title: Diagnosis of amblyaudia in children referred for auditory processing assessment.
abstract: Children (n = 141) referred to 5 clinical sites for auditory processing disorder assessment were tested with two dichotic listening tests, one with word pairs and the other with pairs of digits, as part of a comprehensive diagnostic battery. Scores from the Randomized Dichotic Digits Test and the Dichotic Words Test were compared to age-appropriate norms and used to place children into one of four diagnostic categories (normal, dichotic dysaudia, amblyaudia, or amblyaudia plus) or to identify them as undiagnosed. Results from the two dichotic tests led to diagnosis of 56% of the children tested, leaving 44% undiagnosed. When results from a third dichotic listening test were used as a tie-breaker among originally undiagnosed children, a total of 79% of the children's scores were placed into diagnostic categories (13% normal, 19% dichotic dysaudia, 35% amblyaudia, 12% amblyaudia plus). Amblyaudia, a binaural integration deficit evident only from dichotic listening test results, was most prevalent (35% + 12% = 47%) in this population of children suspected of auditory processing weaknesses. Since amblyaudia responds to treatment with Auditory Rehabilitation for Interaural Asymmetry (ARIA), clinicians are guided through the protocol for identifying diagnostic categories so that they can make appropriate referrals for rehabilitation.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Communication Science and Disorders, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences , University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania , USA .
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Moncrieff
authors.affiliation: b SoundSkills APD Clinic , Auckland , New Zealand .
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Keith
authors.affiliation: c Hear Now / Abramson Audiology , Laguna Niguel , California , USA , and.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abramson
authors.affiliation: d Auditory Processing Center, LLC , MS , Clinton.
authors.forename: Alicia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Swann
mesh_terms: D001307:Auditory Perception; D001308:Auditory Perceptual Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D004007:Dichotic Listening Tests; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009520:New Zealand; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D014481:United States
keywords: Auditory processing disorder; audiology; binaural integration; dichotic