AUDITORY PROCESSING SCREENING IN SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN - VALIDATION OF AN ONLINE PROGRAM

• Grant number: 16/23718-2
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: March 01, 2017
• End date: August 31, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Speech Therapy
• Principal Investigator: Maria Isabel Ramos Do Amaral
• Grantee: Maria Isabel Ramos Do Amaral
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Médicas (FCM). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Maria Francisca Colella dos Santos
• Associated scholarship(s): 18/17838-0 - Screening of auditory processing in schoolchildren: validation of an online program, BP.TT

Abstract

Introduction: Early identification of children in risk of auditory processing disorder (APD) has been a challenge in Audiology. hearing screening procedures that evaluate central auditory skills can contribute to the minimization of child injury in the academic and social context. Aim: analyze the performance of children with and without learning difficulties in an online program developed as a screening tool of auditory processing disorder (APD), and compare the results with a behavioral diagnostic assessment for establish normative data regarding performance by age and sensitivity and specificity of each auditory task. Methods: a partnership has been established with the creators of the Brazilian Online website "Afinando o Cérebro". Creators developed a pilot version with auditory tasks with the purpose of an auditory processing screening tool, not yet available for clinical use. The program includes a self-report questionnaire based on the published questionnaire "Scale of Auditory Behaviors- SAB" and interactive activities involving auditory tasks of sound localization, ground figure (binaural integration), speech in noise, dichotic listening, temporal resolution and temporal ordering.First, a pilot study will be conducted and the program will be applied in 15 children aged 5-12 years in order to verify the need for adjustments on the screening tool, establish a research protocol and contribute data to the sample calculation. After the pilot, research will be conducted in two phases: phase 1 will be application of the auditory screening in a Public Elementary School in all children whose parents consent participation. Procedures of phase 1 will be: otoscopy and tympanometry in order to rule out possible peripheral hearing loss, self-report questionnaire applied to children, application of online central auditory screening program and questionnaire answered by the responsible teacher about the academic performance of each child. After that, in Phase 2, children will be referred to the Audiology Laboratory of CEPRE / FCM / Unicamp to perform the basic audiological evaluation and behavioral auditory processing assessment . Regarding data analysis, children will be divided into two groups, based on teacher´s questionnaire and parental information: Group 1 (G1): composed by children with school difficulties and Group 2 (G2): composed by children with no hearing complaints or otologic history and with good academic performance. Results will be statistically analyzed and we expect validate the auditory screening program to be used in school or clinical setting, as a adequate clinical tool for early identify individuals at risk for APD. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

MARIA ISABEL RAMOS DO AMARAL; NÁDIA GIULIAN DE CARVALHO; MARIA FRANCISCA COLELLA-SANTOS. Programa online de triagem do processamento auditivo central em escolares (audBility): investigação inicial. CoDAS, v. 31, n. 2, 2019-04-01. (16/23718-2)