AUDITORY SKILLS FOR SCHOOL SUCCESS
Auditory Comprehension:



Selected Component Skills of Auditory Comprehension

Informal Assessment of and Practice with Auditory Memory
Auditory memory is formally evaluated within cognitive assessments. These formal evaluations should be administered by a professional, such as a psychometrist, speech language pathologist or audiologist. Miller (1956) established that auditory memory of an individual has a limited capacity. Successful recall can be affected by the length and complexity of the message. It is generally accepted that the number of objects an average adult can recall from short term memory is “seven, plus or minus 2”. Rhodes (2011) reports that by 6 years of age, a child “imitates a 16-syllable sentence, based on short-term recollection …. Remembers six items of a story … (and) repeats three numbers backwards.” Students with hearing loss often do not meet these milestones before entering school. The criteria listed by Rhodes can be used to – establish a baseline for each student – identifying goals for progress – determine a starting point for practice Some suggested methods for checking and practicing auditory memory skills are offered here. It is not necessary to use an auditory hoop for these tasks.


The Impact of Language on Auditory Comprehension
If the content to which the student is listening uses language structures, vocabulary or background information beyond the student’s skills, the best of listening skills cannot produce a successful communication task. Therefore, one strategy for improving auditory comprehension is to build the student’s range of syntax, vocabulary, and background knowledge. Those tasks are beyond the scope of this text. Auditory memory and speech perception in general, however, is one set of skills that can improve with instruction and practice and can contribute to better comprehension of spoken language.More Auditory Comprehension Resources
Strategies for Improving Auditory Memory and Speech Perception Skills for Connected Speech – two free webinars from CID – Central Institute for the Deaf Auditory Memory for Quick Stories – from Super Duper Inc. ASSESSMENT Assessment of Story Comprehension OPUS – Oral Passage Understanding Scales Listening Comprehension Test – 2 (elementary) Listening Comprehension Test – Adolescent TAPS-4 – Test of Auditory Processing Skills (memory, auditory discrimination, comprehension, phonological awareness) CURRICULA No Glamour Memory Look Who’s Listening Game Spotlight on Listening Comprehension 4 book set (details, story comprehension, making inferences, reasoning and problem solving SPICE – Speech Perception Instructional Curriculum & Evaluation SPICE to Life Auditory Learning Curriculum References Estabrooks, W. (2000). Auditory Verbal Practice. The Listener, Summer, pp 6-29. Miller, G. A. (1956). “The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on our capacity for processing information”. Psychological Review. 63 (2): 81–97.). Rhodes, Ellen. 2011. Auditory Developmental Scale: 0-6 Years. Posted August 2019. This information was authored by Julia West, teacher of the deaf/hard of hearing who has taught students with hearing loss in private and public schools for over 20 years. She is co-author of the CID SPICE for Life Auditory Learning Curriculum and authors the Listening and Self-Advocacy sections of the Teacher Tools e-Magazine.