Journal article
Speed of Processing, Working Memory, and Language Impairment in Children
Journal of speech, language, and hearing research, Vol.50(2), pp.408-428
04/2007
DOI: 10.1044/1092-4388(2007/029)
PMID: 17463238
Abstract
Purpose
Children with language impairment (LI) often perform below the level of typically developing peers on measures of both processing speed and working memory. This study examined the relationship between these 2 types of measures and attempted to determine whether such measures can account for the LI itself.
Method
Fourteen-year-old children with LI and their typically developing peers participated in a wide range of processing speed and working memory tasks and were administered a comprehensive language test battery. Confirmatory factor analyses were used to compare 3 nested models designed to examine the dimensionality of the speed and working memory measures. A model that included a general speed factor was also evaluated.
Results
The models meeting our evaluation criteria treated speed and working memory as separable factors. Furthermore, nonverbal as well as verbal processing factors emerged from these analyses. Latent variable regression analyses showed that each of the appropriate models accounted for 62% of the variance in the children’s concurrent composite language test scores, with verbal working memory making the largest contribution.
Conclusions
These findings shed light on the relationship among different types of processing and suggest that processing factors can contribute to the understanding of language disorders.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Speed of Processing, Working Memory, and Language Impairment in Children
- Creators
- Laurence B Leonard - Purdue University, West Lafeyette, ILSusan Ellis Weismer - University of Wisconsin—MadisonCarol A Miller - Pennsylvania State University, University ParkDavid J Francis - University of Houston, Houston, TXJ. Bruce Tomblin - University of Iowa, Iowa CityRobert V Kail - Purdue University
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of speech, language, and hearing research, Vol.50(2), pp.408-428
- DOI
- 10.1044/1092-4388(2007/029)
- PMID
- 17463238
- ISSN
- 1092-4388
- eISSN
- 1558-9102
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 04/2007
- Academic Unit
- Communication Sciences and Disorders; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
- Record Identifier
- 9984071962902771
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