Tests of Spatial Listening for Children

We administer tests of spatial listening using an apparatus which we call the ‘Ring of Sound’.  It consists of a circle of 24 Bose Acoustimass Cube Loudspeakers mounted on 1m-high poles. The loudspeakers are spaced at 15-degree intervals. The diameter of the circle is 3.3 m.  The child sits in the centre of the circle facing the loudspeaker at 0°.

Five computer-controlled displays are mounted below five of the loudspeakers. These displays present visual stimuli to engage children’s attention, guide their responses, and reward their performance. A video-camera is mounted on the loudspeaker at 0° facing the child. The output of the camera is displayed on the computer screen used by the experimenter.

Test 1 : The Left-right Discrimination Test

Test 3 : The Movement Tracking Test

You can download a PowerPoint presentation which links to a video of each test by clicking on the link below, opening the folder called 'TestsOfSpatialListeningForChildren', and downloading the PowerPoint presentation (TestsOfSpatialListeningForChildren.ppt) and each of the associated video files (Left-Right.mpg, Localisation.mpg, MT horse.mpg, MT steps.mpg, and Toy test.mpg). Click here.