The Staggered Spondaic Word Test

Performance of Children With Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

¹ The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa
² The University of Georgia, Athens
³ Medical College of Georgia, Augusta
⁴ Auburn University, Auburn, AL

criccio{at}bamaed.ua.edu

Various auditory and language tasks are considered to reflect children's auditory processing abilities. It has been suggested that these measures may be assessing language, rather than auditory, processing. In addition, recent studies have suggested that tasks used in the assessment of auditory processing may, in fact, be assessing attention. Of the auditory paradigms, the most frequently used measure is the Staggered Spondaic Word test (SSW; Katz, 1962). This study investigated the correlation of impaired SSW performance with other auditory measures, cognitive ability, language functioning, and behavioral ratings specific to inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity in a group of 38 children who demonstrated impairment on the SSW. Results indicate that the SSW correlates most with measures of cognitive ability, expressive language, and those relating to auditory memory. As children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been found to demonstrate impaired performance on the SSW, the likelihood that children with ADHD would demonstrate impairment bilaterally as opposed to a single-ear effect was also investigated. Results did not support a consistent pattern of impaired SSW performance for children with ADHD, suggesting that CAPD and ADHD are, in fact, not the same entity.

Key Words: auditory processing, auditory measures, attention deficit, auditory linguistic abilities, central auditory function

Submitted on April 24, 1995
Accepted on October 12, 1995

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