Effects of Auditory Training and Remote Microphone Technology on the Behavioral Performance of Children and Young Adults Who Have Autism Spectrum Disorder

Schafer, Erin C.; Gopal, Kamakshi V.; Mathews, Lauren; Thompson, Skyler; Kaiser, Kara; McCullough, Sarah; Jones, Jessalyn; Castillo, Priscilla; Canale, Emilee; Hutcheson, Avery

doi:10.3766/jaaa.18062

Cited by 23 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…The results of these tests can serve to identify specific auditory-processing skills that may benefit from interventions directed by the audiologist as well as the speechlanguage pathologist such as auditory training. 13,28 Future research will investigate additional questionnaires and auditory-processing test measures to support a sensitive test battery that may be used clinically and will continue to examine the impact of comorbid conditions and cognitive factors, such as attention, memory, and reasoning, on auditory processing.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2,5 Similarly, tests of auditory function reveal deficits in speech recognition in the presence of background noise, temporal processing, binaural integration (dichotic listening), and spatial stream segregation (i.e., use of spatial cues to improve performance). [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] The magnitude of the speechin-noise deficits in various types of noise, expressed as signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), range from 2 to 8.3 dB relative to age-matched peers, which is notable given that 1 dB change is estimated to represent a 19% change in performance. 6,12,14,17 These auditory deficits often coexist with multiple comorbid conditions common to children with ASD, including attention deficits, language disorders, and anxiety disorders.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Behavioral Auditory Processing in Children and Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

et al. 2020

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Background Auditory-processing deficits are common in children and adults who are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). These deficits are evident across multiple domains as exhibited by the results from subjective questionnaires from parents, teachers, and individuals with ASD and from behavioral auditory-processing testing. Purpose Few studies compare subjective and behavioral performance of adults and children diagnosed with ASD using commercially available tests of auditory processing. The primary goal of the present study is to compare the performance of adults and children with ASD to age-matched, neurotypical peers. The secondary goal is to examine the effect of age on auditory-processing performance in individuals with ASD relative to age-matched peers. Research Design A four-group, quasi-experimental design with repeated measures was used in this study. Study Sample Forty-two adults and children were separated into four groups of participants: (1) 10 children with ASD ages 14 years or younger; (2) 10 age-matched, neurotypical children; (3) 11 adolescents and young adults with ASD ages 16 years and older; and (4) 11 age-matched, neurotypical adolescents or young adults. Data Collection and Analysis Data from each participant were collected in one test session. Data were analyzed with analysis of variance (ANOVA), repeated measures ANOVA, or nonparametric analyses. Effect sizes were calculated to compare performance between those with ASD and those who were neurotypical within each age group. Results Across all the questionnaires and the majority of the behavioral test measures, participants with ASD had significantly poorer ratings or auditory-processing performance than age-matched, neurotypical peers. Adults had more favorable performance than children on several of the test measures. Medium to large effect sizes corroborated the significant results. Conclusion Overall, the questionnaires and behavioral tests used in this study were sensitive to detecting auditory-processing differences between individuals diagnosed with ASD and those who are considered neurotypical. On most test measures, children performed more poorly than adults. The findings in this study support that both children and adults with ASD exhibit auditory-processing difficulties. Appropriate school and work accommodations will be necessary to ensure appropriate access to speech in challenging environments.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

Behavioral Auditory Processing in Children and Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

et al. 2020

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“…Rance et al (2014Rance et al ( , 2017 reported that use of an RM system in mainstream classrooms by school-age children with autism resulted in improved listening-in-noise accuracy, social interactions, and educational achievements, as well as reduced physiologic stress levels. Similarly, Schafer et al (2013Schafer et al ( , 2016Schafer et al ( , 2019 reported that enhancing SNRs via use of personal RM systems both in school and at home improved speech recognition in noise and auditory processing as determined by observed listening behaviors and teacher observations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Remote Microphone Systems Can Improve Listening-in-Noise Accuracy and Listening Effort for Youth With Autism

et al. 2022

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Objectives: This study examined whether remote microphone (RM) systems improved listening-in-noise performance in youth with autism. We explored effects of RM system use on both listening-in-noise accuracy and listening effort in a well-characterized sample of participants with autism. We hypothesized that listening-in-noise accuracy would be enhanced and listening effort reduced, on average, when participants used the RM system. Furthermore, we predicted that effects of RM system use on listening-in-noise accuracy and listening effort would vary according to participant characteristics. Specifically, we hypothesized that participants who were chronologically older, had greater nonverbal cognitive and language ability, displayed fewer features of autism, and presented with more typical sensory and multisensory profiles might exhibit greater benefits of RM system use than participants who were younger, had less nonverbal cognitive or language ability, displayed more features of autism, and presented with greater sensory and multisensory disruptions. Design:We implemented a within-subjects design to investigate our hypotheses, wherein 32 youth with autism completed listening-in-noise testing with and without an RM system. Listening-in-noise accuracy and listening effort were evaluated simultaneously using a dual-task paradigm for stimuli varying in complexity (i.e., syllable-, word-, sentence-, and passage-level). In addition, several putative moderators of RM system effects (i.e., sensory and multisensory function, language, nonverbal cognition, and broader features of autism) on outcomes of interest were evaluated.Results: Overall, RM system use resulted in higher listening-in-noise accuracy in youth with autism compared with no RM system use. The observed benefits were all large in magnitude, although the benefits on average were greater for more complex stimuli (e.g., key words embedded in sentences) and relatively smaller for less complex stimuli (e.g., syllables). Notably, none of the putative moderators significantly influenced the effects of the RM system on listening-in-noise accuracy, indicating that RM system benefits did not vary according to any of the participant characteristics assessed. On average, RM system use did not have an effect on listening effort across all youth with autism compared with no RM system use but instead yielded effects that varied according to participant profile. Specifically, moderated effects indicated that RM system use was associated with increased listening effort for youth who had (a) average to below-average nonverbal cognitive ability, (b) belowaverage language ability, and (c) reduced audiovisual integration. RM system use was also associated with decreased listening effort for youth with very high nonverbal cognitive ability. Conclusions:This study extends prior work by showing that RM systems have the potential to boost listening-in-noise accuracy for youth with autism. However, this boost in accuracy was coupled with increased listening effort, as indexed by longer...

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“…Tables 2 and 3 summarize published evidence to support the use of FM and DM technology for improving speech recognition, observed and perceived listening abilities, and other auditory behaviors in children who have APD, ASD, ADHD, language disorder, FRDA, and dyslexia. 9,[15][16][17]19,20,24,[31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38] Although we recommend use of a receiver on each ear to provide a balanced sound and optimal SNR, to date, there are no published studies that explore performance differences with one versus two receivers for these populations. In the majority of studies cited earlier, children used ear-level, wireless RMT with the exception of the Updike study where body-worn RMTs were used.…”

Section: Speech Recognition and Processing Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Remote Microphone Technology for Children with Hearing Loss or Auditory Processing Issues

2020

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School classrooms are noisy and reverberant environments, and the poor acoustics can be a barrier to successful learning in children, particularly those with multiple disabilities, auditory processing issues, and hearing loss. A new set of listening challenges have been imposed by the recent global pandemic and subsequent online learning requirements. The goal of this article is to review the impact of poor acoustics on the performance of children with auditory processing issues, mild hearing loss, and unilateral hearing loss. In addition, we will summarize the evidence in support of remote microphone technology by these populations.

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Effects of Auditory Training and Remote Microphone Technology on the Behavioral Performance of Children and Young Adults Who Have Autism Spectrum Disorder

Cited by 23 publications

References 30 publications

Behavioral Auditory Processing in Children and Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Behavioral Auditory Processing in Children and Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Remote Microphone Systems Can Improve Listening-in-Noise Accuracy and Listening Effort for Youth With Autism

Remote Microphone Technology for Children with Hearing Loss or Auditory Processing Issues

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