Development of central auditory processes and their links with language skills in typically developing children

This study aimed at investigating the development of central auditory processes and their links with language skills. Seventy nine typically developing children divided up in five levels groups were recruited among primary schools. The development of central auditory processes was assessed with three main tasks. A lateralization task, a discrimination task and a central masking task were presented. These tasks were selected as each of them may correspond to important auditory processes underlying different speech abilities, and thus playing a role on its development. Verbal skills were evaluated on three levels: comprehension, vocabulary (lexical or verbal IQ), and phonological awareness. Results confirmed a developmental effect both on auditory and verbal skills. In addition, vocabulary and phonological awareness performances correlated with auditory skills, highlighting links between central auditory processing and language development.