Investigating executive functions in children with severe speech and movement disorders using structured tasks

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Speech-Language Pathology

Background:

• Executive functions (planning, monitoring, inhibition) are crucial for goal-directed behavior.
• Language development is linked to executive function development.
• Limited research exists on executive functions in children with severe speech and motor impairments using communication aids.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate executive functions in children with severe speech and motor impairments using aided communication.
• To compare executive functions between aided communicators and typically speaking children.
• To test the hypothesis that aided communication taxes executive functions more than speech.

Main Methods:

• Twenty-nine children using communication aids and 27 typically speaking children participated.
• Structured tasks involved directing a partner to complete actions (e.g., Lego building, object guessing) using communication.
• Executive functions (planning, monitoring, impulse control) were coded from on-task behavior.

Main Results:

• Both groups successfully completed most tasks, demonstrating aided communicators' ability to direct actions.
• Planning and reduced impulsivity correlated positively with task success in both groups.
• Aided communicators performed significantly fewer tasks, took longer, and showed more performance variability, scoring lower on planning and higher on impulsivity than the speaking group.

Conclusions:

• Aided language communication appears to tax executive functions more than speech, supporting the initial hypothesis.
• Findings suggest potential differences in play experience or cognitive load associated with aided communication.
• Results have implications for interventions aimed at improving executive functions in children with motor impairments using aided communication.