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Sustained Attention in Developmental Language Disorder and Its Relation to Working Memory and Language
Erin Smolak1, Karla K McGregor1,2, Tim Arbisi-Kelm1
1Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE.
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research : JSLHR
|November 9, 2020
Summary
Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) show significant deficits in sustained attention compared to typically developing peers. These attention difficulties correlate with working memory and language skills in DLD, but not in typical development.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Linguistics
Background:
- Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) is associated with deficits in domain-general cognitive abilities.
- Sustained attention is a critical cognitive function that may be impaired in DLD.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare sustained attention in children with DLD versus typical language development (TLD).
- To investigate the interrelations between visual-spatial sustained attention, working memory, and language abilities in both groups.
Main Methods:
- Participants: 67 seven-year-old children (25 with DLD, 42 with TLD).
- Assessment: Visual-spatial sustained attention, visual-spatial working memory, and narrative language ability.
- Group comparison and correlational analyses were performed.
Main Results:
- Children with DLD exhibited significantly lower visual-spatial sustained attention performance than children with TLD.
- Significant correlations were found between sustained attention, working memory, and language ability within the DLD group.
- No significant correlations were observed between these cognitive measures in the TLD group.
Conclusions:
- Children with DLD demonstrate domain-general deficits in sustained attention.
- The findings suggest that domain-general cognition, particularly sustained attention, plays a role in language development and may be a target for intervention in DLD.
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