19th ANNUAL EARLY HEARING DETECTION & INTERVENTION MEETING
March 8-10, 2020 • Kansas City, MO
Qualifying Loudness Sensitivity in Children & Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Purpose:
This study compared behavioral responses to sound from children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to those of typically developing children using the Acceptable Noise Level Test (ANL). A secondary aim compared the parental report of children’s sensitivity to loud sounds to ANL scores.
Rationale:
Clinical observations reveal children with ASD display hyper-sensitivity to loud sounds, causing them distress (Khalfa et al., 2004). The ANL measures the level of background noise listeners can accept while listening to speech (Gordon-Hickey & Morlas, 2015). This study determines the extent to which children with ASD differ from typically developing children on measures of noise tolerance.
Methods:
a. Participants included twenty children with ASD and twenty typically developing children, aged 10 to 14 years.
b. Audiologic testing included pure-tone air- and bone-conduction thresholds, speech recognition thresholds, word recognition, tympanometry, otoacoustic emissions and ANL measures.
c. Speech was presented through an audiometer to determine participants’ most comfortable listening level (MCL). Speech and background noise were presented simultaneously to find participants’ background noise level (BNL). The two levels were subtracted from one another to find participants’ ANL score. Separately, parents rated their child’s sensitivity to loud sounds on a 1 to 5 scale (1 being the least sensitive, 5 being the most sensitive).
d. Statistical analyses will show group differences in the ANL scores between typical children and those with ASD. Correlational analysis will examine the relationship between parent rating and children’s ANL score.
Discussion:
This research is exploratory and expected to produce observational and quantitative data to guide future studies on loudness tolerance in children with ASD. Results from the ANL as well as the relationship between the parental report and the child’s score could inform clinical recommendations and educational accommodations that pertain to individual noise level tolerances.
- Discuss the utility of the Acceptable Noise Level Test (ANL) in the audiologic assessment of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
- Describe the relationship between the parent report of their child’s sensitivity to loud sounds and the child’s ANL score.
- Explain the relevance of loudness sensitivity in children with ASD with regards to audiological concerns.
Poster:
21060_12984SarahPupa.pdf
Presenter: Sarah Pupa
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No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
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Elaine Mormer is the audiology clinical education coordinator in the Department of Communication Science & Disorders. She teaches undergraduate and graduate students in the classroom and serves as a clinical educator for AuD students. Mormer has published and presented continuing education programs at several national and international conferences on evidence based clinical education. She was the 2013 recipient of the University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Dean’s Distinguished Teaching Award. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Council for Academic Programs in Communication Science and Disorders (CAPCSD) as Vice President for Standards, Credentials, and Clinical Education. She is a member of the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA) Standing committee on Clinical Research Practice, Implementation Science, and Evidence-Based Practice.
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Nicole Corbin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Science and Disorders in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh.
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