The Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale is a parent report scale designed to assess the child’s spontaneous responses to sound in his/her everyday environment. It consists of 10 probes that assess three main areas: 1) device “bonding,” 2) alerting to sound, and 3) deriving meaning from sound. Specific scoring criteria have been developed for each of the 10 probes.
This parent report scale is administered with an interview format. This technique avoids “leading” the parent to provide desired responses and also discourages simple yes/no answers. The questions are designed to elicit a dialogue between the examiner and informant. For example, Tell me about Johnny’s routine for putting on his device each day will elicit more information from the parent than a question posed in the following manner: Does Johnny wear his device all the time?
Performance is scored in terms of the total number of points accrued out of the 40 possible points. Each question has a potential of 0 (lowest) to 4 (highest) points. Scoring is often based on the percentage of time that a child demonstrates specific auditory abilities (Would you say that Johnny is able to do this more than 50% of the time or less than 50% of the time?) It is important to adhere to the strict scoring system described in each of the target questions.
Robbins AM, Renshaw JJ, Berry SW. (1991). Evaluating meaningful auditory integration in profoundly hearing impaired children. Am J Otol. 1991;12(Suppl):144-150.
Indiana University School of Medicine
Department of Otolaryngology
Attention: Lynette
Riley Research Wing, Room 044
702 Barnhill Drive
Indianapolis, IN 46202-5200
(317) 274-4915 Phone
(317) 274-4949 Fax
