[Correlation of Phonological STM-Performances with Language-Based Dimensions in Children with APD]

Phonological short-term memory (PSTM) is a functional component in language processing. This study investigated the association between some language-based dimensions of an eclectic test battery for auditory processing disorders (APD) and test performance in PSTM (recall for digits, sentences; non-word repetition).

Correlation analyses in control-group comparisons.

n=178 children; 91 children diagnosed with APD (51%) visiting 2nd-4th grade of a primary school; 87 second- to fourth-graders with typical development 49%).

Different patterns were found not only between pSTM-tests and verbal-acoustic test tasks, but above all between children with and without APD. Neither pSTM for digits, nor for sentences or non-word repetition showed significant associations with a verbal-acoustic task for children without APD. In contrast, this was the case in children with APD in some pSTM measures with phoneme identification, phoneme analysis and dichotic word recognition (r=0.29-0.41; p<0.005, Bonferroni-adjusted). Obviously, pSTM is--besides variance according to the specific test tasks--a functional component which condensed in the verbal-acoustic test performance only in children with APD.

This means that in primary school age, the role of pSTM and verbal-acoustic tasks is influenced by auditory processes in children with APD.