Speech input processing skills as a measure of language development

• Main Author: Moralidi, A. V.
• Published: University College London (University of London) 2005
• Subjects: 616.85
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.684728

Speech and language delay in early childhood is a common problem, which may result in important implications for the child. Speech perception deficits may be related to the problems that interfere with the academic performance of some individuals in the population. This study assesses the developing Speech Input processing testing for children (SIPc) which aims to determine phonological skills difficulties in children of 4-6 years, that have not been identified with speech and/or language difficulties before starting school. This study assesses whether SIPc items, presented in quiet or with background noise, are good predictors of such difficulties, more specifically, the use of SIPs and how different items may be different measures of language development. In order to investigate potential association between SIPc and chronological age/language development we used the following standardized assessments: RAPT and CELF. The investigations showed a significant association and sensitivity for some SIPc items, in both conditions of presentation, with some of the language scores and with chronological age. Moreover, it was determined which SIPc pairs were easy and difficult for children in our sample to discriminate. No phonological properties or syllable positioning were found to influence SIPc pair discrimination.