Research Aims: 1.Systematically map the auditory, cognitive, and linguistic abilities of children with listening concerns (as reported by parent/teacher). 2.Investigate how the ability to attend to and process incoming auditory information affects word reading and reading comprehension in school-aged children.

1. Hearing, listening and reading: A complex interplay
of factors that contribute to typical development
Rakshita Gokula 1,2,3, Mridula Sharma 1,2, Linda Cupples1,3, Joanne Arciuli4
1 Macquarie University, Department of Linguistics, 2 The HEARing Cooperative Research Centre, 3 ARC
Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, 4 The University of Sydney
Benefits:
1. Appropriate referral pathway
2. Tailored intervention strategies can be based on
Identified clusters
3. Identified auditory factors that may contribute to
word reading Skills.
Background
• Nearly 5% of children referred to audiologists do not
have hearing loss5.
• Report difficulties involving speech perception5,
reading6, language abilities6 and more.
• It has been hypothesized that these children
possibly have auditory processing deficits5.
Current problem:
Diagnosis is tedious; expensive; not efficient
Solution:
Appropriate referral pathways need to be identified
Research Aim:
1. Systematically map the auditory, cognitive, and
linguistic abilities of children with listening concerns
(as reported by parent/teacher).
2. Investigate how the ability to attend to and process
incoming auditory information affects word reading and
reading comprehension in school-aged children.
Expected Outcome
1. Hypothesized impacts of tested factors on speech
listening in noise and reading
Of interest in
current PhD
thesis
Auditory
processing
Cognition
(Attention &
Statistical
Learning)
Established
Predictors
Phonological
Awareness
Working
Memory &
Language
Outcomes
Word
Reading
Reading
Compre-
hension
2. Predictors of reading
References:1. Bretherton, L., & Holmes, V. M. (2003). The relationship between auditory temporal processing, phonemic awareness, and reading disability. Journal of Experimental Child
Psychology, 84(3), 218–243. http://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-0965(03)00023-7
2. Chermak, G. D., Tucker, E., & Seikel, J. A. (2002). Behavioral characteristics of auditory processing disorder and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: predominantly inattentive
type. Journal of the American Academy of Audiology, 13(6), 332–8. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12141390
3. de Wit, E., Visser-Bochane, M. I., Steenbergen, B., van Dijk, P., van der Schans, C. P., & Luinge, M. R. (2015). Characteristics of Auditory Processing Disorders: A Systematic
Review. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 24(2), 1–14. http://doi.org/10.1044/2015
4. Evans, J. L., Saffran, J. R., & Robe-Torres, K. (2014). Statistical Learning in Children With Specific Language Impairment. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research,
55(August 2012), 1039–1052. http://doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2011/10-0298)
5. Gyldenkærne, P., Dillon, H., Sharma, M., & Purdy, S. C. (2014). The Relationship between Auditory Processing Disorders and Attention Deficits. Journal of the American
Academy of Audiology, 25(7), 676–687. http://doi.org/10.3766/jaaa.25.7.6
6. Goswami, U. (2011). A temporal sampling framework for developmental dyslexia. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 15(1), 3–10.
7. Moore, D. R., Ferguson, M. a, Edmondson-Jones, a M., Ratib, S., & Riley, A. (2010). Nature of auditory processing disorder in children. Pediatrics, 126(2), e382–e390.
http://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2009-2826
8. Gilley, P. M., Sharma, M., & Purdy, S. C. (2016). Oscillatory decoupling differentiates auditory encoding deficits in children with listening problems. Clinical Neurophysiology,
127(2), 1618–1628. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinph.2015.11.003
9. Sharma, M., Dhamani, I., Leung, J., & Carlile, S. (2014). Attention, Memory, and Auditory Processing in 10- to 15-Year-Old Children With Listening Difficulties. Journal of Speech,
Language, and Hearing Research, 57(December 2014), 2308–2321. http://doi.org/10.1044/2014
10. Sharma, M., Purdy, S. C., & Kelly, A. S. (2009). Comorbidity of auditory processing, language, and reading disorders. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research :
JSLHR, 52(3), 706–722. http://doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2008/07-0226)
11. Sharma, M., Purdy, S. C., Newall, P., Wheldall, K., Beaman, R., & Dillon, H. (2006). Electrophysiological and behavioral evidence of auditory processing deficits in children with
reading disorder. Clinical Neurophysiology, 117(5), 1130–1144. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinph.2006.02.001
12. Shaywitz, S. E., Shaywitz, B. A., Fulbright, R. K., Skudlarski, P., Mencl, W. E., Constable, R. T., … Gore, J. C. (2003). Neural systems for compensation and persistence: Young
adult outcome of childhood reading disability. Biological Psychiatry, 54(1), 25–33. http://doi.org/10.1016/S0006-3223(03)01836-X
Methodology
• 9-11 year old Children; Native English speakers
• Assess on behavioral measures:
– Cognition (attention & working memory/WM): Wechsler Nonverbal
Test, Test of Everyday Attention for Children
– Language: Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test
– Auditory Processing (AP): Pitch Pattern Test, Dichotic Digit Test,
Frequency Discrimination Test, Iterated Rippled Noise (IRN)
discrimination, Listening in Spatialized Noise
– Phonological Ability (PA): Comprehensive Test of Phonological
Processing
– Statistical Learning (SL): Visual and Auditory, and;
– Reading skills: Test of Word Reading Ability, Castles and Coltheart 2,
Woodcock Reading Mastery Test – Revised, Neale Analysis of
Reading Ability
• Electrophysiological Measures
– Brainstem: Envelope Following Response (AM and FM tones)
– Cortical: Cortical Pitch Response (IRN stimuli)
• 100 children (20 typically-developing and 80 with
reading/listening concerns) for 80% power.
4
3,5,7
5,7,9
2,9,10,11
4,7,8,9
1,3,12
7,8,10
POOR HIGHPerformance on Reading
HIGHPOOR
PerformanceonSpeechrecognition
innoise
go
Good PA and/or SL
Good AP
Good Attention
Good Language and WM
Poor readers with poor speech
understanding in noise, must have
poor PA, SL, and AP.
Poor PA and/or SL
Poor AP
? Poor Attention
? Poor Language and WM
1) Poor readers with good speech
understanding in noise must be poor at
PA and/or SL,
but Lang and WM ?
2) Poor PA and/or SL
Good AP
? Good Attention
? Language and WM
go
1) Good readers with poor
speech understanding in noise
2) Good PA and/or SL
Poor AP
? Poor Attention
Good Language and WM