Development and evaluation of an Australian version of the Pediatric Speech Intelligibility Test for auditory processing disorder

Research has shown that the Pediatric Speech Intelligibility Test (PSI; Jerger & Jerger, 1984) is a sensitive tool for diagnosing auditory processing disorder (APD) in young children. The PSI is a speech test which utilises competing sentences presented dichotically and monotically at various message to competition ratios (MCRs). The purpose of the present study was to develop an Australian version of this test for use in local clinics. The Macquarie Pediatric Speech Intelligibility Test (MPSI) was recorded using Australian speakers, in order to control for linguistic differences which could affect performance on the test by Australian children. Normative data was collected from 51 normally hearing Australian children aged 7.0 to 8.11 years. The scores below which a child's performance on the MPSI is considered indicative of APD were found to be comparable to those calculated for the original North American version of the test. No significant differences in performance between 7- and 8-year-olds were detected for either the monotic or dichotic conditions of the MPSI. The degree of right or left ear advantage on the dichotic task was very slight, regardless of handedness, making differentiating between the right and left ears when tabulating cut-off scores unnecessary. The preliminary results indicated that the MPSI will be a valuable tool in the identification of APD in the Australian school-aged population.