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Updated: Jul 15, 2026
09:05
Assessing Working Memory in Children: The Comprehensive Assessment Battery for Children – Working Memory (CABC-WM)
Published on: June 12, 2017
Speed of processing, working memory, and language impairment in children
Laurence B Leonard1, Susan Ellis Weismer, Carol A Miller
1Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, 500 Oval Drive, Heavilon Hall, Purdue University, West Lafeyette, IN 47907, USA. xdxl@purdue.edu
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research : JSLHR
|April 28, 2007
Summary
Processing speed and working memory measures significantly predict language impairment (LI) in children. Verbal working memory was the strongest predictor, accounting for substantial variance in language test scores.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Linguistics
Background:
- Children with language impairment (LI) often exhibit deficits in processing speed and working memory compared to typically developing peers.
- Understanding the interplay between cognitive processing and language development is crucial for identifying underlying mechanisms of LI.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between processing speed and working memory measures in children.
- To determine if these cognitive measures can explain the language impairment observed in children with LI.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 14-year-old children with LI and their typically developing peers completed various processing speed and working memory tasks.
- Confirmatory factor analyses were employed to assess the dimensionality of cognitive measures, including models with a general speed factor.
- Latent variable regression analyses were conducted to examine predictive relationships.
Main Results:
- Processing speed and working memory were best represented as separable factors, with distinct verbal and nonverbal processing components identified.
- The cognitive models collectively explained 62% of the variance in composite language test scores.
- Verbal working memory emerged as the most significant contributor to this explained variance.
Conclusions:
- Cognitive processing factors, particularly verbal working memory, play a substantial role in language disorders.
- These findings enhance our understanding of the complex relationship between cognitive abilities and language impairment in children.
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