The impact of cognitive ability on multitalker speech perception in neurodivergent individuals

The ability to selectively attend to one talker in the presence of competing talkers is crucial to communication. Here we investigate whether cognitive deficits in the absences of hearing loss can impair speech perception. We tested typical hearing, neurodivergent adolescents/adults with autism spectrum disorder, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, and an age- and sex-matched neurotypical group. We found a strong correlation between IQ and speech perception, with individuals with lower IQ scores having worse speech thresholds. These results demonstrate that deficits in cognitive ability, despite intact peripheral encoding, can impair listening under complex conditions. These findings have important implications for conceptual models of speech perception and for audiological services to improve communication in real-world environments for neurodivergent individuals. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement This study did not receive any funding. ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: All protocols have been approved by the University of Washington Institutional Review Board I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines and uploaded the relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material as supplementary files, if applicable. Yes All data produced in the present study are available upon reasonable request to the authors