Risk Factors / Causes > Cognitive Studies of Children with SLI
Processing Abilities in Children with Specific Language Impairment
This area of research evaluates if processing capacity accounts for oral language impairment in adolescents who have a history of specific language impairment (SLI). Performance on various processing measures is assessed in 8th and 10th grades for children with typical spoken language abilities, SLI, and nonspecific language impairment (NLI). Data from these same children during the elementary school period is used to determine the stability of processing abilities and the degree to which the children's earlier performance on processing tasks predicts later language abilities.
A new direction of research that has been undertaken in this project entails imaging studies: both functional neuroimaging (fMRI's) and
electroencephalography (EEG, or the recording of electrical activity along the scalp). Findings from this study are being used, along with behavioral data, to better understand if processing capacity limitations play a role in developmental language disorders.
Processing Abilities in Children with Reading Disabilities
What is the role of processing capacity limitations in children with reading disabilities? This study examines the relation between working memory capacity, oral language processing, and reading abilities. Performance on various linguistic and spatial working memory measures is assessed in 8th and 10th grades for poor readers and good readers; children with reading comprehension deficits are considered separately from those with decoding difficulties. Data from these same children during the elementary school period are used to determine the degree to which the children's earlier performance on processing tasks can predict later reading abilities.
