Age-related changes in the visual perception of phonologically significantcontrasts

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether the ability to sp eechread phonological contrasts is influenced by age. Forty-eight subjects were equally represented in three age groups: 8-9 years, 11-12 years and ad ults (20-29 years). The Hebrew version of the Speech Pattern Contrast (HeSP AC) test was administered by speechreading alone. Results showed that: age influenced performance; performance was contrast-dependent (place contrasts highly visible, manner and vowel height partially visible and voicing cont rast invisible); hierarchy of contrast performance was similar for all age groups: Hebrew and English differ in the visual accessibility to speech con trasts in final voicing only: and females were found to be poorer speechrea ders than males for the partially visible contrasts. The results suggest th at speechreading at the phonological level follows a developmental course. The implications of these findings extend to recommendations provided to ch ildren in noisy listening conditions, speechreading training in hearing-imp aired children and those with central auditory processing disorders (CAPD), and to the design of sensory aids.