Exploration of a ‘double‐jeopardy’ hypothesis within working memory profiles for children with specific language impairment

2009 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 236-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Briscoe ◽  
P. M. Rankin
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Double Jeopardy ◽  
Specific Language

The Role of Memory in Processing Relative Clauses in Children With Specific Language Impairment

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pauline Frizelle ◽  
Paul Fletcher
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Relative Clauses ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Matrix Clause ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Almost All

Purpose This study investigated the relationship between 2 components of memory—phonological short-term memory (pSTM) and working memory (WM)—and the control of relative clause constructions in children with specific language impairment (SLI). Method Children with SLI and 2 control groups—an age-matched and a younger group of children with typical development—repeated sentences, including relative clauses, representing 5 syntactic roles and 2 levels of matrix clause complexity. The Working Memory Test Battery for Children was administered. Results All 3 groups showed significant associations between pSTM and both types of matrix clause construction. For children with SLI, significant associations emerged between (a) WM and more complex matrix clause constructions, (b) WM and relative clauses including a range of syntactic roles, and (c) pSTM and the least difficult syntactic role. In contrast, the age-matched control group could repeat almost all syntactic roles without invoking the use of either memory component. Conclusions The role of pSTM and WM in the production of relative clauses by children with SLI is influenced by the degree of difficulty of the structure to be recalled. In therapy, the effect of WM limitations can be minimized by approaching each structure within the context of a simple matrix clause.

Relation of working memory to off-line and real-time sentence processing in children with specific language impairment

2000 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
JAMES W. MONTGOMERY
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Load Condition ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Processing Task

In this study we examined the influence of working memory on the off-line and real-time sentence comprehension/processing of children with specific language impairment (SLI). A total of 12 children with SLI, 12 normally developing children matched for chronological age (CA), and 12 children matched for receptive syntax (RS) completed three tasks. In the working memory task, children recalled as many words as possible under three processing load conditions varying in the number of mental operations (i.e., no load, single load, dual load). In the off-line comprehension task, children listened to linguistically nonredundant and redundant sentences. In the real-time sentence processing task, children monitored sentences for the occurrence of a target word appearing at the beginning, middle, or end of a test sentence and pushed a response pad as quickly as possible upon hearing the target. In the memory task, SLI children recalled fewer words in the dual-load condition relative to CA peers, who showed no condition effect. The SLI and RS groups performed similarly overall; however, both groups recalled fewer words in the dual-load condition than in the other conditions. In the off-line task, the SLI group comprehended fewer sentences of both types relative to the CA controls and fewer redundant sentences relative to themselves and to the RS controls. A significant correlation between working memory and sentence comprehension was found for the SLI group and control groups. For the on-line task, between-group analyses revealed that the SLI group yielded an overall slower word recognition reaction time than the CA and RS groups. Working memory and sentence processing were not correlated for any group. Results were interpreted to suggest that SLI children have a more limited functional working memory capacity than their CA peers. Children with SLI also appear to have greater difficulty managing their working memory resources relative to both age peers and younger children when performing a conventional off-line sentence comprehension task but not a real-time sentence processing task.

scholarly journals Working Memory and Interference Control in Children with Specific Language Impairment

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 211-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klara Marton ◽  
Naomi Eichorn ◽  
Luca Campanelli ◽  
Lilla Zakarias
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Interference Control ◽  
Specific Language

Lexical Decay During Online Sentence Processing in Adults With Specific Language Impairment

2014 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 2253-2260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerard H. Poll ◽  
Holly S. Watkins ◽  
Carol A. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Decay Rate ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Presentation Rate ◽  
Group Presentation ◽  
Processing Efficiency ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Rate Interaction

Purpose Decay of memory traces is an important component of many theories of working memory, but there is conflicting evidence on whether the rate of decay differs for individuals with specific language impairment (SLI) as compared to peers with typical language. The authors tested the hypothesis that adults with SLI have a slower decay rate. Method Twenty adults with SLI, ages 18–27 years, and 23 age-matched peers identified target words in sentences. Sentences were presented at normal and slow rates. Participants separately judged whether a picture and sentence matched in meaning as a measure of sentence processing efficiency. Results After controlling for sentence processing efficiency, the group with SLI was slower to detect words in sentences. Response times for the group with SLI increased less in the slow condition as compared to the group with typical language, resulting in a Group × Presentation Rate interaction. Conclusions The Group × Presentation Rate interaction is consistent with a slower lexical decay rate for adults with SLI, but differences in the ability to manage interference could not be ruled out. The findings suggest that decay rate differences may play a role in the working memory limitations found in individuals with SLI.

scholarly journals Article choice, theory of mind, and memory in children with high-functioning autism and children with specific language impairment

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
JEANNETTE SCHAEFFER ◽  
MEREL VAN WITTELOOSTUIJN ◽  
AVA CREEMERS
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
High Functioning Autism ◽  
Definite Article ◽  
Phonological Memory ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
High Functioning ◽  
Indefinite Article

ABSTRACTPrevious studies show that young, typically developing (TD) children (<age 5) and children with specific language impairment (SLI; >age 5) make errors in the choice between a definite and an indefinite article. Suggested explanations for overgeneration of the definite article include failure to distinguish speaker from hearer assumptions, and for overgeneration of the indefinite article failure to draw scalar implicatures, and weak working memory. However, no direct empirical evidence for these accounts is available. In this study, 27 Dutch-speaking children with high-functioning autism, 27 children with SLI, and 27 TD children aged 5–14 were administered a pragmatic article choice test, a nonverbal theory of mind test, and three types of memory tests (phonological memory, verbal, and nonverbal working memory). The results show that the children with high-functioning autism and SLI (a) make similar errors, that is, they overgenerate the indefinite article; (b) are TD-like at theory of mind, but (c) perform significantly more poorly than the TD children on phonological memory and verbal working memory. We propose that weak memory skills prevent the integration of the definiteness scale with the preceding discourse, resulting in the failure to consistently draw the relevant scalar implicature. This in turn yields the occasional erroneous choice of the indefinite articleain definite contexts.

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