Relationship between central auditory processing and reading skills: preliminary observations in Hebrew speaking children.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the relationships between central auditory processing (CAP) of sinusoidally modulated speech-like and non-speech acoustic signals and reading skills in shallow (pointed) and deep (unpointed) Hebrew orthographies.


METHODS
Twenty unselected fifth-grade Hebrew speakers performed a rate change detection (RCD) task using the aforementioned acoustic signals. They also performed reading and general ability (IQ) tests.


RESULTS
After controlling for general ability, RCD tasks contributed a significant unique variance to the decoding skills. In addition, there was a fairly strong correlation between the score on the RCD with the speech-like stimuli and the unpointed text reading score.


CONCLUSIONS
CAP abilities may affect reading skills, depending on the nature of orthography (deep vs shallow), at least in the Hebrew language.
Cohen-Mimran
Ravit
R
Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa 39105, Israel. rmimran@univ.haifa.ac.il
Sapir
Shimon
S
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D007557:Israel; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D005222:Mental Fatigue / Q000523:psychology; D015233:Models, Statistical; D011214:Practice, Psychological; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011932:Reading; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology