therefore an Auditory threshold is not a discrete point. Researchers suggest that the quietest sound that children with normal hearing can detect is around 1,000 Hz. Forced Choice Measures are psychophysical methods of measuring thresholds of auditory discrimination. Two intervals are presented to the participant; one with a tone and one without, the participant must then select which interval had the particular tone in it. The number of intervals can be increased however this may cause trouble to the participant. (Miller, et.al., 2002). Reliable thresholds are important as they detect at which frequencies a child is able to detect speech and sound and at which frequencies they cannot. In the long term, this will help us to identify whether
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Therefore there is a big need for new child-friendly means of hearing screen assessments throughout Europe. Firstly, there is a need for the development of new audiograms of young-aged children. Hearing screening in general of young children and neonates as such, has been ongoing since 1998. Since then, there has been a need for the development of frequency specific threshold information in young children so that a diagnosis can be made, clinically. It is already known that within adults, there is a very high correlation with the hearing threshold results that can be obtained and there behavioural thresholds. Professor Jan Wouters discussed the process of auditory processing and what it means for speech and language development, for example, what early hearing screenings can mean for language development. In the last ten to twenty years a lot of interest has come about on the topic of auditory discrimination tasks specific to new borns and young children alike, for example the need for neo- natal hearing screenings throughout …show more content…
A discrimination task method of research would be classified as a behavioural research method. Frequency discrimination thresholds were examined by Hill, Hogben and Bishop (2005) in children with and without SLI. Results of this frequency discrimination study indicated that between the two testing sessions, the frequency discrimination abilities improved with most of the SLI child participants in that they were performing just as well as their control counterparts with the exception of 2 participants; who showed exceptionally high thresholds. It has been found that frequency discrimination threshold values predict expressive language scores; this indicates that auditory processing skills are linked to the development of language. However, during time one the children with SLI performed worse on the tasks than their control counterparts. In an earlier study conducted by Thompson, Cranford and Hoyer (1999); developmental trends in frequency discrimination skills were also examined in children aged 5 – 11 years old but also in adults. The study concluded that most 5 year old’s had been unable to learn the task and the 9 and 11 year old children’s performance was the equivalent to that of the
Therefore there is a big need for new child-friendly means of hearing screen assessments throughout Europe. Firstly, there is a need for the development of new audiograms of young-aged children. Hearing screening in general of young children and neonates as such, has been ongoing since 1998. Since then, there has been a need for the development of frequency specific threshold information in young children so that a diagnosis can be made, clinically. It is already known that within adults, there is a very high correlation with the hearing threshold results that can be obtained and there behavioural thresholds. Professor Jan Wouters discussed the process of auditory processing and what it means for speech and language development, for example, what early hearing screenings can mean for language development. In the last ten to twenty years a lot of interest has come about on the topic of auditory discrimination tasks specific to new borns and young children alike, for example the need for neo- natal hearing screenings throughout …show more content…
A discrimination task method of research would be classified as a behavioural research method. Frequency discrimination thresholds were examined by Hill, Hogben and Bishop (2005) in children with and without SLI. Results of this frequency discrimination study indicated that between the two testing sessions, the frequency discrimination abilities improved with most of the SLI child participants in that they were performing just as well as their control counterparts with the exception of 2 participants; who showed exceptionally high thresholds. It has been found that frequency discrimination threshold values predict expressive language scores; this indicates that auditory processing skills are linked to the development of language. However, during time one the children with SLI performed worse on the tasks than their control counterparts. In an earlier study conducted by Thompson, Cranford and Hoyer (1999); developmental trends in frequency discrimination skills were also examined in children aged 5 – 11 years old but also in adults. The study concluded that most 5 year old’s had been unable to learn the task and the 9 and 11 year old children’s performance was the equivalent to that of the