Development and Standardization of Staggered Spondaic Word (ssw) List in Bangla

Staggered Spondaic (bisyllabic equal stress) Word (SSW) is a dichotic test. The Dichotic listening tests is a behavioural test battery to assess the hemispheric function, inter-hemispheric transfer of information, and development and maturation of auditory nervous system. Staggered Spondaic Word (SSW) is more sensitive for brainstem and cortical lesion. The current investigation was aimed to develop and standardize staggered spondaic word (SSW) list in Bangla for assessing the central auditory processing of native Bengali listener. In this regard 200 sets of Bangla bisyllabic words were collected where each set contained a pair of spondee words: first syllable of first spondee word and last syllable of second spondee word made another spondee word. Based upon this concept sets of the staggered spondee words were fixed. Then familiar staggered spondaic word sets had been selected and stress pattern was judged. From where finally 40 sets bisyllabic equal stress words were selected. The final SSW list was recorded in a sound recording studio by an adult female standard native Bengali speaker. Each word was fitted into a separate track and then track had been overlapped and stimulus had been modified. The developed test stimulus was standardized on 30 male and 30 female normal native Bengali listeners (18-40 years). Error scores and pattern of error had been analyzed. These were not significantly present on normal (P> 0.05).There was no significant gender effect and laterality effect on SSW test (P>0.05) on SSW test performance scores. TestRetest reliability was obtained. The Pearson moment correlation coefficient showed there was a strongly positive correlation between test and retest trial. The standardized test was validated on six age matched native Bengali language learning disability (LLD) patients. There was a significant difference between performance on normal listeners and LLD listeners (P<0.05).