Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Degree

Master of Science

Program

Neuroscience

Supervisor

Dr. David Purcell

2nd Supervisor

Dr. Lisa Archibald

Joint Supervisor

Abstract

Specific language impairment (SLI), an unexpected delay in the onset or development of oral language, has been hypothesized to have an underlying auditory processing component. Auditory feedback is a mechanism by which an individual controls the characteristics of their own voice, thereby assisting in the processing and production of speech. These characteristics include intensity, frequency, speed and others. The present study examined whether children with SLI make different use of auditory feedback than their typically developing (TD) peers. Participants aged 6-11 years completed a hearing screening, a frequency resolution task, vowel space task and a formant shifted auditory feedback task. Children with SLI tended to compensate more for the manipulation in the positive shift condition, and compensated similarly to TD children in the smaller, negative shift condition. These findings may indicate that children with SLI are making atypical use of auditory feedback.

Share

COinS