The Performance of Learning Disabled Children on Tests of Auditory Discrimination

Abstract

Four groups of children, articulatory defective only, learning disabled articulatory defective, learning disabled only, and normals, were given subtests V through VIII of the Ohio Test of Articulation and Perception of Sounds by Irwin and Abbate (1973) to assess auditory discrimination abilities under four conditions-interpersonal identification of sounds, interpersonal comparator perception of sounds, intrapersonal identification of sounds, and intrapersonal comparator perception of sounds. Contrary to previous research, it was found that tests of auditory discrimination were not likely to differentiate between learning disabled children and nonlearning disabled children unless both groups were also articulatory defective. When the children were articulatory defective, the intrapersonal identification auditory discrimination task was fourvd to differentiate between learning disabled and nonlearning disabled children. The monitoring of one's own articulation appeared to play a dominant role in the learning disabled children's failure on some of the tasks.