Understanding Auditory Processing Disorder-a Virtual Reality and EEG Study

The study uses EEG (electroencephalogram), virtual reality (VR), and cognitive testing to study how the brain processes language. We are trying to understand the processing differences in the brain that can cause some children with autism or ADHD to have trouble understanding speech in noisy environments.

Children ages 7-12 years old with typical development and those with autism and/or ADHD can participate in the study. Children must have normal hearing, normal or corrected-to-normal vision, no neurological disease, no history of head injury or psychosis. They must have fluent verbal ability and average-or-above intelligence for this study. We also ask that Typically Developing Controls do not have a personal history of developmental disability and do not have a parent or sibling with autism.

Children are asked to participate in two sessions (~3hrs each). Children are given several breaks during the sessions. Children will be asked to complete a virtual reality game and listen to words via headphones while we monitor their brain activity with an EEG. We also involve the child in a series of cognitive and behavioral tests that measure things like IQ, language processing, executive function, and social communication.

Understand how the brain processes speech in noisy environments could help us to develop better supports or interventions for auditory processing disorders in the future.