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Are suspected auditory processing disorders in children aged 8-12 years related to attention, working memory, nonverbal intelligence and communication abilities?

Background: Auditory processing disorder (APD) is a diagnosis that is widely discussed. Children diagnosed with APD have difficulty listening in complex situations, despite a well-functioning peripheral hearing. However, there seems to be no evidence for the validity of a purely auditory deficit. The aim of this study is to examine the differences in performance between children with suspected APD and typically developing children on tests of communication, auditory processing, nonverbal intelligence, working memory, and visual and auditory attention. Methods: In a case-control study we examined 9 children with suspected APD and 21 typically developing children, ages 8;0 to 12;0 years. The parents of all children completed three questionnaires about history, behavioral symptoms of ADHD, and communication skills. The teachers of the children completed the Children’s Auditory Processing Performance Scale (CHAPPS). The children themselves were assessed for auditory processing abilities, nonverbal intelligence, working memory, and auditory and visual attention. Results: No differences were found between groups in age, nonverbal intelligence quotient, and performance on auditory processing tests. Children with suspected APD have significantly poorer communication performance (parent report), poorer listening skills (teacher report), poorer working memory and poorer auditory and visual skills. Conclusion: There is a difference between children with suspected APD and typically developing children. Children with suspected APD perform insufficient on tests of working memory, and have a slower response to auditory and visual attention tasks. Parents of children with suspected APD report difficulties in communication and teachers assess the children of being at risk for listening difficulties.

Are suspected auditory processing difficulties in children aged 8–12 years related to attention, working memory, nonverbal intelligence, and communication abilities?

Background: Children with difficulties in listening and understanding speech despite normal peripheral hearing, can be diagnosed with the diagnosis Auditory Processing Disorder (A). However, there are doubts about the validity of this diagnosis. The aim of this study was to examine the relation between the listening difficulties of children between 8 and 12 years with suspected A and the attention, working memory, nonverbal intelligence and communication abilities of these children.Material and methods: In this case-control study we examined 10 children who reported listening difficulties in spite of normal peripheral hearing (3 referred by speech-language pathologist in the Northern Netherlands, 6 by an audiological center in the Southern Netherlands and one by parental concern) and 21 typically developing children (recruitment through word of mouth and by the website Taalexpert.nl), ages 8;0 to 12;0 years. The parents of all children completed three questionnaires about history, behavioral symptoms of ADHD, and communication skills (Children’s Communication Checklist). Teachers of the children completed the Children’s Auditory Processing Performance Scale (CHAPPS). Children were assessed for auditory processing abilities (speech-in-noise, filtered speech, binaural fusion, dichotic listening), nonverbal intelligence (Raven’s Coloured Progressive Matrices), and working memory (Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals). Auditory and visual attention was studied with four behavioral tests of the WAFF battery of the Vienna Test System (Schuhfried).Results: Preliminary analysis shows no differences between groups on the auditory processing tests and nonverbal intelligence quotient. Children in the experimental group have poorer communication performance (parent report), poorer listening skills (teacher report), and poorer working memory and attention skills (behavioral tests).Conclusions: The results of this study showed that there is a difference between children with listening complaints and typically developing children, but that the problems are not specific to the auditory modality. There seems to be no evidence for the validity of an auditory deficit.

From experience to memory: on the robustness of the peak-and-end-rule for complex, heterogeneous experiences

Memory forms the input for future behavior. Therefore, how individuals remember a certain experience may be just as important as the experience itself. The peak-and-end-rule (PE-rule) postulates that remembered experiences are best predicted by the peak emotional valence and the emotional valence at the end of an experience in the here and now. The PE-rule, however, has mostly been assessed in experimental paradigms that induce relatively simple, one-dimensional experiences (e.g. experienced pain in a clinical setting). This hampers generalizations of the PE-rule to the experiences in everyday life. This paper evaluates the generalizability of the PE-rule to more complex and heterogeneous experiences by examining the PE-rule in a virtual reality (VR) experience, as VR combines improved ecological validity with rigorous experimental control. Findings indicate that for more complex and heterogeneous experiences, peak and end emotional valence are inferior to other measures (such as averaged valence and arousal ratings over the entire experiential episode) in predicting remembered experience. These findings suggest that the PE-rule cannot be generalized to ecologically more valid experiential episodes.

Event-related theta responses in a visuo-spatial working memory task.

Create health ways of working

Het boek ‘Create Health Ways of Working: Insights from ten eHealth innovation research projects’ presenteert inzichten uit het meta-onderzoeksproject ‘Create & Health Innovation WAys of Working Analysis’, ook wel CHIWAWA genoemd. Binnen dit meta-onderzoeksproject inventariseerden onderzoekers van de Hogeschool Utrecht (Lectoraat Onderzoekend Vermogen en Lectoraat Co-design) het gebruik van creatieve manieren van werken bij innovatieprocessen in de zorg, waarvoor zij tien onderzoeksprojecten van Nederlandse kennisinstellingen volgende in de periode 2018 – 2022. Deze tien onderzoeksprojecten en het meta-onderzoek waren onderdeel van het ZonMw-programma Create Health. Het boek presenteert case-portretten van de tien onderzoeksprojecten naar eHealth innovatie die zich concentreerden rondom de thema’s dementie, eenzaamheid en overgewicht. Vervolgens geeft het boek verdieping met betrekking tot de creatieve manieren van werken in de tien Create Health-onderzoeksprojecten, begrip van relationele processen bij het creëren van kennisuitwisseling en zicht op de impact die een dergelijke samenwerking heeft op de zorg- en welzijnssector en op de creatieve industrie. Het boek bevat aanbevelingen voor toekomstige onderzoeksconsortia, financiers en de praktijk (creatieve industrie, zorgsector en doelgroep) en sluit af met de beschrijving van een tool die gebaseerd is op het Research Pathway Model, dat als instrument gebruikt kan worden om het gesprek tussen stakeholders van innovatieprocessen in de zorg te ondersteunen.

Working and learning in ateliers

In 2019, the first "Atelier Book" was published . Since then, a few years have passed and numerous new Ateliers have emerged. With this new atelier book, through more than 30 portraits, the richness and variety of ateliers within our college are shown. The portraits are divided as follows: ateliers at the NHL Stenden locations, external ateliers and ateliers which the facilities are a strong determinant. These portraits show which issues are being worked on, how they cooperate with the field and researchers and what the added value of the Ateliers is. This atelier book also contains a number of in-depth articles that talk about working and learning in ateliers. The contribution in chapter 1 is about: what NHL Stenden aims at with ateliers, where do the ateliers differ and some experiences with ateliers. After the portraits in chapter 2, chapter 3 presents the 'Atelier Value Creation Model' and a model with design dimensions. Both provide tools for designing and evaluating ateliers. Chapter 4 zooms in on the effects of physical space on learning. Then, Chapter 5 discusses the outcomes of (current) research on ateliers.