measures of autism-like traits. The results indicate that speech perception in children manifests individual differences along some general dimension of cognitive style reflected in the AQ, possibly in relation to local/global information processing.

Assessing speech perception in children with hearing loss: what conventional clinical tools may miss.

This study tested the hypothesis that word recognition in a complex, two-talker masker is more closely related to real-world speech perception for children with hearing loss than testing performed in quiet or steady-state noise. Sixteen school-age hearing aid users were tested on aided word recognition in noise or two-talker speech. Unaided estimates of speech perception in quiet were retrospectively obtained from the clinical record. Ten parents completed a questionnaire regarding their children's ease of communication and understanding in background noise. Unaided performance in quiet was correlated with aided performance in competing noise, but not in two-talker speech. Only results in the two-talker masker were correlated with parental reports of their children's functional hearing abilities. Speech perception testing in a complex background such as two-talker speech may provide a more accurate predictor of the communication challenges of children with hearing loss than testing in steady noise or quiet.

Speech Perception after Early Cochlear Implantation

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of age on speech perception in children implanted before 5 years of age over the first 3 years after surgery. Material and Methods: A total of 31 children are divided into 2 groups; 12 were implanted before 2 and 19 implanted between 3 and 5 years of age. Assessment battery designed to measure speech perception was used to evaluate recipients at 12, 24 and 36 months after implantation. We used the following tests: 1. Closed and open-set for monosyllabic and polysyllabic words in quiet and noise 2 and Open-set sentence in quiet. Testing was performed with recorded voice in free field. Results: The mean value on the open-set for monosyllabic words for all patients increased with time. The difference between the values for each group at 12, 24 and 36 months was significant (p<0.001). As duration of cochlear implant use increased, speech perception also improved. The mean value on the open-set with polysyllabic words at 36 months for all patients (82.7%) was significantly higher than the mean value at 24 months (77.2%) (p=0.10). The mean value for this parameter at 36 months in children aged 3 to 5 years of age (82.1%) was significantly higher than the mean value at 24 months (74.2%) (p=0.08). Improvement in speech perception is faster if implantation occurs at a younger before 2 years of age. Conclusion: Age at time of implantation has a positive effect on speech perception, especially in situations such as background noise. Children implanted before 2 years of age have faster improvement in speech perception. Those who are implanted between 3 and 5 years of age showed delay 2 years postoperatively and significant improvement after this time. Three years after cochlear implantation there was no significant differences among them.

Assessing Speech Perception in Children With Hearing Loss: What Conventional Clinical Tools May Miss

Assessing Speech Perception in Children With Hearing Loss: What Conventional Clinical Tools May Miss

Development of an audiovisual speech perception app for children with autism spectrum disorders

Perception of spoken language requires attention to acoustic as well as visible phonetic information. This article reviews the known differences in audiovisual speech perception in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and specifies the need for interventions that address this construct. Elements of an audiovisual training program are described. This researcher-developed program delivered via an iPad app presents natural speech in the context of increasing noise, but supported with a speaking face. Children are cued to attend to visible articulatory information to assist in perception of the spoken words. Data from four children with ASD ages 8–10 are presented showing that the children improved their performance on an untrained auditory speech-in-noise task.

Intraoperative Round Window Electrocochleography and Speech Perception Outcomes in Pediatric Cochlear Implant Recipients

Objectives: (1) Understand how intraoperative electrocochleograpy (ECoG) is used for assessing residual cochlear function in pediatric implant recipients. (2) Appreciate the utility of electrocochleograpy in predicting speech perception outcomes. Methods: A prospective cohort study of pediatric cochlear implant patients at a tertiary hospital was conducted starting in July 2011 and is ongoing. ECoG recordings were obtained from 77 children (89 ears) during cochlear implantation and provided a total response metric that can quantify the underlying hair cell and neural health. Follow-up speech perception tests were conducted at ≥7 months postoperatively with the phonetically balanced kindergarten (PB-k) word lists (n = 24). PB-k scores were compared to ECoG total response and other clinical and audiologic variables using multiple linear regression analysis in order to construct a parsimonious model for predicting speech outcomes. Results: Postoperative PB-k scores were significantly correlated with ECoG total response ( r2 = 0.32, P = .006) and preoperative pure tone averages (PTA; r2 = 0.41, P = .001). ECoG total response was weakly and inversely correlated with PTA ( r2 = 0.14, P = .001, n = 89). Hierarchical multiple linear regression identified a model for speech perception performance that included preoperative PTA, duration of cochlear implant use, and ECoG total response that predicted about half of the variance in PB-k performance (adjusted r2 = 0.49, P = .002). Conclusions: Intraoperative ECoG recordings are significantly correlated with speech perception outcomes in pediatric cochlear implant recipients and alone can account for a similar proportion of variance in speech perception when compared to other bioaudiometric factors. ECoG provides useful prognostic information about attainment of open set speech perception in children.

Theta–gamma coupling reflects the interaction of bottom-up and top-down processes in speech perception in children

This study investigates how the interaction of different brain oscillations (particularly theta–gamma coupling) modulates the bottom-up and top-down processes during speech perception. We employed a speech perception paradigm that manipulated the congruency between a visually presented picture and an auditory stimulus and asked participants to judge whether they matched or mismatched. A group of children (mean age 10years, 5months) participated in this study and their electroencephalographic (EEG) data were recorded while performing the experimental task. It was found that in comparison with mismatch condition, match condition facilitated speech perception by eliciting greater theta–gamma coupling in the frontal area and smaller theta–gamma coupling in the left temporal area. These findings suggested that a top-down facilitation effect from congruent visual pictures engaged different mechanisms in low-level sensory (temporal) regions and high-level linguistic and decision (frontal) regions. Interestingly, hemispheric asymmetry is with higher theta–gamma coupling in the match condition in the right hemisphere and higher theta–gamma coupling in the mismatch condition in the left hemisphere. This indicates that a fast global processing strategy and a slow detailed processing strategy were differentially adopted in the match and mismatch conditions. This study provides new insight into the mechanisms of speech perception from the interaction of different oscillatory activities and provides neural evidence for theories of speech perception allowing for top-down feedback connections. Furthermore, it sheds light on children's speech perception development by showing a similar pattern of integration of bottom-up and top-down information during speech perception as previous studies have revealed in adults.

Don’t Listen With Your Mouth Full: The Role of Facial Motor Action in Visual Speech Perception

Theories of speech perception agree that visual input enhances the understanding of speech but disagree on whether physically mimicking the speaker improves understanding. This study investigated whether facial motor mimicry facilitates visual speech perception by testing whether blocking facial motor action impairs speechreading performance. Thirty-five typically developing children (19 boys; 16 girls; M age = 7 years) completed the Revised Craig Lipreading Inventory under two conditions. While observing silent videos of 15 words being spoken, participants either held a tongue depressor horizontally with their teeth (blocking facial motor action) or squeezed a ball with one hand (allowing facial motor action). As hypothesized, blocking motor action resulted in fewer correctly understood words than that of the control task. The results suggest that facial mimicry or other methods of facial action support visual speech perception in children. Future studies on the impact of motor action on the typical and atypical development of speech perception are warranted.

Métodos Experimentales de Estudio de la Percepción Temprana del Habla

The early speech perception began to be studied at the beginning of the 1970s, but only developed fully ten years later due to the appearance and adaptation of new empirical methods and technological tools. The article reviews the experimental methods that can be used to study early speech perception in children under the age of one, and discusses some of the most relevant theoretical conclusions reached thanks to their application. The objective is to provide an overview of the methodological and theoretical situation of the study of speech perception during the first year of life.

The impact of multisensory integration deficits on speech perception in children with autism spectrum disorders.

Speech perception is an inherently multisensory process. When having a face-to-face conversation, a listener not only hears what a speaker is saying, but also sees the articulatory gestures that accompany those sounds. Speech signals in visual and auditory modalities provide complementary information to the listener (Kavanagh and Mattingly, 1974), and when both are perceived in unison, behavioral gains in in speech perception are observed (Sumby and Pollack, 1954). Notably, this benefit is accentuated when speech is perceived in a noisy environment (Sumby and Pollack, 1954). To achieve a behavioral gain from multisensory processing of speech, however, the auditory and visual signals must be perceptually bound into a single, unified percept. The most commonly cited effect that demonstrates perceptual binding in audiovisual speech perception is the McGurk effect (McGurk and MacDonald, 1976), where a listener hears a speaker utter the syllable “ba,” and sees the speaker utter the syllable “ga.” When these two speech signals are perceptually bound, the listener perceives the speaker as having said “da” or “tha,” syllables that are not contained in either of the unisensory signals, resulting in a perceptual binding, or integration, of the speech signals (Calvert and Thesen, 2004).

Language and speech perception of young children with bimodal fitting or bilateral cochlear implants

ObjectivesThis paper compares language development and speech perception of children with bimodal fitting (a cochlear implant in one ear and a hearing aid in the opposite ear) or bilateral cochlear implantation.MethodsParticipants were children enrolled in the Longitudinal Outcomes of Children with Hearing Impairment study. Language development was assessed at 3 years of age using standardized tests. Speech perception was evaluated at 5 years of age. Speech was presented from a frontal loudspeaker, and babble noise was presented either from the front or from both sides.ResultsOn average, there was no significant difference in language outcomes between 44 children with bimodal fitting and 49 children with bilateral cochlear implants; after controlling for a range of demographic variables. Earlier age at cochlear implant activation was associated with better outcomes. Speech perception in noise was not significantly different between children with bimodal fitting and those with bilateral cochlear implants. Compared to normal-hearing children, children with cochlear implants required a better signal-to-noise ratio to perform at the same level, but demonstrated spatial release from masking of a similar magnitude.ConclusionsThis population-based study found that language scores for children with bilateral implants were higher than those with bimodal fitting or those with unilateral implants, but neither reached significance level.

El procesamiento temporal en la percepción del habla de los disléxicos

Title: Temporal processing in speech perception of children with dyslexia. Abstract: Numerous studies show that a phonological deficit causes dys- lexia, but the origin of this deficit remains a controversial issue. The pre- sent study examines whether perceptual phonological deficit in children with dyslexia can be explained by a temporal processing deficit with a de- sign that controls the demands of the task and linguistic complexity and temporal of contrasts between speech sounds. Thirteen children with dys- lexia and phonological deficits (9-11 years) and 13 age-matched normal readers were assessed on temporal order judgment tasks (TOJ) and same- different discrimination tasks (S-D). The tasks are based on contrasts of the syllables / ba / -/da / and / fa/-/ la /. We analyze the effects of the complexity of the stimuli (similar versus no similar) and the task (temporal order judgment tasks versus discrimination tasks). The children with dys- lexia showed lower performance than the control group in both pairs of syllables. The performance of children with dyslexia in the TOJ tasks was significantly lower than the control group but no differences between groups in the S-D tasks were found. The findings are discussed in terms of temporal processing problems in speech perception in children with dys-

FMRI of phonemic perception and its relationship to reading development in elementary- to middle-school-age children

Neuroimaging studies suggest that categorical perception of speech phonemes in adults is primarily subserved by a pathway from bilateral primary auditory areas to association areas in the left middle superior temporal cortex, but the neural substrates underlying categorical speech perception in children are not yet known. Here, fMRI was used to examine the neural substrates associated with phoneme perception in 7- to 12-year-old children as well as the relationships among level of expertise in phoneme perception, the associated activation, and the development of reading and phonological processing abilities. While multiple regions in left frontal, temporal, and parietal cortex were found to be more responsive to phonemic than nonphonemic sounds, the extent of left lateralization in posterior temporal and parietal regions during phonemic relative to nonphonemic discrimination differed depending on the degree of categorical phoneme perception. In addition, an unexpected finding was that proficiency in categorical perception was strongly related to activation in the left ventral occipitotemporal cortex, an area frequently associated with orthographic processing. Furthermore, in children who showed lower proficiency in categorical perception, the level of categorical perception was positively correlated with reading ability and reading and reading-related abilities were inversely correlated with right mid-temporal activation in the phonemic relative to nonphonemic perception contrast. These results suggest that greater specialization of left hemisphere temporal and parietal regions for the categorical perception of phonemes, as well as activation of the region termed the visual word form area, may be important for the optimal developmental refinement of both phoneme perception and reading ability.

Hearing Matters

Figure: Top panel: These single-trial responses to a speech syllable illustrate trial-to-trial variability in the ABR of a child with dyslexia. Bottom panel: Good readers have better neural response consistency than average or poor readers. ***p < 0.005, *p < 0.05, ~p < 0.10. (Adapted from J Neurosci 2013;33[8]:3500-3504. Adaptations are themselves works protected by copyright. In order to publish this adaptation, authorization must be obtained both from the copyright owner in the original work and from the copyright owner in the translation or adaptation.)As audiologists, we understand the important role hearing sensitivity plays in the development of reading skills. What we don't always consider, however, is the effect of central auditory processing. The accurate representation of speech sounds is an important aspect of learning to link sounds with orthographic symbols, a fundamental building block of reading (Proc Nat Acad Sci U S A 2010;107[17]:7939-7944 ). Furthermore, if a child is not making sound-to-meaning connections in language, then efficient, automatic representation of sound by the auditory system will not develop. It stands to reason that the evaluation of auditory-processing abilities, in addition to basic hearing thresholds, is an important part of the assessment of children who are having difficulty reading. RESPONSE CONSISTENCYFigure: Nina Kraus, PhDInpairments in frequency modulation, speech perception, and phonological awareness in kindergarteners and first graders predict a dyslexia diagnosis in third grade (Res Dev Disabil 2011;32[2]:560-570 ). Speech perception in children with dyslexia is particularly problematic in noise (Dev Sci 2009;12[5]:732-745 ), and temporal-processing deficits appear to underlie at least some types of dyslexia, with training leading to improvements (Science 1996;271[5245]:77-81 ).Figure: Samira Anderson, AuD, PhDOne of the mechanisms influencing the development of auditory skills and the quality of sound representation is the trial-to-trial consistency of neural responses. If there is jitter or asynchrony, the response will be degraded, resulting in an absent auditory brainstem response (ABR). Asynchronous firing may degrade the response to the extent that it interferes with reading. In fact, this effect was demonstrated in a rat model of dyslexia (Cereb Cort 2013; doi:10.1093/cercor/bht028 ). Rats were genetically engineered to have reduced expression of KIAA0319, since mutations of this gene are associated with dyslexia. The rats had lower trial-to-trial consistency and reduced discrimination of speech sounds, providing evidence that decreased expression of the KIAA0319 gene can lead to impaired phoneme processing in the cerebral cortex. The importance of neural response consistency was also recently demonstrated in children who had a wide range of reading abilities. Those with good reading scores had higher trial-to-trial consistency in the auditory brainstem response to a speech syllable than did children with poor reading scores (J Neurosci 2013;33[8]:3500-3504 ). Overall, these results provide convincing objective evidence for underlying auditory-processing deficits in at least some children with reading disorders. This study has important implications. Response consistency—an objective measure of auditory processing that reflects neural synchrony—appears to be an important factor in the development of successful reading. Because response consistency is an ABR measure, it would be feasible to incorporate it into the audiological battery. But let's take this a step further. Are there efficacious treatments for individuals with biological evidence of auditory-processing disorders? There is now support for the benefits of using FM systems for improving both reading performance and neural response consistency (Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2012;109[41]:16731-16736 ). This and other studies evaluating treatment strategies for children with language-based learning impairments will be discussed in the November issue of The Hearing Journal.

Influence of Hearing Loss on Children’s Identification of Spondee Words in a Speech-Shaped Noise or a Two-Talker Masker

This study evaluated the influence of hearing loss on children's speech-perception abilities in a speech-shaped noise or a two-talker masker. For both masker conditions, it was predicted that children with hearing loss would require a more advantageous signal to noise ratio (SNR) than children with normal hearing to achieve the same criterion level of performance. However, it was hypothesized that the performance gap between children with hearing loss and children with normal hearing would be larger in the two-talker than in the speech-shaped noise masker. A repeated-measures design compared the spondee identification performance of two age groups of children with hearing loss (9-11 and 13-17 years of age) and a group of children with normal hearing (9-11 years of age) in continuous speech-shaped noise or a two-talker masker. Estimates of the SNR required for 70.7% correct spondee identification were obtained using an adaptive, four-alternative, forced-choice procedure. Children were tested in the sound field. Children with hearing loss wore their personal hearing aids at their regular settings during testing. Both groups of children with hearing loss performed more poorly than children with normal hearing in the speech-shaped noise masker. Younger children required an additional 2.7 dB SNR and older children required an additional 4.7 dB SNR to achieve the same level of performance as children with normal hearing. This disadvantage decreased to 8.1 dB for both age groups of children with hearing loss in the two-talker masker. For children with hearing loss, degree of hearing loss was significantly correlated with performance in the speech-shaped noise masker, but not in the two-talker masker. A larger performance gap was observed between children with hearing loss and children with normal hearing in competing speech than in steady state noise. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that hearing loss influenced children's perceptual processing abilities.

Using Personal Response Systems to Assess Speech Perception Within the Classroom

The assessment of the combined effect of classroom acoustics and sound field amplification (SFA) on children's speech perception within the "live" classroom poses a challenge to researchers. The goals of this study were to determine: (1) Whether personal response system (PRS) hand-held voting cards, together with a closed-set speech perception test (Chear Auditory Perception Test [CAPT]), provide an appropriate method for evaluating speech perception in the classroom; (2) Whether SFA provides better access to the teacher's speech than without SFA for children, taking into account vocabulary age, middle ear dysfunction or ear-canal wax, and home language. Forty-four children from two school-year groups, year 2 (aged 6 years 11 months to 7 years 10 months) and year 3 (aged 7 years 11 months to 8 years 10 months) were tested in two classrooms, using a shortened version of the four-alternative consonant discrimination section of the CAPT. All children used a PRS to register their chosen response, which they selected from four options displayed on the interactive whiteboard. The classrooms were located in a 19th-century school in central London, United Kingdom. Each child sat at their usual position in the room while target speech stimuli were presented either in quiet or in noise. The target speech was presented from the front of the classroom at 65 dBA (calibrated at 1 m) and the presented noise level was 46 dBA measured at the center of the classroom. The older children had an additional noise condition with a noise level of 52 dBA. All conditions were presented twice, once with SFA and once without SFA and the order of testing was randomized. White noise from the teacher's right-hand side of the classroom and International Speech Test Signal from the teacher's left-hand side were used, and the noises were matched at the center point of the classroom (10sec averaging [A-weighted]). Each child's expressive vocabulary age and middle ear status were measured individually and each child's home language and any special educational needs were recorded. All children were able to use the PRS handsets, and the CAPT speech perception test was sufficiently sensitive to highlight differences in perception in the different listening conditions. Scores were higher in quiet than in any noise condition. Results showed that group performance was significantly better with SFA than without it. The main demographic predictor of performance was expressive vocabulary age. SFA gave more benefit to the poorer performers in the group. There were no significant effects on performance relating to middle ear status or home language; however, the size of the population was too small to be able to fully explore these aspects in greater detail. PRS together with the CAPT provides a sensitive measure for in situ speech perception testing within the classroom. Vocabulary age has a large effect on a child's ability to perceive the speech signal. SFA leads to improved speech perception, when the speech signal has been degraded because of poor acoustics or background noise and has a particularly large effect for children with lower vocabulary ages.

The relationship between auditory–visual speech perception and language-specific speech perception at the onset of reading instruction in English-speaking children

Speech perception is auditory–visual, but relatively little is known about auditory–visual compared with auditory-only speech perception. One avenue for further understanding is via developmental studies. In a recent study, Sekiyama and Burnham (2008) found that English speakers significantly increase their use of visual speech information between 6 and 8 years of age but that this development does not appear to be universal across languages. Here, the possible bases for this language-specific increase among English speakers were investigated. Four groups of English-language children (5, 6, 7, and 8years) and a group of adults were tested on auditory–visual, auditory-only, and visual-only speech perception; language-specific speech perception with native and non-native speech sounds; articulation; and reading. Results showed that language-specific speech perception and lip-reading ability reliably predicted auditory–visual speech perception in children but that adult auditory–visual speech perception was predicted by auditory-only speech perception. The implications are discussed in terms of both auditory–visual speech perception and language development.