Speech Perception Skills In Children Research Articles

Update and validation of the early word perception test in the Spanish language

IntroductionIt is extremely important to assess speech perception skills in children with hearing loss, since these skills are essential to guide the rehabilitation process. ObjectiveUpdate and validate the Early Speech Perception test in Spanish in normal-hearing children. MethodDifferent drawings were selected from children's books used daily in the work of teachers and speech therapists. 69 children aged between 3 and 8 years old participated in the study, divided into 6 groups by age (group 1, 3 years of age (n = 13); group 2, 4 years of age (n = 15); group 3, 5 years of age (n = 12); group 4, 6 years of age (n = 8); group 5, 7 years of age (n = 10); group 6, 8 years of age (n = 11)). For each category of the test, the children had to name and point to the corresponding drawing. ResultsThe difference between age and gender groups was statistically evaluated. For the naming phase, a significant difference was observed between groups 1 and group 5; and between group 1 and group 6. For the pointing phase there was no difference between the groups, and in all groups, there was a score greater than 98%. In relation to gender, there was no difference between the groups. ConclusionThe present study demonstrates that the material developed to assess auditory reception in normal-hearing children from 3 to 8 years old is appropriate.

Editorial

Welcome to the second issue of Volume 32, Journal of Modern Languages (JML). Here, we present six scholarly works that reflect the diversity and depth of current linguistic research. In the opening paper, The Development of Paediatric Malay Matrix Sentence Test (PaedMalayMST) Materials through the Construction of a Paediatric Malay Corpus, a collaborative team from Malaysia and New Zealand introduces an innovative approach to the development of a paediatric speech perception test. The authors detail the process of constructing a paediatric Malay corpus, which unveils the rich and intricate nature of Malay children's language use. This work illustrates a remarkable path to the development of tests that can more accurately assess the speech perception skills of children in Malaysia. The second paper, Female Sympathisers of ISIS as Muhajirahs in ISIS-Affiliated Media investigates the representation of women in ISIS-affiliated media. Through a well-structured critical discourse analysis, the authors explore the complexity of gender roles and dynamics within a politically charged setting. This research provides valuable insights into the portrayal and influence of women within extremist organizations. Shifting to the realm of audio-visual translation, the article Subtitling Strategies and Translation Accuracy in the Malay to English Translation of ‘Ejen Ali: The Movie’, assesses the quality and strategies of subtitle translations. This work represents a significant step towards understanding how translation strategies affect the accuracy of subtitle translations, a crucial aspect of global media consumption. The subsequent study, Characteristics of Exocentric Nominal Compounds in Berom: A Semantic View of the Noun-Verb Agentive ‘mwat tabak’ and ‘mwat ha’, provides an in-depth analysis of the agentive nominal compounds in Berom. It illustrates how meaning is shaped by the constituents and the context of usage, serving as a fine example of the intricate interplay between structure and semantics in language. The fifth study, A Study of Number Marking in Izere Nouns, offers a detailed examination of noun inflections for number in Izere. It underscores the importance of understanding the morphological processes involved in less-studied languages. Finally, our issue concludes with Representation of Social Class and Hierarchy in Bangla Address Terms: A Sociolinguistic Study, which explores the sociocultural significance of address terms in Bangla. It sheds light on the various socio-cultural factors influencing address term choices, and consequently, the reflection of social class and hierarchy in language. Together, these six papers demonstrate the profound diversity in language and linguistics research. As always, we hope this issue inspires stimulating discourse and further scholarly inquiry in the field of languages and linguistics. We extend our gratitude to all our authors, reviewers, and readers who continue to support and enrich our journal.

Adaptation and validation of the common object token test to the marathi language and its applicability to pediatric cochlear implant recipients

Context: The Common Object Token (COT) test is used in clinical settings to assess the complex closed-set speech perception skills in children with hearing impairment. Aims: The translation, adaptation, and validation of the COT test for the Sinhalese language of Sri Lanka served as a model for the study presented here. The same procedure was used to adapt the original English-language test to the Marathi language of West India. The finalized Marathi version was tested on children with normal hearing (NH). Its applicability to pediatric Marathi-speaking cochlear implant (CI) recipients was demonstrated. Materials and Methods: The forward/backward translation method was used to translate the original English-language test into Marathi. The Marathi version was assessed, adapted, and finalized by healthcare professionals and teachers who are native Marathi speakers and competent speakers of the English language. The finalized version was administered to 100 children with NH (mean age: 5.6 years; range: 2.7–9 years). Sixteen recipients of CIs manufactured by MED-EL (Innsbruck, Austria) were tested with the finalized Marathi version (mean age: 7.5 years; range: 3.5–12.5 years). Results: The original English-language COT test was designed with two levels of subtests arranged in an order of increasing difficulty. The subtests of each level of the finalized Marathi version were shown to follow this arrangement, which could be observed from the test scores in both the children with NH and the children with CIs. A strong correlation between the total score and each subtest score for both levels 1 and 2 were found in both groups. Good internal reliability and consistency were observed in the group with NH for both test levels. Conclusions: The COT test was translated, adapted, and validated for Marathi by administering it to children with NH. The finalized Marathi version was easily administered to pediatric CI recipients. It is recommended as a standard, validated tool for assessing the speech perception of pediatric Marathi-speaking CI recipients.

Speech Perception Skills of Children With Speech Sound Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Purpose The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate whether preschool- and early school-age children with speech sound disorders (SSDs) have difficulties with speech perception. Method Systematic searching of 8 electronic databases identified 73 eligible studies across 71 articles examining the speech perception skills of children with SSDs. The findings and methodological characteristics of each study were reviewed, and the reporting of methodological information in each article was rated. A meta-analysis was conducted with studies that used the most common type of speech perception assessment task-lexical and/or phonetic judgment tasks. Results Across 60 of 73 studies, some or all children with SSDs were reported to have difficulties with speech perception. The meta-analysis showed a significant difference between children with SSDs and children with typically developing speech on lexical and/or phonetic judgment tasks. Conclusion Results from the meta-analysis demonstrate that children with SSDs have difficulties with speech perception. This appears to be the case for some but not all children with SSDs. The findings from this systematic review and meta-analysis also provide insight into the complex range of methodological issues involved in the study of speech perception in children with SSDs and the need for further research. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.9808361.

The speech perception skills of children with and without speech sound disorder

PurposeTo investigate whether Australian-English speaking children with and without speech sound disorder (SSD) differ in their overall speech perception accuracy. Additionally, to investigate differences in the perception of specific phonemes and the association between speech perception and speech production skills. MethodTwenty-five Australian-English speaking children aged 48–60 months participated in this study. The SSD group included 12 children and the typically developing (TD) group included 13 children. Children completed routine speech and language assessments in addition to an experimental Australian-English lexical and phonetic judgement task based on Rvachew’s Speech Assessment and Interactive Learning System (SAILS) program (Rvachew, 2009). This task included eight words across four word-initial phonemes—/k, ɹ, ʃ, s/. ResultsChildren with SSD showed significantly poorer perceptual accuracy on the lexical and phonetic judgement task compared with TD peers. The phonemes /ɹ/ and /s/ were most frequently perceived in error across both groups. Additionally, the phoneme /ɹ/ was most commonly produced in error. There was also a positive correlation between overall speech perception and speech production scores. ConclusionsChildren with SSD perceived speech less accurately than their typically developing peers. The findings suggest that an Australian-English variation of a lexical and phonetic judgement task similar to the SAILS program is promising and worthy of a larger scale study.

Vocabulary Facilitates Speech Perception in Children With Hearing Aids.

We examined the effects of vocabulary, lexical characteristics (age of acquisition and phonotactic probability), and auditory access (aided audibility and daily hearing aid [HA] use) on speech perception skills in children with HAs. Participants included 24 children with HAs and 25 children with normal hearing (NH), ages 5-12 years. Groups were matched on age, expressive and receptive vocabulary, articulation, and nonverbal working memory. Participants repeated monosyllabic words and nonwords in noise. Stimuli varied on age of acquisition, lexical frequency, and phonotactic probability. Performance in each condition was measured by the signal-to-noise ratio at which the child could accurately repeat 50% of the stimuli. Children from both groups with larger vocabularies showed better performance than children with smaller vocabularies on nonwords and late-acquired words but not early-acquired words. Overall, children with HAs showed poorer performance than children with NH. Auditory access was not associated with speech perception for the children with HAs. Children with HAs show deficits in sensitivity to phonological structure but appear to take advantage of vocabulary skills to support speech perception in the same way as children with NH. Further investigation is needed to understand the causes of the gap that exists between the overall speech perception abilities of children with HAs and children with NH.

Development of early auditory and speech perception skills within one year after cochlear implantion in prelingual deaf children

To investigate the development of early auditory capability and speech perception in the prelingual deaf children after cochlear implantation, and to study the feasibility of currently available Chinese assessment instruments for the evaluation of early auditory skill and speech perception in hearing-impaired children. A total of 83 children with severe-to-profound prelingual hearing impairment participated in this study. Participants were divided into four groups according to the age for surgery: A (1-2 years), B (2-3 years), C (3-4 years) and D (4-5 years). The auditory skill and speech perception ability of CI children were evaluated by trained audiologists using the infant-toddler/meaningful auditory integration scale (IT-MAIS/MAIS) questionnaire, the Mandarin Early Speech Perception (MESP) test and the Mandarin Pediatric Speech Intelligibility (MPSI) test. The questionnaires were used in face to face interviews with the parents or guardians. Each child was assessed before the operation and 3 months, 6 months, 12 months after switch-on. After cochlear implantation, early postoperative auditory development and speech perception gradually improved. All MAIS/IT-MAIS scores showed a similar increasing trend with the rehabilitation duration (F=5.743, P=0.007). Preoperative and post operative MAIS/IT-MAIS scores of children in age group C (3-4 years) was higher than that of other groups. Children who had longer hearing aid experience before operation demonstrated higher MAIS/IT-MAIS scores than those with little or no hearing aid experience (F=4.947, P=0.000). The MESP test showed that, children were not able to perceive speech as well as detecting speech signals. However as the duration of CI use increased, speech perception ability also improved substantially. However, only about 40% of the subjects could be evaluated using the most difficult subtest on the MPSI in quiet at 12 months after switch-on. As MCR decreased, the proportion of children who could be tested using the MPSI reduced. Within one year after CI, children develop early auditory and speech perception capabilities with time. Chinese versions of the IT-MAIS/MAIS, MESP and MPSI are useful instruments to document early auditory and speech perception skills in children after CI implantation.

Audiovisual integration in children listening to spectrally degraded speech.

The study explored whether visual information improves speech identification in typically developing children with normal hearing when the auditory signal is spectrally degraded. Children (n=69) and adults (n=15) were presented with noise-vocoded sentences from the Children's Co-ordinate Response Measure (Rosen, 2011) in auditory-only or audiovisual conditions. The number of bands was adaptively varied to modulate the degradation of the auditory signal, with the number of bands required for approximately 79% correct identification calculated as the threshold. The youngest children (4- to 5-year-olds) did not benefit from accompanying visual information, in comparison to 6- to 11-year-old children and adults. Audiovisual gain also increased with age in the child sample. The current data suggest that children younger than 6 years of age do not fully utilize visual speech cues to enhance speech perception when the auditory signal is degraded. This evidence not only has implications for understanding the development of speech perception skills in children with normal hearing but may also inform the development of new treatment and intervention strategies that aim to remediate speech perception difficulties in pediatric cochlear implant users.

Communication, Listening, Cognitive and Speech Perception Skills in Children With Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) or Specific Language Impairment (SLI)

Parental reports of communication, listening, and behavior in children receiving a clinical diagnosis of specific language impairment (SLI) or auditory processing disorder (APD) were compared with direct tests of intelligence, memory, language, phonology, literacy, and speech intelligibility. The primary aim was to identify whether there were differences between these characteristics in children with SLI or APD. Normally hearing children who were clinically diagnosed with SLI (n = 22) or APD (n = 19), and a quasirandom sample of mainstream school (MS) children (n = 47) aged 6-13 years, underwent tests of verbal and nonverbal IQ, digit span, nonsense word repetition, Spoonerisms, reading, grammar, and sentence and VCV nonword intelligibility. Parents completed questionnaires on the children's communication, listening, and behavior. There was generally no difference between the performance of the children with SLI and the children with APD on the questionnaire and test measures, and both groups consistently and significantly underperformed compared with the children in the MS group. Speech intelligibility in both noise and quiet was unimpaired in the SLI and APD groups. Despite clinical diagnoses of SLI or APD, the 2 groups of children had very similar behavioral and parental report profiles, suggesting that the children were differentially diagnosed based on their referral route rather than on actual differences.

Speech Perception in Children With Auditory Neuropathy/Dyssynchrony Managed With Either Hearing Aids or Cochlear Implants

To evaluate speech perception skills in children with auditory neuropathy (AN)/auditory dyssynchrony (AD)-type hearing loss managed with either hearing aids or cochlear implants. Prospective data collection in 3 subject groups: AN/AD children fitted with bilateral amplification, AN/AD children fitted with cochlear implant (in 1 or both ears), and a matched control group of implanted children with sensorineural hearing loss. Open-set monosyllabic words (consonant-nucleus-consonant). Of the 10 implanted AN/AD children, 9 demonstrated significant speech discrimination (consonant-nucleus-consonant phoneme score > or =55%). Similar results were obtained for the aided AN/AD group. Findings for both AN/AD subject groups were poorer than those of the implanted sensorineural cohort. Cochlear implantation can offer useful hearing in subjects with AN/AD-type hearing loss. However, expectations for this group may need to be lower than for patients with peripheral (cochlear) loss.

Speech perception results in children implanted with Clarion® devices: Hi-resolution™ and standard resolution modes

ConclusionsFormal testing showed that HiRes users seem to make significant use of acoustic information. Furthermore, from observations reported by experienced care-givers, for example, family, teachers and speech therapists, these children learn a lot from their surrounding environment. Incidental learning, which takes place when acquiring skills or knowledge through naturally occurring events, is a key become available to these deaf paediatric cochlear implant recipients.ObjectiveTo compare speech perception skills in children with a Clarion® cochlear implant using different speech coding strategies, such as continuous interleaved sampling (CIS), simultaneous analogue stimulation (SAS) and Hi-Resolution (HiRes)™.Material and methodsThe study population comprised 40 children, 17 implanted with a Clarion Hi-Focus 1.2 and 23 with a Clarion CII. All children were pre-lingually deaf and differed in terms of age and cause of deafness. All children had undergone a trial (minimum 6 months) with hearing aids before implantation. Children implanted with a Clarion 1.2 were either CIS or SAS users [Standard Resolution mode (SRM) group]; children implanted with a Clarion CII were Hi-Resolution users [Hi-Resolution mode (HRM) group]. Findings were assessed according to Erber's hierarchical model (detection, discrimination, identification, recognition and comprehension), making use of a battery of speech perception tests calibrated to the age of the child. Further information concerning use of the implant in everyday situations was obtained by means of the Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale (MAIS) questionnaire, which was administered to the parents. Tests were carried out prior to each fitting session, at switch-on and then at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. Findings at pre-implantation and at 12 months follow-up were collected for both the SRM and HRM groups. Speech perception results were analysed for the SRM and HRM groups, independent of age at implantation, for five subgroups of children according to the paediatric test battery in use and for two subgroups of children, one< and one >5 years of age.ResultsClarion-implanted children using the Hi-Resolution strategy can develop better speech perception skills at 12 months post-implantation compared to children fitted with the SAS or CIS strategy. SAS or CIS users implanted before the age of 5 years tend to achieve better results at 1 year follow-up than children implanted later. In contrast, in Hi-Resolution users, a trend towards better results for recognition and comprehension tasks was observed in children implanted after 5 years of age.

Factors associated with development of speech perception skills in children implanted by age five.

This study investigated factors contributing to speech perception outcomes in children with prelingual deafness after 4 to 7 yr of multichannel cochlear implant use. The analysis controlled for the effects of child, family and implant characteristics so that educational factors most conducive to maximum implant benefit could be identified. One hundred eighty-one 8- and 9-yr-old children from across the US and Canada who received a cochlear implant by age 5 were administered a battery of speech perception tests. Type and amount of educational intervention since implantation constituted the independent variables. Characteristics of the child, the family, and the implant itself constituted intervening variables. A series of multiple regression analyses determined the amount of variance in speech perception ability accounted for by the intervening variables and the amount of additional variance attributable to independent variables. The children achieved an average level of about 50% open-set speech perception through listening alone and almost 80% through lipreading and listening together, but with scores for individual children ranging from 0 to 100% correct. Over half of the variance in speech perception scores was predicted by characteristics of the child, family, implant and educational program. Significant predictors of good speech perception included greater nonverbal intelligence, smaller family size, longer use of the updated SPEAK/CIS processing strategy, a fully active electrode array, greater electrical dynamic range between threshold and maximum comfort level, and greater growth of loudness with increasing stimulus intensity. After the variance due to these variables was controlled, the primary rehabilitative factor associated with good speech perception skill development was educational emphasis on oral-aural communication. Children with profound hearing loss achieved unprecedented levels of speech perception skill 4 to 7 yr after cochlear implantation. Use of an updated speech processor, such as SPEAK, contributed significantly to improved speech perception skills, even in children who were initially fitted with an earlier strategy, such as M-PEAK. In addition, the audiologist who programs the cochlear implant makes an important contribution to the child's successful outcome with the device. A well-fitted map, as evidenced by a wide dynamic range and optimal growth of loudness characteristics, contributed substantially to the child's ability to hear speech. Finally, the classroom communication mode used in the child's school affects speech perception outcome. Children whose educational program emphasized dependence on speech and audition for communication were better able to use the information provided by the implant to understand speech.

Results of cochlear implantation in children with post-meningitic deafness

Objective. Evaluation of the effect of cochlear implantation in children who have had meningitis. Materials and methods. The children were tested before implantation with their conventional hearing aids and after implantation at regular intervals with their implant. Audiometry, auditory speech perception tests and the Reynell Developmental Language scales were used for evaluation. Results. The average threshold after implantation was at50 dB. Three years post-implantation the auditory speech perception skills of children with an implant were comparable with those of children with a threshold of 70–80 dB who use conventional hearing aids. The average percentage monosyllable recognition before implantation was 0%, 3 years post-implantation (66%) and 6 years post (90%). The oral language acquisition retarded after the meningitis. Twelve months post-implantation the language quotient increased up to 1, implying that the children developed at the same rate as their normal hearing peers. Nine of the 24 children who had used their implant for more than 2 years were in mainstream school. Conclusion. Cochlear implantation in children who were deaf after meningitis, showed increased auditory ability and an increased rate of language acquisition.

Cochlear Implantation in Deaf Children

A cochlear implant (CI) is a hearing device introduced in the 1980s for profoundly deaf subjects who gained little or no benefit from powerful hearing aids. This device comprises an electrode array inserted in the cochlea, connected to an internal receiver, and an externally worn speech processor. The CI transforms acoustic signals into electrical currents which directly stimulate the auditory nerve. Since the early 1990s, cochlear implantation in children has been developing rapidly. Although it is still difficult to predict how a child will perform with a cochlear implant, the success of cochlear implantation can no longer be denied. In this paper, some recent papers and reports, and the results of the various Nijmegen cochlear implant studies, are reviewed. Issues about selection, examinations, surgery and the outcome are discussed. Overall, our results were comparable with those of other authors. It can be concluded that cochlear implantation is an effective treatment for postlingually deaf as well as prelingually (congenital or acquired) deaf children with profound bilateral sensorineural deafness.

Variables affecting implant performance in children

This study examined the variables that contribute to the large individual differences in the speech perception skills of children with the Nucleus multichannel cochlear implant. Sixty-one children were tested on four measures of speech perception: two tests of closed-set word recognition, one test of open-set recognition of phrases, and one open-set monosyllabic word test, scored on the basis of the percentage of phonemes as well as words identified correctly. The results of a series of multiple regression analyses revealed that the variables of processor type, duration of deafness, communication mode, age at onset of deafness, length of implant use, and age implanted accounted for roughly 35% of the variance on two tests of closed-set word recognition, and 40% of the variance on measures that assessed recognition of words or phonemes in an open set. Length of implant use accounted for the most variance on all of the speech perception measures.

Speech perception skills of children implanted with multi‐channel cochlear devices

Speech perception skills of children implanted with multi‐channel cochlear devices