The relationship of immediate auditory recall and speech sound discrimination abilities in children with severe articulation disorders

The primary purpose of this study was to ascertain if any relationship existed between speech sound discrimination as tested by the Wepman Auditory Discrimination Test, and immediate auditory recall, as tested ty the auditory vocal sequencing subtest of the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities, in children with severe functional articulation problems. It was also the purpose of this study to investigate whether speech sound discrimination scores would improve when the auditory recall factor In testing, procedures was minimized. The thirty subjects were selected from the speech therapy classes and waiting list of several elementary schools of moderate size. The bases for the selection of subjects were: hearing acuity within normal limits, normal intelligence, no known organic basis for the speech defect, enrollnent in grade one through three, and diagnosis of a speech therapist as having a severe articulation problem. The subjects were given the WADT Form I and the ITPA auditory-vocal sequencing subtest to determine the degree of relationship between speech sound discrimination and immediate auditory recall abilities, as measured by the two tests. They were then given WADT Form II with the procedure changed so as to minimize the recall factor. The initial instructional phrase was repeated before each pair of words to determine what effect this would have on the auditory discrimination scores. The results of these tests were analyzed to determine the degree of relationship and extent of improvement. Pearson’s product-moment correlation coefficients were computed to determine the degree of relationship between scores on the auditory discrimination test, unaided and aided between each of these tests, and the auditory memory test, and between intelligence and each of these three tests. Correlations between each form of the WADT and the ITPA subtest with the effects of intelligence partlialled out were also computed. A chi square analysis was used to determine the significance of the improvement on the aided test. A t-test (two-tailed) was calculated to determine if the difference between the means of WADT, aided and unaided, was significant. Statistical analysis indicated that there is a functional relationship of a positive nature between inadequate immediate auditory recall and inadequate auditory discrimination abilities, as tested, in this group of children with severe articulation defects. Most of the children who showed poor auditory discrimination ability also were deficient in auditory memory. Although 65 percent of the subjects did improve their auditory discrimination scores on the aided WADT, Form II, only one scored at age level. However the 65 per cent improvement by the group as a whole was shown to be significant by chi square analysis (P