ERIC Number: EJ983912
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Jun
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1092-4388
EISSN: N/A
The Developmental Trajectory of Spatial Listening Skills in Normal-Hearing Children
Lovett, Rosemary Elizabeth Susan; Kitterick, Padraig Thomas; Huang, Shan; Summerfield, Arthur Quentin
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, v55 n3 p865-878 Jun 2012
Purpose: To establish the age at which children can complete tests of spatial listening and to measure the normative relationship between age and performance. Method: Fifty-six normal-hearing children, ages 1.5-7.9 years, attempted tests of the ability to discriminate a sound source on the left from one on the right, to localize a source, to track moving sources, and to perceive speech in noise. Results: Tests of left-right discrimination, movement tracking, and speech perception were completed by 75% of children older than 3 years. Children showed adult levels of performance from age 1.5 years (movement tracking), 3 years (left-right discrimination), and 6 years (localization and speech in noise). Spatial release from masking--calculated as the difference in speech reception thresholds between conditions with spatially coincident and spatially separate speech and noise--remained constant at 5 dB from age 3 years. Data from a separate study demonstrate the age at which children with cochlear implants can complete the same tests. Assessments of left-right discrimination, movement tracking, and speech perception were completed by 75% of children who are older than 5 years and who wear cochlear implants. Conclusion: These data can guide the selection of tests for future studies and inform the interpretation of results from clinical populations.
Descriptors: Auditory Perception, Hearing Impairments, Listening Skills, Spatial Ability, Perceptual Development, Children, Child Development, Age Differences, Perception Tests, Hearing (Physiology), Assistive Technology, Comparative Analysis
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). 10801 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. Tel: 800-638-8255; Fax: 301-571-0457; e-mail: subscribe@asha.org; Web site: http://jslhr.asha.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A