A systematic review of electrophysiological outcomes following auditory training in school-age children with auditory processing deficits

Abstract

Objective: To systematically review the peer-reviewed literature on electrophysiological outcomes following auditory training (AT) in school-age children with (central) auditory processing disorder ([C]APD). Design: A systematic review. Study sample: Searches of 16 electronic databases yielded four studies involving school-aged children whose auditory processing deficits had been confirmed in a manner consistent with and and compared to a treated and/or an untreated control group before and after AT. A further three studies were identified with one lacking a control group and two measuring auditory processing in a manner not consistent with and . Results: There is limited evidence that AT leads to measurable electrophysiological changes in children with auditory processing deficits. Conclusion: The evidence base is too small and weak to provide clear guidance on the use of electrophysiological outcomes as a measure of AT outcomes in children with auditory processing problems. The currently limited data can only be used to suggest that click-evoked AMLR and tone-burst evoked auditory P300 might be more likely to detect such outcomes in children diagnosed with (C)APD, and that speech-evoked ALLR might be more likely to detect phonological processing changes in children without a specific diagnosis of (C)APD.

Key Words::

• Auditory evoked potentials (AEPs)
• (central) auditory processing disorder ([C]APD)
• intervention
• evidence-based practice

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

This research was funded by a University of Queensland, Uniquest Firstlink grant. Parts of this paper were presented by the authors as a poster entitled “Auditory-evoked potentials as a measure of auditory training outcomes in children with auditory processing disorder: An evidence-based review” at the 20th National Conference of the Audiological Society of Australia, 1–4 July 2007, Adelaide, Australia.