Auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) and behavioral tests were used to evaluate auditory
processing in 10 children aged 7 to 11 years who were diagnosed as learning disabled
(LD). AEPs included auditory brainstem responses (ABRs), middle latency responses
(MLRs), and late cortical responses (P1, N1, P2, P3). Late cortical responses were
recorded using an active listening oddball procedure. Auditory processing disorders
were suspected in the LD children after a psychologist found phonologic processing
and auditory memory problems. A control group of 10 age- and gender-matched children
with no hearing or reported learning difficulties was also tested. Teacher ratings
of classroom listening and SCAN Competing Words and Staggered Spondaic Word scores
were poorer in the LD children. There were minor ABR latency differences between the
two groups. Wave Na of the MLR was later and Nb was smaller in the LD group. The main
differences in cortical responses were that P1 was earlier and P3 was later and smaller
in the LD group.
Key Words
Auditory evoked response - auditory processing disorder - learning disability
