Journal Article

Do Children With Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) Have Difficulties With Interference Control, Visuospatial Working Memory, and Selective Attention? Developmental Patterns and the Role of Severity and Persistence of DLD

Boerma, Tessel, Blom, Elma

2020

Overview

Purpose: Many children with developmental language disorder (DLD) have weaknesses in executive functioning (EF), specifically in tasks testing interference control and working memory. It is unknown how EF develops in children with DLD, if EF abilities are related to DLD severity and persistence, and if EF weaknesses expand to selective attention. This study aimed to address these gaps. Method: Data from 78 children with DLD and 39 typically developing (TD) children were collected at three times with 1-year intervals. At Time 1, the children were 5 or 6 years old. Flanker, Dot Matrix, and Sky Search tasks tested interference control, visuospatial working memory, and selective attention, respectively. DLD severity was based on children's language ability. DLD persistence was based on stability of the DLD diagnosis. Results: Performance on all tasks improved in both groups. TD children outperformed children with DLD on interference control. No differences were found for visuospatial working memory and selective attention. An interference control gap between the DLD and TD groups emerged between Time 1 and Time 2. Severity and persistence of DLD were related to interference control and working memory; the impact on working memory was stronger. Selective attention was unrelated to DLD severity and persistence. Conclusions: Age and DLD severity and persistence determine whether or not children with DLD show EF weaknesses. Interference control is most clearly impaired in children with DLD who are 6 years and older. Visuospatial working memory is impaired in children with severe and persistent DLD. Selective attention is spared.

• Publisher: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
• Subject: Age Differences / Attention / Attention Control / Child development / Children / Children & youth / Clinical Diagnosis / Correlation / Developmental Disabilities / Executive Function / Foreign Countries / Impaired control / Individual Differences / Individualized Instruction / Intelligence Tests / Interference (Learning) / Language / Language Acquisition / Language disorders / Language Impairments / Language Tests / Learning transfer / Longitudinal Studies / Mediation / Medical diagnosis / Memory / Nonverbal Ability / Printers (Equipment) / Selective attention / Severity / Severity (of Disability) / Short Term Memory / Spatial Ability / Spatial memory / Task performance / Verbal Ability / Visual memory / Young Children