University of Central Florida STARS
Retrospective Theses and Dissertations
1976
A Comparison of the Verbal Transformation Effect in Normal and Learning Disabled Children
Ellen E. Kissel University of Central Florida
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STARS Citation Kissel, Ellen E., "A Comparison of the Verbal Transformation Effect in Normal and Learning Disabled Children" (1976). Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. 228. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/rtd/228 A COMPARISON OF THE VERBAL TRANSFORMATION EFFECT IN NORMAL AND LEARNING DISABLED CHILDREN
Ellen E. Kissel B.A., Florida Technological University, 1974
THES IS
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts: Communication in the Graduate Studies .Program of the Col 1ege of Social Sciences Florida Technological University
Or1 aado, Fl ori da 1976 -.. - .. I.. *.! ...- % Acknowl edgements . -,- $. .2;;>:..,: ,~=. fy+. :~25:2 8p ;,.; ,- .*.. ...- .
I would l ike to express my thanks to Gateway and Delaney Schools for a1 lowing me to draw subjects from their 1anguage-del ayed cl asses. Thanks go also to those members of the university who he1 ped me accompl ish this task, my comni ttee members, Dr. David Barr, Dr. Davld Ingram and Dr. A1 bert Pryor. I would also like to thank Maggie Richardson for typing and preparing this manuscript. to Dr. Thomas A. Mu1 1tn for his guidance as educator and frfend, and to my parents, Dr. and Ws. B. C. Kissel, for their consTan7; encouragement and support. TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page LIST OF TABLES ...... vi INTRODUCTION AND RATIONALE ...... 1
I Cognt tive Factors ...... 3 Neurophysl'ol ogical Imp1 ications ...... 5 Phonetic Consi deratlons ...... 5 Perceptual Factors ...... 7 Learning Dlsorders ...... 9 Neurological Aspects of Learning Disabil ities ..... 11 Auditory Processing Disorders ...... 15 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM METHODOLOGY ...... 17 Subjects ...... 17 Materfal s ...... 17 Procedure ...... 18 Statistical Treatment ...... 18 RESULTS ...... 20 DISCUSSION ...... 25 Physlol ogical Aspects ...... 26 Classroom Management ...... 28 Implications for Further Research ...... 28
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION ....o.a..w....e.* 29 APPENDIX A . Number of Transformations and Different Words Per Subject ...... 31 APPENDIX B . Directions Given to All Subjects ...... 33 REFERENCES .e...... 34 LIST OF TABLES TABLE Page Analysis of Yari ance of Verbal Transformations in Normal s and Learning Disabl ed Groups to Three Test Words ...... : ..... 20 Incidence: of Yerbal Transformationi. According to Test Group and Chronologfcal Age .... 21 An Analysis of the Number of Different Words Verbal ized by Normal and Learning Disabl ed -Groups to each of Three Test Words ...... 22 Introductfon and Rationale
Locke (1894) set down a principle for perception in which conttnued stimulation with an unchanging pattern will lead to illusory changes, or under some conditions to pebceptual fadf ng and disappearance. This principle applies to auditory stimul i as we1 1 as to visual stimuli (blarren and Warren, 1966). If a person
, repeats a word over and over, he will generally experience a lapse of meanlng called semantic or verbal satiation. Mhen a person repeats a word aloud such as "ace" without pausing, the stimulus shoul d be acoustical ly equivalent to "say1' repeated. Warren and Gregory (1958) concluded in their preliminary studies that passive 1istening to repeated words produces both phonetic and semantic labil i ty whereas repeating words to one's sel f produces only semantic effects without illusory change to other phonemes. Warren (1961a) termed his auditory i 11usion, based on 1 istening to recorded repetition, "the verbal transformation effectu. The "verbal transformation effect" is a means of studying factors under1 ylng perceptual organization of speech sounds (Warren, 1971). It is suggested that verbal transformations reflect skilled reorganizational mechanisms employed during connected discourse as an aid to comprehension (Warren, 1968). Verbal transformations are i l 7 usory effects which occur while one is 1istening to recorded repetitions of clearly pronounced singl e words (Warren, 1966a). Warren presented singl e utterances (words and non-sense syll ables) two times per second for a period of three minutes. Subjects were instructed to call out the word they heard initially, and then to call out each change as it occurred, Warren
(1966a) concluded from these studies that verbal ;ransfonnations . occur with all syl lables and words, that they usually involve considerable distortion of clear auditory stimuli , that they vary greatly with individuals, and that they usually invoke more than four different responses.
. . Numerous researchers (Locke, 1894; Bryan and Harter, 1897; Lashley, 1951; Brain, 1962; Taylor and Henning, 1963; Feder and Bever, 1965; Fay, 1966; Fenelon and Blyden, 1968; Huey, 1968; Warren, Obusek, Farmer and Warren, 1969; Green, 1971; Obusek, 1971; Warren and Warren, 1971; Harper, 1972; Naiser, 1972; Warren, 1972a;
Warren, 1972b; Mi 1cox, Neisser and Roberts, 1972 ; Warren and Obusek, 1972; Obusek and Warren, 1973a; Warren and Ackroff, 1974) have investigated the re1 ationships between verbal transformations and cognitive factors, neurophysiologi cal factors (Bryan and Harter, 1899; Brain, 1962; Paul, 1964; Feder and Bever, 1965; Warren and Warren, 1966; Savin and Bever, 1970; Obusek, 1971; Harper, 1972; Nalser, 1972 ; Warren and Obusek, 1972; Obusek and Warren, 1973a; Warren and Ackroff, 1974), phonetics (Miller and Kick1 ider, 1950; Warren, 1961a; Evans arid Kitson, 1967; Evans, Longdon, Newan, and Pay, 1967; Chase, 1971; Clegg, 1971; Lass and Golden, 1971; Warren, 197%; Warren, 1972c; Lass and Gasperini, 1973; Lass, West, and Taft, 1973; Obusek and Warren, 1973b; Warren, 1973a; Narren 1973b; Go1 denstein and Lacher, 1974; Warren, 1974a), and speech perception (Broadbent, 1958; Warren and Gregory, 1958; Hirsh? 1959; Ladefoged, 1959; Ladefoged and Broadbent, 1960; Axel rod and Thompson, 1962; Chrtstovich, 1962; Norman, Taylor, and Henning , 1963; Amster, 1964; Barnett, 1964; Garrett, 1965; Natsoul as, 1965; Garrett, Bever, and Fodor, 1966; Warren and Warren, 1966; Evans and Wilson, 1968; Bever, Lackner, and Klrk, 1969; .Warren, Obusek, Farmer, and blarren, 1969; Warren and Narren, 1970; Warren and Obusek, 1971; Ben-Zeev, 1972; ChapTn, Smith, and Abrahamson, 1972; Tekiele and Lass, 1972; Warren, Obusek, and Ackroff, 1972; Berl in, Lower-Be1 1, Cul len, and Thompson, 1973; Lass, Silvis, and Seattle, 1974; Warren, 1974b; Warren and Sherman, 1974).
Cogni tSve Factors Mfller (1962) maintains that the repeated verbal stimuli used -in verbal transformation research is quite different from the presentation of stimuli found in normal speech. Hence, drawing general concl usions regarding verbal transformations and perceptual or cogni ttve organization under these special conditions is risky. Mi er suggested that the verbal transformation effect will at least evidence some of the complex organizational mechanisms which under1 ie speech perception and cogni tlon. Warren (1970) expl owd the effects of "identification" or "reaction" ttme in verbal transfoimations on perceptual or cognitive synthesis of speech. He maintained that the comparison of identiftcation ttmes for targets within speech cap be used to elucidate the temporal course of speech perception and the units employed in perceptual processi.ng. It appears that synthesis of speech into syllables must precede analysis into the component items. In this study he concluded that 1) detection of phonemes probably does not involve access to an echo-box short-term for search directed towards the trace of speech sounds corresponding to the target phoneme, 2) it does not correspond to a teasing apart of joined features so that the sensory input correspondi ng to these components can be i dentift ed. Inversely, Mamen and Obusek (1971) studied cognitive and perceptual factors in regard to "phonetic restorations" which is the omission of speech counds in context. Warren and Obusek proposed that phonemic restorations offer promise as a method for investigation of the effect of -verbal context upon perception and for probing the mechanisms used for temporal integration of speech. Their research indicated that phonemic restorations seem to involve ski1 1ed storage of auditory information, with final perceptual synthesis dependent upon prior and subsequent context, Neurophysiol ogical Imp1 ications There have. been only a few studies regarding the neuro- physiol ogical imp1 ications of verbal transformation. Paul (1964) stud fed levels of cortical inhibition and illusory changes of distinct speech upon repetition. Perl (1970) studied verbal ' transformation effects and their appl9 cation to cerebral dominance studies. It was predicted that right-ear presentation of a word stimulus would produce more reported change than left-ear presentation, and vice-versa for a tone tape. It was fdund that the two types of stimuli used in this experiment, words and tones, seem to interact differently with the two hemispheres. Presumably, the parameters of the effect are different for words and tones. Perl relates ear effects in dichotic listening to the length of the perceived stimuli. He suggests that verbal material presented to the left ear passes to the right hemisphere before being sent back across the comnisures to the left hemishpere, whereas verbal material from the right ear only has to cross once to reach the left temporal cortex.
Phonetic Considerations -- - In the first detailed phonetic analysis of the verbal transformation effect, Barnett (1964) concl uded that the art1cul ation posi tions of both vowel s and consonants were relatively labile and subject to frequent illusory changes. Cl egg (1971), using 18 separate repeating syll abl es foll owed by the vowel /i/ concluded that the syllables share the features of - voicing, nasality and afriction, but not of duration and place of articul ation. It was found that the small est organizational groupings seemed to be meaningful words for the aged, Engl ish I phoneme sequences for young adults, and individual phonemes for children. This study suggested that verbal transformations ref1ect ski1 led reorganizational mechanisms employed during connected conversational speech as an aid to comprehension. More specifically, Warren (1968) noted that from ages six to ten, nonsense words are frequently reported having speech sound sequences not found in English; such as the initial /sr/ blend.
Young adults (18 to 25) however, seem to organize t'n terms of phoneme cl usters as perceptual units. These young adults report nonsense words, but cluster phonemes according to the rules of English. Adults over 60 years of age generally imply meaningful Engl ish words in their verbal transformations. 1- rren (1968) found that the number of phonemic changes decreased with increasing age and concl uded that perceptual reorganization involved finer and finer distinction with advancing age. Perceptual Factors
Other research in verbal transformations and age groups . indicate that this illusion is based upon mechanisms employed for comprehension of spee.ch. Warren and Warren (1966) showed that virtually no illusory changes were experienced at the age of five.
By the age of six, almost half of the subjects heard illusory changes at a rate consistent with older children. At eight, all subjects heard the illusory changes. The average number of verbal transformations for a1 1 subjects was 34 during the. three minute presentation.
Unlike the phonemic aspects of verbal transformations, individuals aged 18 to 25 reported identical average changes (31) to the 8 to 10 year old group. The 62 to 86 year old group was found to have far fewer, 1ess than six such changes (Warren, 1961 ) . Warren observed that the effects of aging on verbal transformation suggests that: (1 ) this illustion reflects reorganizational processes normally leading to the correction of errors in speech perception; and (2) the age differences observed for verbal trans- formations mirror changes in processing strategies over our life span in keeping with changes in functional capacity. Brain (1962) points out that "meaning of a word which appears earlier in a sentence may depend upon the words which follow it." Chistovich (1962) noted in her studies that it is not only meaning that depends on context but that subjects who attempted to repear; speech as quickly as possible manifested many errors in phonemes. She maintained that these errors reflect the temporal course of speech identification. Warren suggested that these illusory changes ref1 ect reorgani - zations which occur normally when part of a continued message is i not confirmed by context. With repeated words there can be no stabi 1iring grammatical and semantic environment provided by surrounding words (Warren, 1970). Hence, the repeated word is subject to successive reorganizations. Warren (1966b) states that these ski 1led reorganizational processes could not appear unti1 language skills had attained a .certain level in children. The author indicated that the normal child aeneral Jy achieves this level by the age of six or seven. When studying the inverse of verbal transformation, phonemic restoration, it is easier to understand why this illusion, verbal transformation, takes place. In phonemic restoration, the context is clear, but a portion of the verbal stimulus is absent. In these studies a portion of a clear statement is replaced by an extraneous sound. It appears in these studies, that the delay in perceptual organization accompanying phonemic restoration causes the earl ier portion of the sentence to appear as sirnul taneous with the extraneous sound. In essence, closure is performed automatical ly. Warren and Obusek (1971) discovered that if the extraneous sounds replacing the missing phoneme are el iminated, phonemic restorations are inhibited. Here, the authors maintain that the processes underlying verbal transformations and phonemic restorations are re1 ated and supplementary . Verbal transformations seem to represent a mechanism employed normal ly for correcting errors in initial perceptual organization and for solving ambiguities.
Phonemic restorations ,verbal transformations, and much of ve, - - and non-verbal auditory perception, require the abil i ty to dis- ti ngui sh between different temporal arrangements of the same sounds (Warren, 1968).
Learni ng Di sorders Tarnopol (1 971 ) maintains that learning disabilities consti- tute the most pervasive medical problem of children in the United States. Depending upon how 1 earning disabi 1 i ties are defined, it appears that this difficulty affects between 5 to 20 percent of the nonretarded child population. Usually children with 1 earning disabi 1 i ties appear normal unti 1 they enter school . Research indicates that learning disabil ities appear to be associated with minimal brain dysfunction (Tarnopol, 1971 ) . Compared wi th the bl ind, deaf, cerebral pal sied, severely emotional ly disturbed, and mental ly retarded, the nature of these dysfunctions in learning disabilities tends to be subtle. Overall, the term learning disabilities is used to distinguish the problems of those children who*are not mental ly retarded but who have difficul ty 1earning due to mild central nervous system dysfunctions. Terminology and the identification of these children was t-he concern of the Task Force Dysfunction in children. This comi ttee was composed of nine physici ans , two psycho1 ogi st-
educators, . .:and an agency executive. The resul ts were pub1 i shed i by the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Bl indness (now the National 1nstitute of Neurological Disease and Stroke). Thirty-seven different terms had been found which designated this condi ticn, including dyslexia, perceptual deficit, hyperkinetic behavior syndrome, organic brain damage, minimal cerebral palsy, and 1earning disabil ities (Clements, 1966). From this array, the Task Force selected the term minimal brain dysfunction and fssued the following statement: "I. Brain dysfunction can manifest itself in varying degrees of severity and can involve any or a1 1 of the more specified areas, Neurological Aspects of Learning Disabilities In the past it was assumed that a child would 1earn adequately if he had adequate hearing and vision and all of his mental capacities. But unll'ke the gross functional disabilities of brain-injured adul ts, the neurological 7 earning disabilities in chi 1dren are not necessarily the result of brain injury; some may be genetic, many are the result of just an "imperfection of nature", some are due, perhaps, to a maturatfon delay; and some no doubt may be the result of actual brain injury (Calvachini and Trout, 1971). Dysfunctions in the brain causing learning disabil i ties are not necessarily due to damage yet may be developmental or hereditary in nature (Mykl ebust and Johnson, 1962). For educational purposes, designatfons of these damages seem unweildy as it is easier to interpret them as behavioral manifestations instead of to the degree of involvement in the brain. Johnson and Myklebust (1967) maintain that initial ly these manifestations are most often behavioral , not neurological and that the more observable symptoms are psychological in nature. In assessing the CPIteria fo s as different from other handicapped children, it is assumed that those chi 1dren having a psychoneurol ogi cal 1ea ty have, as a group, adequate motor abi 1i ty, average to high E& 1 intell igence, adequate hearing and vision, and adequate emotional adjustment together with the deficiency in 1earning (Johnson and Mykl ebust, 1967) ; however, specf fics remain to be cl arifi ed. For fnstance, a child with learning disabilities might also have minor -. i \ - . .. =. - 73. motor djsabil i ties coupied. wi tn $i &wee of emotional disturbance. The deficit in learning must also be qualified and quantified. The most commonly recognized deficits in learning are those that pertain to academic success, The deficiencies in ability to comprehend the spoken word, to read, to write, and to do arithmetic have, therefore, received the most attention. In addition to these forms of verbal learning there are also nonverbal forms of learning such as social perception (Johnson and Myklebust, 1967). Several indices of the extent of the efficiency have been used with varying degrees of success. Johnson and Myklebust (1967) assert that the comnon index has been whether the chiyd . .I 8, . .- ", ,- 8 ., . ,. ! -7 ;,>, s . . - , ::;.:i#;,-Ti-..;: , . fa-,:- 2L,,. :". ,; ' --' - .. - . - - .+ .> - - -.r-> ;::,,. ;;-,;;::-{,.;L\: , , ,I - - , , . < , , , -, ..-, !i'.,,,.J 8 ....- . .- - ...., , ,. , $ -- ,,--+; ::,+*~,,:~<~ ..,::, ?:=;:.. ,-: .. , *--i.,. >- .," -, 'I ,:+; .' .:,*..\ ,, : *-: : ,, .< .- ,>.: . . ,7 1- . . .. . -- .,'. ' :7%> '. .,...,=,,;, 1, '. '- . ,,. ,, - . ' --A .%> :-?;,?;.;lsone::gear or ,more "bhfow the f evbf bf ei6ectdncy. It must be' remembered that for the majority of children the mental and $f&pygpg??41'Y ;."qp.*c WV-T chronological ages are essentially equtva ent. Those below 90 IQ are usual ly excl uded, however, some children with learning disabtltties are far above average in intelligence any may not fall below the level of expectancy when metal age is used as an indtcation of the learning level that should be attained. Therefore, Johnson and Myklebust (1967) state that the most satfsfactory ratio, the most accurate manifestation of re1 ationships between attaf nment and level of learning is expected, is obtained when achievement is related to mental age, termed the Learning Quotient, (10). The deficit in 1earning can either be verbal or nonverbal in nature. Because disabil i ties predominantly verbal in nature are more comnonly observed and because measures of these functions are more firmly established, they are considered first and in greater detail. The three primary areas in which these functions are obse.rved are through the input and output processes invol ving tntergration (Johnson and Mykl ebust, 1967). The input system col 1ects and transmits environmental information, both external and internal, to the integrative system. Of the five senses which collect environmental informatlon, three are of prime importance in learning: vision, hearing, and somesthesis, the cataneous and proprioceptive sensation. The output system. is responsi ble for observable behavior, that is, muscle movement and the functioning of the autonomic nervous system. The output system is responsive to the integrative and input systems.. Feedback through the three primary sensory modalities give the integrative system control over its end product. These relationshtps are fundamental to learning. The presumption is that learning is systemattc and sequenttal and that the order of events is for output to follow, not to precede input. Johnson and Myklebust (1967) maintain that this principle of learning in tems of input and output is stated primarily in tems of initial learning processes because, after a level of competence has been attained, words may be learned through usage. Another consequential manner in which l earning disabi l i ties can be considered is by the sensory modalities through which a given type of learning occurs and through which the learning processes mf ght be deficient. The integrative system is the most complex and exists at all levels of the central nervous system, including the spinal cord, brainstem, and the cerebral hemispheres. The cerebral cortex is the most complex level of the integrative system and the site of higher cortical functions such as thought processes. The integrative system deals with recognition, selection, integration, storage, and use of information. It is responsible for perception, cognition, memory, intellect, formulation of motor activity, and awareness (Johnson and Mykl ebust , 1967). A number of investigators have reviewed the neurophysiological correlates of learning. Galambos and Morgan (1960) have sumnarized the data and point out that before conditioning, what is to become the cond.itioned stimulus causes a variable evoked response in afferent sensory tracts and a1 so i n 1 imbic structures. These responses, 1i ke their cortical counterparts, become 1arger, more complex, and more stable in learning. The new cortical activity is matched by novel events in 1 imbic and reticular structures that are all probably simi 1ar in kind. Thus, 1imbic, retjcul ar and cortical ! structures are all involved in learning. Auditory Processins Disorders In recognizing auditory perceptual disorders, a mu1 ti tude of factors must be consi dered; figure-ground segregation, auditory short-term storage, reversi bl e figures such as figure-ground reversal and changes in orientation, perceptual changes such as pitch, 1 ntensi ty , duration, and complex tones, 1oudness perception considering frequency, duration, and summation, tonal i ties such as timbre, vol ume and densi ty , audl tory patterns perception, auditory space perception such as sound 1ocal ization (binaural Intensf ty differences and binaural time differences) distance judgements of sounds and inversion of auditory space (Chapin, 1972). fried1 ander (1970) states that auditory 1anguage disabi 1i ties are more wi del y distri buted among chi 1dren than are vi sual disabil ities. Statement of the Problem Much research has been performed dealing with verbal transformation in normal children and adults and normative data has been establ ished for these populations. No 'research in -verbal transformation involving the learning disabled (LD) child has been reported. The LD child has been found to have disorders involving phonetic, cognitive, neuro-physiological , and perceptual problems. It would seem that more information regarding verbal transformations and the LD chlld may give more understanding of these chi 1drens ' behavioral problems, soci a1 re1 ations, 1anguage devel oprnent, and may have imp7 ications toward their general educational management. The purpose of this study was to determine the verbal transformation abilities of LD children who manifested disabilities especial ly pertaining to auditory processing and 1anguage acquisition and abi 1ity. An attempt was made to determine differences in verbal transformations of normal and LD individual s and to consider how such differences, if any, may have imp1 ications for the overall management of this type of child. Method01 ogy Subjects Two groups of 10 male school children were used as subjects. All subjects had SRTs of no poorer than 25dB for 'each ear. The first group consisted of 10 children ranging in age from six to twelve who manifested auditory processing disorders but were not on any medication. The second group (control) consisted of normal six to twelve year old students who did not manifest any specific auditory processing problems. The students from the -first group were selected from two schools special izing in the -education of learning disabled children. Material s A female speaker recorded three words of varying length and compl exf ty, one nonsense and two real words : tress, see, and seashore. Each word was then re-recorded approximately twice each second for three minutes. A 15 second leader tape was spliced on to the three recordings so as to allow lead times before presentations. A1 7 stimul i were presented while the subject was seated in a sound treated booth (IAC 1200). All stimulus materials were presented binaurally at 40dB sensation level (re. SRT). Stimuli was played from the recorder through a diagnostic and cl inical audiometer (Grayson-Stadl er Model 1702-A). Procedure Each stimulus tape consisted of a recording of a single word repeated approxtmatley twice a second for a peridti of three minutes. Each subject was required to call out the first word they heard to substantiate that they were in fact recognizing the one word being repeated on the tape. Then the subject was instructed to call out anything the voice seemed to be saying (Appendix B). Credit for a transformation was given when 1) the subject called out any word which differed from the original word and 2) when the subject called out the original word after having called out a different word imediately before. The subjects responses were tape-recorded SO that different verbal organizations and the exact number of transformations could be tabulated and stored for further analysis. A rest break of five minutes was given after each presentation. Statistical Treatment A two by three factorial analysis of variance was used to analyze the effects of group (LD and normal ) and word (tress, sea and seashore) on two dependent measures, These were (1) the number of verbal transformations per stimulus and (2) the number of different words called out. A table of means was used -to compare the number of transform- ations verbalized as a whole between different age groups in both the LD and control groups. Results A two by three factorial analysis of variance was used to compute the number of transformations for each stimulus (Appendix A) of each subject in the learning disabled group as opposed to the number of transformations per stimulus of each subject in the control group. The analysis of variance is summarized in Table 1. Table 1 Analysis of Variance of Verbal Transformations in Normals and Learning Disabled Groups to Three Test bfords Source of Vari atlon SS d f MS Between Subjects 2908 19 153.1 A (groups) Subjects wlthin groups Within subjects B (words) B X subjects within groups 1768 18 98.2 The control group verbal ized a significantly larger number of transformations than did the learning disabled group (pe.01). - -his supports the hypothesis that there would be a difference in the reported number of transformations between the normal and LD subjects. i The vari ance between the two groups according to chronol ogi cal age is indicated in Table 2. Table 2 Incidence of verbal -Transfornations According to Test Group and Chronological Age LD Normal 6.0 - 8.6 years 39 (for a1 1 three stimuli) 8.7 - 12.4 years This table of means indicates that there is a substantial dtfference in the performance of verbalizing transformations for the two age groups as well as between the two subject groups. lhese results indicate that LD children do not start transforming, as a whole, until after the eight year-seven month age level. Warren and Warren (1966) indicated in their studies that all normal children transform by the age of eight. The number of different words verbalized by each subject (Appendtx A) was also noted and computed usi,ng a two by three factorial analysis as presented in Table 3. Table 3 I An Analysis of the Number of Different Words Verbal ized by Normal and L. D. Groups to Each of Three Test Words Source of Variation SS df MS F Between subjects 286 19 A (groups) Subjects within groups Within subjects B (words) AXB 12 2 6 B X subjects within groups 140 1.8 7.7 The results of this analysis of variance indicated that there was a significant difference between the two groups. The normal subjects verbal ized significantly more different words than did the LD group (p <. 01 ) . This further supports the hypothesis that there would be a difference in transformational perfonaance be- the normal and LD groups. As noted in Table 3, a significant F ratio was also obtained for the number of different words verbalized (pL.01). Evidently, the length and complexity of the stimulus word given does affect the - performance of transforming. Whether the stimulus was "real" or ltnonsense't appeared to have no significance in the ability to transform. The stimulus seashore produced the greatest number of different words verbalized. The nonsense word tress gave the second greatest number with the real word -see giving the least number. Outward behavior, other than transformations, was noted both through written description of the subject during testing and- other verbal behavior was noted on tape recordings of each testing. One of the most prevalent behaviors noted in five of the six LD children having dysnomia (word retrival problems) as their major 1earning or 1anguage disabi 1i ty was that they continual ly repeated the stimul us in echo-1 i ke fashion rather than reporting changes they may have heard. When questioned after each stimul us presentation these chi 1dren stated that the stimul us was difficult to 1isten to and that they were unable to verbal ize any new word if they had heard one. The sixth dysnomic child, dropped from the study due to his 1ack of verbal ization, remained silent throughout a1 l three stimulus presentations, however, he did relate, after the experiment, that he did hear changes in the words. Each of the above subjects repeated the stimulus in varying degrees of loudness, varying from loud continual repetftion to barely audtble whfsperl'ng of the stimulus pattern. Two of these five dyrnomtc children did manage to call out a transformation for one of the three stimulus presentations ('Appendix A) The five who had been echo1 a1 ic during presentations were given one point credit in the category of number of different words called out. Of conslderable interest was the fact that a1 1 LD children displayed rigid posture and several displayed body rocking and head-nodding during stimulus presentations. Discussion In reviewing the results of this experiment, it is evident that these chi 1 dren w7 th auditory processing disorders displ ayed abnormal behavior regarding the appl ication of verbal responses to a verbal recepttve task Further research is needed to ascertain whether these chi 1dren experience a breakdown or retardation of devel opment in the receptive and/or expressive processes in regard to verbal transformations. Overall, the normal subjects dtspl ayed significantly more verbal transformations and rn~re~differentwords per stimul us than did the LD subjects. There was no significant difference noted in the number of verbal transformations or the number of words called out between children in the normal population in the age group of six years to eight years-six months as compared with those children aged eight years-seven months to twelve years. As seen in Table 2, the younger normal group averaged 39 transformations for all three stimuli as compared with 37.4 transformations in the older group. The younger group called out 14 different words throughout the experiment whereas the 01 der group call ed out 16.8 different words. This indicated that age is not as an important factor in verbal transformation abi 1i ty as is normal cognitive ability. In the LD group, the older subjects averaged 10 transformations for a1 1 three stimul i compared with ,016 transformations for a1 1 three stimul i in the younger group. There was also a difference found in the number of words called out throughout the duration of the test between the two LD groups. The older group called out I 10.1 words whereas the younger group reported only two different words. Warren and Warren (1966) noted that a1 1 normal children verbalize transformations by the age of eight years. In the LD group, however, transformations were not uniformly noted unti 1 past the eight year-six month level. This could indicate a delay in processing growth and development or perhaps that the child is outgrowing his deficit or that he is being effectively trained. Any projection should be substantiated by further research. Physiol ogical Aspects As -a whole, auditory processing disorders refer to a group of diverse problems in which the auditory system is incapable of providing the child with acoustic information in a normal manner to the detriment of his speech, language, and cognitive development. The suditory system is viewed as being composed of the neuro- anatomical pathways extending from the end organ of hearing (cochlea) to the auditory cortex (temporal lobe), and in particular, Wernickeis area at the temporal cortex. Disruptions in this system may result in a variety of auditory disorders, incl uding reduced hearing acuity, phonemic discrimination difficul ties, disruptions of the temporal sequencing of speech messages, and imperfect comprehension of spoken language related to disturbances in the auditory association areas of the 1anguage-dominan t hemisphere (Cl ements, 1966). Since all of the LD subjects chosen for this experiment displayed auditory association difficul ties resulting in 1anguage deficiencies, we might assume that the basis of their problems lay in the language dominant hemisphere. This, however, should be tested further in each child. In recognizing the chi1 d 's auditory 1earning or 1anguage problem we must also test to ascertain whether the disorder i of auditory receptive 1 anguage abil ity, including auditory comprehension, auditory memory span, receptive aphasia, sensory aphasia, or auditory verbal agnosia, or one of expressive Yanguage ability, including reauditorization difficulties, auditory- motor integration problems or formulation and syntax difficultins. We can justify through extensive testing that each of L.e LD st jects manifest many of these problems. Dysnomia was just one most often noted. Verbal transformations may be a key to pinpointing the degree of verbal flexibil ity in each child and may be of great service as a screening tool in locating auditory processing or language disordered chtl dren in a school or community population. Cl assroom Management Classroom management of the.LD child has been studied for years. The resul ts of this study indicate that verbal transformations may be employed as a diagnostic tool for the differential diagnosis between LD and normal children, and may indicate a basis for 1 ocating dysnomic or other specific auditory processing disordered children. It may also lend itself to indicating a new approach for teaching verbal flexibility to this type of child. Imp1 i cations for Further Research The development of a neurophysiological model to explain the results obtained in this investigation would be a primary follow-up of this research. Phonemic restoration in learning disabled individual s, as a1 1 uded to earl ier, would certainly warrant study. Further research should also test the use of verbal transformations as a screening tool to diagnose LD children and as a device to ascertain whether chi1 dren who manifest specific auditory processing and/or language disorders are ready to return to a normal classroom situation fo1 lowing remediation. Summary and Concl usion Verbal transformations (YTs) are an illusory effect which involves the subject reporting what he hears from an ongoing tape consisting of one word being repeated continually twice per second. VTs have been used to ascertain differences in auditory perceptual abi 1l'ties at various chronological 1eve1 s in humans. Warren and Warren (1966) found that VTs are first noted in children at the age of five and that by the age of eight, all normal children report such transformations. Other perceptual differences noted at various levels of development are: 1) the child below 10 years of age reports real and nonsense words in their transformations but they often use letter combinations not found in Engl ish grammar, 2) between 12 and 18 years the young adult reports real and nonsense words which do remain in the confines of English grammar, and 3) adults over the age of 60 report only real words in their transformations. These studies have examined auditory perceptual abil i ties in normal subjects but to this date no research has been reported involving subejcts with abnormal auditory perceptual or cognitive abil i ties. Thi s study explored the effects of verbal transformations on male subjects with auditory processing disorders which manifest themselves in 1 anguage and 1 earning disabi 1 ities. It was hypothesized that there would be a difference between normal subjects and auditory processing disordered subjects in their abi 1 ities to transform. Ten 1earning disabled (LD) children between ,six and twelve years of age were subjected to three one and one half minute audio tape presentations of three words (tress, see and seashore). The number of verbal transformations uttered by the subjects were tape recorded and compared with responses from a normal (control) group matched by age and sex. Results of this experiment showed that there was a significant difference (p <. 01 ) between the two groups in the number of transformations reported and the number of different words called ' out during the experiment.. Significant difference.(p< .01) was a1 so found between the three stimulus words in the number of different words called out. This indicates that length and compl exity of the word stimul us effects perceptual performance. It is hoped that verbal transformations could be used as a screenf ng tool to detect auditory perceptual disorders in chi1 dren. Verbal transformations may also be of 'value in determining the progress of chi 1 dren enrol 1 ed in special programs for learning disabilities. APPENDIX A Number of Transformations and Different Words per Subject LEARNING DISABLED NORMALS To compute factorial ly, it was necessary to add a constant 05 to all scores. 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