Impact of Different Cutoff Criteria on Rate of (Central) Auditory Processing Disorders Diagnosis Using the Central Test Battery
1
Department of Audiology and Speech Language Pathology, Bloomsbury University of Pennsylvania, USA
2
Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Audiol. Res. 2016, 6(2), 158; https://doi.org/10.4081/audiores.2016.158
Submission received: 1 July 2016
/
Revised: 26 September 2016
/
Accepted: 27 September 2016
/
Published: 25 November 2016
Simple Summary
c
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to quantify how the use of two different cutoff criteria affects the test failure rate and potential diagnosis of central auditory processing disorder ([C]APD) in a sample of children subjected to central auditory processing ([C]AP) assessment. Test failure rates for the central test battery (CTB) using two different cutoff criteria (1 and 2 SDs below the mean) were measured retrospectively for 98 children who completed (C)AP assessment. The rates of potential (C)APD diagnosis ranged from 86.8% [when a 1 standard deviation (SD) cutoff was used] to 66.2% (when a 2 SD cutoff was used). The current use of two different cutoffs for the CTB has a large impact on the diagnostic rate for (C)APD. These findings have clinical implications for the diagnosis of (C)APD due to the widespread use of the CTB in the United States for the assessment of (C)APD in children. Thus, it is important to create awareness among audiologists that use of the 2 SDs cutoff criterion is recommended for reducing false positives (error).
