Schedule of Events | Search Abstracts | Invited Symposia | Symposia | Poster Sessions | Data Blitz

Individual differences in sensory processing patterns and attention influence speech motor control in children

Poster Session C - Sunday, March 8, 2026, 5:00 – 7:00 pm PDT, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballroom

Rita Bishai¹ (), Adrianna Molenaar¹, Nichole Scheerer¹; ¹Wilfrid Laurier University

Auditory feedback is essential for developing and maintaining fluent speech. While children are thought to rely heavily on their auditory feedback, previous experimental studies are inconsistent, suggesting the need to explore additional contributing factors. Cognitive factors such as attention and sensory processing abilities have been shown to influence speech motor control in adults; however, this has yet to be examined during childhood, where cognitive and speech motor systems are still developing. This study investigates how individual differences in attention and sensory processing patterns influence auditory feedback control of speech in children. Fifty-three children ages 4-11 completed a frequency-altered feedback (FAF) task where the pitch of their auditory feedback was shifted up or down 100 cents, and compensatory vocal responses were measured to index the child’s reliance on their auditory feedback. Attention and sensory processing abilities were measured using the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) and the parent-report Short Sensory Profile (SSP), respectively. Overall SSP scores, as well as scores in auditory, tactile, and sensory seeking domains, were associated with larger compensatory responses to FAF, while poorer SART performance was associated with slower vocal responses to downward shifts. These results suggest that for children, greater sensory processing differences may promote increased reliance on auditory feedback for speech motor control, while attentional differences may be more important in the temporal processing of FAF.

Topic Area: ATTENTION: Auditory