A randomized control trial of interventions in school-aged children with auditory processing disorders

Abstract

Objective: The primary purpose of the study was to compare intervention approaches for children with auditory processing disorder (APD): bottom-up training including activities focused on auditory perception, discrimination, and phonological awareness, and top-down training including a range of language activities. Another purpose was to determine the benefits of personal FM systems. Design: The study is a randomized control trial where participants were allocated to groups receiving one of the two interventions, with and without personal FM, or to the no intervention group. The six-week intervention included weekly one-hour sessions with a therapist in the clinic, plus 1–2 hours per week of parent-directed homework. Study sample: 55 children (7 to 13 years) with APD participated in the study. Intervention outcomes included reading, language, and auditory processing. Results: Positive outcomes were observed for both training approaches and personal FM systems on several measures. Pre-intervention nonverbal IQ, age, and severity of APD did not influence outcomes. Performance of control group participants did not change when retested after the intervention period. Conclusions: Both intervention approaches were beneficial and there were additional benefits with the use of personal FM. Positive results were not limited to the areas specifically targeted by the interventions.

Key Words::

• Auditory processing disorder (APD)
• top-down
• bottom-up
• personal FM
• management
• randomized control trial (RCT)
• discrimination
• language
• phonological awareness
• reading

Declaration of interest:

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.