Auditory processing and auditory rehabilitation approaches in autism

Abstract

Background and Aim: Concerning the preva­lence of autism spectrum disorder, many studies have examined the various aspects of this dis­order. One of the major problems in autism is the sensory processing deficit, and in particular the abnormalities of auditory processing. In this review article, we have tried to explain the neu­rological features of auditory processing and abnormalities in auditory evoked responses in autism, finally recount some of the main met­hods of auditory rehabilitation.

Recent Findings: We searched for articles in databases with keywords of “autism,” “auditory processing” and “auditory rehabilitation.” A total of 102 articles were initially found in this field. Some articles were not about our study topic, thus in the end, only 79 articles were ent­ered the study published from 1989 to 2018. Based on these studies, autism associates with a weakness in sensory integration due to abnor­mal interactions between different neural net­works. This condition of auditory modality are being manifested as different abnormalities in evoked responses, especially for complex sti­muli at the level of the brainstem and cortex. Language and speech problems are prevalent in many patients with autism, which has already been mentioned in numerous studies. To treat these deficits, appropriate auditory rehabilitation techniques (often using music to improve the symptoms) have been developed.

Conclusion: In order to know more about aut­ism and adopt appropriate interventions, doing audiometric, behavioral and electrophysiologi­cal evaluations are recommended on a regular basis. Rehabilitation in this disorder generally include music therapy, signal-to-noise enhanc­ement strategies, and cognitive behavioral the­rapies.