AUDITORY SKILLS IN SCHOOLCHILDREN AND THEIR IMPACT ON LEARNING

Abstract

Considering the importance of evaluating auditory interventions to improve learning, the objective was to investigate the efficacy of two therapeutic procedures, Acoustically Controlled Auditory Training (ACAT) and the NeuroAuditory Stimulation System (NASS), analyzed individually and in combination, to verify the influence of the order of application on the effects of stimulation. To this end, 30 children aged 8 to 11 years, equally distributed by sex and age, were assessed using pure-tone audiometry, behavioral auditory processing tests (dichotic listening TDD, monotic listening PSI, temporal resolution GIN, and temporal ordering TPD), short (FFR) and long-latency auditory evoked potentials (P300), as well as the Visual Perception Assessment (DTVP-2) and the SAB Scale, before and after the interventions. Thus, it was observed that, in the isolated intervention, ACAT was effective in the electrophysiological procedures (FFR and P300), in the behavioral auditory tests (PSI and TPD) and in the SAB Scale;. At the same time, NASS showed a positive effect on FFR, the PSI test and item 4 of the SAB Scale. The combined interventions showed greater efficacy, especially when ACAT was applied before NASS, suggesting that NASS potentiates the effects of ACAT. This allowed us to conclude that the combined use of both protocols constitutes a promising approach for auditory and cognitive rehabilitation, by promoting behavioral and neurophysiological advances, and broadening the understanding of neural plasticity mechanisms and their implications for the learning process.