Auditory and Speech Performance Test for Children (ASPT-C)

Description

The Auditory and Speech Performance Test for Children (ASPT-C) (Hancer et al., 2024) is a screening test designed to evaluate auditory and speech processing skills in children. It measures performance through four tasks, each consisting of 15 items, where children are asked to react to meaningful and meaningless rhyming word pairs, both with and without background noise. The test records correct/false responses and reaction times in milliseconds. The development of the ASPT-C adhered to established guidelines for diagnostic accuracy (Bossuyt et al., 2015) and referenced key sources in audiology and speech pathology (Boateng et al., 2018; de Vet et al., 2011; Streiner et al., 2015). It was designed using a sample of Turkish children with specific learning difficulties (SLD) and children with typical development. The test’s reliability, validity, and factor structure were thoroughly evaluated, and the results confirmed its capacity to assess auditory discrimination and speech recognition in various listening environments.

Authors

• Hale Hancer: Department of Audiology, Baskent University, Turkey
• Erhan Kiziltan: Department of Physiology, Baskent University, Turkey
• Pinar Civak Tan: Department of Audiology and Speech Disorders, Ankara University, Turkey
• Derya Gokmen: Department of Biostatistics, Ankara University, Turkey
• Serhat Hayme: Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, Erzincan Binali Yildirim University, Turkey
• Suna Tokgoz Yilmaz: Department of Audiology, Ankara University, Turkey

Purpose

The ASPT-C is designed to assess auditory and speech processing abilities in children, helping to identify issues related to understanding speech in noise, which is especially relevant for children with learning difficulties.

Construct

• Auditory and Speech Performance
  • Accuracy: Measures auditory discrimination, auditory recognition, speech discrimination, and speech recognition.
  • Response Time: Measures the reaction time for auditory discrimination, auditory recognition, speech discrimination, and speech recognition.

Instrument Type

Screener

Items of “ASPT-C”

• The test consists of four tasks, each with 15 items, assessing auditory discrimination and speech recognition in different listening conditions.

Reliability

• Composite/Construct Reliability:
  • Cronbach’s alpha for Reaction Time tasks ranged from .77 to .90.
  • The total scale had a Cronbach’s alpha of .93.
  • KR-20 for Accuracy tasks was .70, with subscores ranging from .20 to .56.
• Test-Retest Reliability:
  • ICC for Reaction Time ranged from .67 to .80.
  • ICC for Accuracy ranged from .49 to .76.
  • High correlation coefficients were found for Reaction Time (.93) and Accuracy (.89).

Validity

• Construct Validity:
  • Statistically significant differences in Accuracy and Reaction Time scores between groups with varying developmental profiles.
  • Significant age-related differences in Accuracy scores were observed in one group, while no significant differences were found in Reaction Time scores.

Factor Analysis

• Exploratory Factor Analysis: Two factors emerged, accounting for 66.65% of the total variance:
  • Accuracy: 37.8% of variance.
  • Reaction Time: 28.85% of variance.

Administration Method

• Electronic

Population

• Age Group: Childhood (7-10 years), School Age (6-12 years)
• Location: Turkey
• Population Group: Children with Specific Learning Difficulties (SLD) and children with typical development

Items of “ASPT-C”

• 4 tasks, each with 15 items assessing various auditory and speech recognition abilities.

References

Hancer, H., Kiziltan, E., Civak Tan, P., Gokmen, D., Hayme, S., & Yilmaz, S. T. (2024). Development, validity, and reliability of the Auditory and Speech Performance Test for Children. Canadian Journal of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, 48(1), 29–42.