The Complex Relation between Executive Functions and Language in Preschoolers with Developmental Language Disorders

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Neuropsychology
• Linguistics

Background:

• Growing international research interest in the link between linguistic difficulties and cognitive impairments in children with developmental language disorders (DLDs).
• Executive functions (EF) are often found to be impaired in children with DLDs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the relationship between difficulties in two key components of EF (updating and inhibition) and the linguistic and narrative skills of preschoolers with DLDs.
• To compare the EF and linguistic skills of children with DLDs to typically developing peers.

Main Methods:

• Updating skills assessed using forward and backward digit recall (Wechsler Scales).
• Inhibition abilities evaluated via Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment (NEPSY-II) tasks.
• Linguistic skills assessed through a comprehensive battery (BVL_4-12), covering phonology, lexicon, grammar, and narrative production.

Main Results:

• Children with DLDs performed significantly lower on both updating and inhibitory tasks compared to controls.
• DLD group exhibited linguistic deficits in articulation/phonology, grammar production/comprehension, and lexical informativeness in narratives.
• Executive function measures showed significant correlations with linguistic and narrative performance in children with DLDs.

Conclusions:

• Confirms a significant association between executive function performance and linguistic skills in children with DLDs.
• Suggests that assessing executive functions is crucial for developing targeted early intervention and rehabilitation programs for children with DLDs.