Comparison Of Questionnaire-Based And Performance-Based Screening Tools As Predictors Of Auditory Processing Disorder

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare questionnaire-based and performance-based screening tools as predictors of an auditory processing disorder (APD) diagnosis. The questionnaire-based screening tools used were the Children's Auditory Performance Scale, Fisher's Auditory Problems Checklist, and Buffalo Model Questionnaire-Revised. The performance-based screening tools were from the SCAN-3 screening tests, that is, Auditory Figure Ground, Competing Words Free Recall (CW-FR), and Gap Detection Test. Predictability was ascertained by comparing the scores from screening tools with those from diagnostic APD tests and with the final diagnosis of APD.Research Design: This study is a retrospective single-observation study.Method: The screening and diagnostic test results were retrospectively analyzed from the medical records of 85 individuals (female = 39) aged 7-23 years who were seen for APD assessment at Bloomsburg University's Clinic for Hearing and Balance. Each participant was assessed with at least two questionnaire-based and at least two performance-based screening tools.Results: Spearman correlation coefficient analysis showed a moderate relationship within questionnaire-based screening tools, whereas there was no relationship between questionnaire- and performance-based tools. Notably, the performance-based CW-FR screening tool showed a significant relationship with five diagnostic tests. The questionnaire-based screening tools did not predict APD diagnosis. The performance-based tool CW-FR (cp = 0.33) and the SCAN-3 screening battery (cp = 0.44) predicted the diagnosis of APD.Conclusion: A performance-based screening tool or battery can be used to determine whether additional diagnostic APD evaluation is warranted. Referral for diagnostic assessment should not be based solely on questionnaire-based screening tools.