Evaluation of Central Auditory Processing in Children with Developmental Dyslexia

Abstract

Objective: Developmental dyslexia is a neurodevelopmental disorder primarily characterized by phonological and reading difficulties. This study aimed to investigate temporal auditory processing and dichotic listening performance in children with developmental dyslexia and to explore their potential contribution to reading-related difficulties. Methods: Sixty children aged 8-13 years participated in the study, including 30 children diagnosed with developmental dyslexia and 30 age-matched typically developing peers. Central auditory processing was assessed using the Staggered Spondaic Word (SSW) test for dichotic listening and the Frequency Pattern Test (FPT), Duration Pattern Test (DPT), and Random Gap Detection Test (RGDT) for temporal auditory processing. Results: Children with developmental dyslexia demonstrated significantly poorer performance than controls across all temporal and dichotic auditory processing measures (p < 0.05). In the SSW test, the greatest performance difference was observed in the left competing condition. Temporal processing deficits were evident in frequency discrimination, duration pattern recognition, and gap detection tasks. Conclusion: Children with developmental dyslexia exhibit weaknesses in temporal and dichotic auditory processing tasks. Given the linguistic demands inherent in some dichotic measures, these findings likely reflect an interaction between auditory and language-related processing rather than isolated auditory pathway dysfunction. Incorporating central auditory processing assessment into multidisciplinary dyslexia evaluations may contribute to more targeted diagnostic and intervention approaches.