Listening Difficulties in Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: More than a Problem of Audibility

Autor/inn/en	McLaughlin, Susan A.; Thorne, John C.; Jirikowic, Tracy; Waddington, Tiffany; Lee, Adrian K. C.; Astley Hemingway, Susan J.
Titel	Listening Difficulties in Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: More than a Problem of Audibility
Quelle	In: Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 62 (2019) 5, S.1532-1548 (17 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1092-4388
Schlagwörter	Fetal Alcohol Syndrome; Auditory Perception; Drinking; Prenatal Influences; Hearing Impairments; Children; Behavior; Incidence; Correlation; Cognitive Ability; Attention; Language Skills; Cognitive Processes; Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; Clinical Diagnosis; Neurological Impairments; Symptoms (Individual Disorders); Washington + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders; Alkoholembryopathie; Auditive Wahrnehmung; Akustische Wahrnehmung; Akustik; Trinken; Pränataler Einfluss; Hearing impairment; Hörbehinderung; Child; Kind; Kinder; Vorkommen; Korrelation; Denkfähigkeit; Aufmerksamkeit; Language skill; Sprachkompetenz; Cognitive process; Kognitiver Prozess; Neurodegenerative Erkrankung; Psychiatrische Symptomatik
Abstract	Purpose: Data from standardized caregiver questionnaires indicate that children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) frequently exhibit atypical auditory behaviors, including reduced responsivity to spoken stimuli. Another body of evidence suggests that prenatal alcohol exposure may result in auditory dysfunction involving loss of audibility (i.e., hearing loss) and/or impaired processing of clearly audible, "suprathreshold" sounds necessary for sound-in-noise listening. Yet, the nexus between atypical auditory behavior and underlying auditory dysfunction in children with FASDs remains largely unexplored. Method: To investigate atypical auditory behaviors in FASDs and explore their potential physiological bases, we examined clinical data from 325 children diagnosed with FASDs at the University of Washington using the FASD 4-Digit Diagnostic Code. Atypical behaviors reported on the "auditory filtering" domain of the Short Sensory Profile were assessed to document their prevalence across FASD diagnoses and explore their relationship to reported hearing loss and/or central nervous system measures of cognition, attention, and language function that may indicate suprathreshold processing deficits. Results: Atypical auditory behavior was reported among 80% of children with FASDs, a prevalence that did not vary by FASD diagnostic severity or hearing status but was positively correlated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. In contrast, hearing loss was documented in the clinical records of 40% of children with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS; a diagnosis on the fetal alcohol spectrum characterized by central nervous system dysfunction, facial dysmorphia, and growth deficiency), 16-fold more prevalent than for those with less severe FASDs (2.4%). Reported hearing loss was significantly associated with physical features characteristic of FAS. Conclusion: Children with FAS but not other FASDs may be at a particular risk for hearing loss. However, listening difficulties in the absence of hearing loss--presumably related to suprathreshold processing deficits--are prevalent across the entire fetal alcohol spectrum. The nature and impact of both listening difficulties and hearing loss in FASDs warrant further investigation. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. 2200 Research Blvd #250, Rockville, MD 20850. Tel: 301-296-5700; Fax: 301-296-8580; e-mail: slhr@asha.org; Web site: http://jslhr.pubs.asha.org
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01