Using the SSW with Non-English Speakers

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The usual clinical question is "how well is the person processing speech"? If that is the question you are asking when you use the SSW, then it is not necessary that the person have English as the first language. In order to use the norms correctly, it is necessary that the person have a reasonable command of spoken English. For example, if you want to find out if someone is struggling in school because of an auditory processing problem it wouldn't matter so much if it was because English was a second language or it was a combination of both problems. If the person is struggling with a decoding issue, it could be treated therapeutically regardless of which it was. So the SSW can definitely be used to help define the problem.

This Ask the Expert was based on the recorded course series entitled "The Staggered Spondaic Word (SSW) Test - Virtual Conference" that was presented live on AudiologyOnline in Summer 2009. We invite you to view the recorded courses from this series that can be found in the AudiologyOnline library: Scoring Staggered Spondaic Word (SSW) Items - Plugging in the Best Information (course #14141);Scoring the Staggered Spondaic Word (SSW) Test: Using All the Elements (course #14166);and Auditory Processing Disorder (APD): Making a Diagnosis and Checking it Twice (course #14212).

Jack Katz has been involved in the study of central auditory disorders for over five decades. He has developed effective tests and therapy procedures to evaluate and remediate this prevalent problem. He has editied several books on this topic and has written many articles and chapters and has presented on this topic nationally and internationally. He has just completed a book focusing on therapy for APD that will be distributed by Educational Audiology Association. Dr. Katz has spent 50 years developing the SSW test as a measure of central auditory function.