assessing-working-memory-children-comprehensive-assessment-battery

Assessing Working Memory in Children: The Comprehensive Assessment Battery for Children &#8211; Working Memory (CABC-WM)

The Comprehensive Assessment Battery for Children - Working Memory (CABC-WM) is a computer-based battery designed to assess different components of ...

MGH Institute of Health Professions

Some children with residual deficits in speech production also display characteristics of dyslexia; however, the causes of these disorders--in isolation or comorbidly--remain unknown. Presently, the role of phonological representations is an important construct for considering how the underlying system of phonology functions. In particular, two related skills--speech perception and phonological working memory--may provide insight into the nature of phonological representations. This study provides an exploratory investigation into the profiles of three 9-year-old children: one with residual speech errors, one with residual speech errors and dyslexia, and one who demonstrated typical, age-appropriate speech sound production and reading skills. We provide an in-depth examination of their relative abilities in the areas of speech perception, phonological working memory, vocabulary, and word reading. Based on these preliminary explorations, we suggest implications for the assessment and treatment of children with residual speech errors and/or dyslexia.

Speech Perception and Working Memory in Children with Residual Speech Errors: A Case Study Analysis.

The purpose of this study is to investigate word learning in children with dyslexia to ascertain their strengths and weaknesses during the configuration stage of word learning.

Word Learning Deficits in Children With Dyslexia.

In children with dyslexia, deficits in working memory have not been well-specified. We assessed second-grade children with dyslexia, with and without concomitant specific language impairment, and children with typical development. Immediate serial recall of lists of phonological (non-word), lexical (digit), spatial (location) and visual (shape) items were included. For the latter three modalities, we used not only standard span but also running span tasks, in which the list length was unpredictable to limit mnemonic strategies. Non-word repetition tests indicated a phonological memory deficit in children with dyslexia alone compared with those with typical development, but this difference vanished when these groups were matched for non-verbal intelligence and language. Theoretically important deficits in serial order memory in dyslexic children, however, persisted relative to matched typically developing children. The deficits were in recall of (1) spoken digits in both standard and running span tasks and (2) spatial locations, in running span only. Children with dyslexia with versus without language impairment, when matched on non-verbal intelligence, had comparable serial order memory, but differed in phonology. Because serial orderings of verbal and spatial elements occur in reading, the careful examination of order memory may allow a deeper understanding of dyslexia and its relation to language impairment. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Kathryn Cabbage

Communication Sciences and Disorders

MGH Institute of Health Professions

Assessing Working Memory in Children: The Comprehensive Assessment Battery for Children – Working Memory (CABC-WM)