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Assessing Working Memory in Children: The Comprehensive Assessment Battery for Children – Working Memory (CABC-WM)
Published on: June 12, 2017
Working memory development in children with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities.
M J Van der Molen1, L A Henry, J E H Van Luit
1Department of Psychology and Education, EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Journal of Intellectual Disability Research : JIDR
|June 28, 2013
Summary
Working memory (WM) in children with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities develops until age 15, but verbal WM plateaus at age 10. This early plateau may explain weaker verbal WM skills in this population.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Working memory (WM) is crucial for cognitive development.
- Mild to borderline intellectual disabilities (MBID) can impact cognitive functions.
- Understanding WM development in MBID is essential for targeted interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the developmental trajectory of working memory in children with MBID aged 9-16.
- To examine the relationship between working memory and scholastic skills (arithmetic, reading) in this population.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study of 197 children with MBID (ages 9-16).
- Assessment of short-term memory, working memory, inhibition, arithmetic, and reading skills.
- Utilized Baddeley's working memory model as a theoretical framework.
Main Results:
- Working memory, visuospatial short-term memory, and inhibition developed until approximately age 15.
- Verbal short-term memory development ceased around age 10.
- Verbal short-term memory correlated with single-word reading; inhibition correlated with arithmetic.
Conclusions:
- Verbal short-term memory development in children with MBID plateaus significantly earlier than in typically developing children.
- This early developmental plateau in verbal short-term memory may underlie persistent difficulties in this cognitive domain for children with MBID.
- Findings highlight the need for tailored educational and therapeutic approaches addressing specific WM deficits in MBID.
Keywords:
arithmeticinhibitionintellectual disabilitiesshort-term memoryspeeded readingworking memoryMore Related Videos
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