Beula Magimairaj, Ph.D.

Meet the Researcher

Dr. Beula Magimairaj received a Ph.D. in Speech Language Science from Ohio University.

She is also a clinically certified speech language pathologist. Dr. Magimairaj is currently Assistant Professor in Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Central Arkansas. Her research interests are in Specific Language Impairment and cognition, and include the study of children diagnosed with auditory processing disorders. Dr. Magimairaj's co-investigators on this grant are Dr. Natalie Benafield, Au.D. and Dr. Naveen Nagaraj, Ph.D., CCC-A.

The Research

University of Central Arkansas
Moving the science forward through interdisciplinary collaborative research integrating Hearing, Language, and Cognitive Science

Clinicians and researchers lack a consensual theoretical and clinical framework for conceptualizing Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) because professionals in different disciplines characterize it differently. Children diagnosed with CAPD may have deficits in attention, language, and memory, which often go unrecognized. There is a lack of a valid and reliable assessment tool that can characterize auditory processing, attention, language, and memory on the front-end. This project is an interdisciplinary effort to lay the foundation for such an assessment. Our goal is to develop an assessment that includes sensitive measures that can help build an initial profile of a child’s source(s) of difficulties that may be manifested as auditory processing deficits. During this 1-year project, computer-based behavioral tasks that integrate theoretical and methodological advances from the CAPD literature, and hearing, language, and cognitive science, will be developed. Tasks will be piloted on sixty typically developing children (7-11 years) who have no history of auditory processing/cognitive disorders for feasibility testing. Developing an assessment that will validly characterize the abilities of affected children is a multi-stage enterprise and this project is a critical first step. 

Research Area: Central Auditory Processing Disorders

Long-term goal: Clinicians lack a psychometrically sound assessment tool that can reliably characterize auditory processing and attention, language, and memory deficits that are known to frequently co-occur in children diagnosed with CAPD. Comprehensive assessment in all these areas is not feasible in a single assessment. In the long-term, the investigators aim to develop a sensitive and valid test that can serve as a front-end differential screening tool for children suspected to have CAPD. Guided by pilot data from the current project, future projects will extend the study to school-age children suspected to have CAPD. Future studies will establish test validity, reliability, normative data collection, and standardization. When developed, the assessment will serve as an important front-end tool for speech-language pathologists and audiologists for screening and for directing parents towards appropriate management resources. This preliminary testing can better inform further testing and possibly reduce misdiagnosis. Appropriate diagnosis of children suspected to have the complex condition known as CAPD, is the first step to providing helpful intervention. The development of a valid and reliable multi-disciplinary assessment will add to the growing research base regarding auditory function in children and how it relates to attention, memory, and language functioning.