Performance of children with reading difficulties after auditory training

: Twenty 8 year- old children, 10 with reading difficulties (Study Group) and 10 without reading difficulties (Control Group) were assessed. All subjects participated in an initial assessment and reassessment of auditory temporal resolution (Frequency Pattern, Duration Pattern, and Gap in Noise (GIN) Tests) and reading performance (Clinical Reading Protocol and Phonological Awareness Test - CONFIAS). The Study Group was submitted to eight auditory training sessions.

Results

: The Control Group showed superior performance on all tests compared to the Study Group at both assessment and reassessment. The difference in performance before and after training was statistically significant for almost all tasks in the Study Group, except for phonological awareness.

Conclusion

: The auditory training proved effective for improving performance on auditory temporal and reading tasks in children with reading difficulties.

Dyslexia; Auditory perception; Reaction time; Child; Reading

Group	Variable	Phase	Mean %	Median %	Standard deviation %	p-value
Control Group	Frequency pattern	Assessment	81.5	82.5	14.0	0.015*
	Frequency pattern	Reassessment	86.5	87.5	11.1	0.015*

	Duration pattern	Assessment	56.9	55.0	12.2	0.035*
	Duration pattern	Reassessment	70.0	70.0	13.7	0.035*

Study Group	Frequency pattern	Assessment	69.9	72.5	11.9	0.528
	Frequency pattern	Reassessment	87.0	90.0	7.9	0.528

	Duration pattern	Assessment	30.6	30.0	17.2	0.005*
	Duration pattern	Reassessment	73.5	75.0	13.8	0.005*

Group	Ear	Phase	Mean (ms)	Median (ms)	Standard deviation (ms)	p-value
Control Group	Right	Assessment	5.1	5.5	1.1	0.851
	Right	Reassessment	5.0	5.0	0.7	0.851

	Left	Assessment	4.8	4.5	0.9	0.059
	Left	Reassessment	4.3	4.0	0.7	0.059

Study Group	Right	Assessment	6.9	6.0	2.2	0.093
	Right	Reassessment	5.4	5.5	0.7	0.093

	Left	Assessment	6.8	7.0	1.9	0.016*
	Left	Reassessment	5.1	5.0	0.6	0.016*

Group	Variable	Phase	Mean	Median	Standard deviation	p-value
Control Group	Reading Protocol – words read in 1 min.	Assessment	54.8	58.5	13.5	0.540
	Reading Protocol – words read in 1 min.	Reassessment	56.1	63.0	16.1	0.540

	Reading Protocol – total time	Assessment	01:35	01:29	00:33	0.219
	Reading Protocol – total time	Reassessment	01:22	01:09	00:33	0.219

Study Group	Reading Protocol – words read in 1 min.	Assessment	26.5	26.5	14.3	0.046*
	Reading Protocol – words read in 1 min.	Reassessment	35.0	36.0	13.9	0.046*

	Reading Protocol – total time	Assessment	04:02	02:43	02:58	0.016*
	Reading Protocol – total time	Reassessment	03:06	02:23	01:45	0.016*

Group	Variable	Phase	Mean	Median	Standard deviation	p-value
Control Group	CONFIAS Syllable	Assessment	36.5	37.0	2.9	0.159
	CONFIAS Syllable	Reassessment	37.6	39.0	3.9	0.159

	CONFIAS Phoneme	Assessment	21.6	22.5	4.3	0.008*
	CONFIAS Phoneme	Reassessment	26.2	26.0	1.8	0.008*

	CONFIAS Total	Assessment	58.1	57.0	5.8	0.022*
	CONFIAS Total	Reassessment	63.8	65.5	4.6	0.022*

Study Group	CONFIAS Syllable	Assessment	33.4	35.5	5.5	0.017*
	CONFIAS Syllable	Reassessment	35.8	38.0	5.4	0.017*

	CONFIAS Phoneme	Assessment	15.0	17.0	7.1	0.007*
	CONFIAS Phoneme	Reassessment	21.1	22.0	4.6	0.007*

	CONFIAS Total	Assessment	48.4	52.0	12.1	0.007*
	CONFIAS Total	Reassessment	56.9	60.0	9.3	0.007*

Academia Brasileira de Audiologia Rua Itapeva, 202, conjunto 61, CEP 01332-000, Tel.: (11) 3253-8711, Fax: (11) 3253-8473 - São Paulo - SP - Brazil
E-mail: revista@audiologiabrasil.org.br

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[1] Correspondence address
: Tatiana Yoshie Vatanabe. R. Doutor Cesário Mota Júnior, 61, 8º andar, Vila Buarque, São Paulo (SP), Brazil, CEP: 01221-020. E-mail: tvatanabe@yahoo.com.br