Speech categorization consistency is associated with language and reading abilities in school-age children: Implications for language and reading disorders

Hyoju Kim; Jamie Klein-Packard; Eldon Sorensen; Jacob Oleson; Bruce Tomblin; Bob McMurray

doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2025.106194

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Speech categorization consistency is associated with language and reading abilities in school-age children: Implications for language and reading disorders

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Speech categorization consistency is associated with language and reading abilities in school-age children: Implications for language and reading disorders

Hyoju Kim, Jamie Klein-Packard, Eldon Sorensen, Jacob Oleson, Bruce Tomblin and Bob McMurray

Cognition, Vol.263, 106194

10/01/2025

DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2025.106194

PMID: 40411970

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Abstract

Speech perception is fundamental to language and reading abilities. While these skills are correlated, most studies examining the role of speech perception on outcomes do not test both concurrently. Moreover, traditional forced-choice tasks have limitations in accurately indexing these relationships. This study used a visual analog scaling task-a continuous measure of speech categorization-to examine speech categorization alongside conventional language and reading assessments in a large sample of children (n = 237), including those with language and/or reading disabilities. Children with poorer language/reading exhibited lower trial-by-trial categorization consistency, but no differences in the gradiency of the mean function. Group analyses further linked differences in categorization consistency to language/reading disabilities, with reading ability being linked particularly to the processing of vowels. Critically, categorization consistency was uniquely linked to language/reading ability, even when controlling for the mediating effect of phonological processing. These findings suggest that the consistency of perceptual processes, rather than the quality of the representations, is the critical property of speech perception that is associated with broader language and reading function.

Categorization consistency

Reading disorder

Developmental language disorder

Speech categorization

Visual analog scaling task

Details

Title: Subtitle: Speech categorization consistency is associated with language and reading abilities in school-age children: Implications for language and reading disorders
Creators: Hyoju Kim - University of Iowa
Jamie Klein-Packard - University of Iowa
Eldon Sorensen - Sandia National Laboratories
Jacob Oleson - University of Iowa
Bruce Tomblin - University of Iowa
Bob McMurray - University of Iowa
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Cognition, Vol.263, 106194
Publisher: ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2025.106194
PMID: 40411970
ISSN: 0010-0277
eISSN: 1873-7838
Grant note: National Institutes of Health: DC 0008089
authors would like to thank the Growing Words Team: Alex Fell, Sneh Jhaveri, Emily Zrostlik, Abby Fergus, and Nate Homan for data collection and discussions on the design and interpretation of this study. We thank Keith Baxelbaum for his leadership on Growing Words and his invaluable contributions to the design of the procedure and the stimuli. This work was supported by National Institutes of Health Grant DC 0008089 to BM.
Language: English
Date published: 10/01/2025
Academic Unit: Communication Sciences and Disorders; Linguistics; Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute; Biostatistics; Otolaryngology
Record Identifier: 9984825532502771

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