Effects of general processing capacity and sustained selective attention on temporal processing performance of children with specific language impairment

Abstract

This study investigated the potential influences of general processing capacity and sustained selective attention on the temporal processing of a group of children with specific language impairment (SLI) and a group of age-matched (CA) controls. Children completed a sustained selective auditory attention task and two speech processing tasks, the Speech Identification Task, representing a cognitively more complex task, and a standard speech discrimination task, representing a cognitively less complex task. The speech stimuli included two-formant, 40-ms transition [ba] and [da] consonantvowel (CV) syllables and the nonstop CV syllable [sa]. We hypothesized, in accordance with Tallal's temporal processing deficit view, that if SLI children have a fundamental deficit in temporal processing, they should demonstrate poor performance on both speech processing tasks relative to CA children. By contrast, if the temporal processing problem of SLI children relates to a limitation in general processing capacity, the SLI children should show better performance on the discrimination task compared to the identification task. Alternatively, if poor sustained selective attention mediates SLI children's poor temporal processing, the SLI children should show poor performance on an independent measure of auditory attention, which in turn should account for a portion of the variance in any observed group differences in temporal processing. Results showed no group difference in sustained selective auditory attention. On the identification task, group, stimulus-type, and interaction effects emerged. SLI children performed more poorly than CA children, and stop CV syllables were identified less frequently than the nonstop CV syllable. On the discrimination task, there were no main effects or interactions for accuracy (A′ score). For the reaction time analysis, only a stimulus-type effect was found, with children responding faster to the /sa/ syllable. Results were interpreted to suggest that these SLI children did not evidence a basic temporal processing deficit. Rather, the SLI children's poor identification task performance was interpreted to reflect an interaction between these children's more limited general processing capacity and the nature of the task.

Distúrbio Específico de Linguagem: Caracterização Neuropsicológica

“…These results converge with sustained attention problems among children with SLI, as demonstrated in the literature (Buiza-Navarrete et al, 2007;Korkman et al, 1998), even though not unanimously (Hanson & Montgomery, 2002). In this regard, we must consider the possibility proposed by Spaulding et al (2008), according to whom, inconsistency in the empirical data may be rooted on the differential demands of the instruments used to assess attention.…”

“…The studies by BuizaNavarrete et al (2007) and Korkman et al (1998) report there is a defi cit in sustained attention, while Hanson and Montgomery (2002) do not. It is seems possible that these children perform similarly to their peers in certain types of attention but present greater diffi culties in others (especially selective auditory attention) (Noterdaeme, Amorosa, Mildenberger, Sitter, & Minow, 2000;Rapin et al, 2003).…”

Control of Auditory Attention in Children With Specific Language Impairment

“…As previously noted, the accuracy data revealed no significant differences between groups on the ability to match auditory words and visual representations in the presence of auditory distractors. Previous studies (e.g., Hanson & Montgomery, 2002) used accuracy measures alone to determine that children with SLI did not differ from children with TLD on measures of auditory attention. A behavioral task without RT measurements might have led to the same incorrect conclusion in this case.…”

“…Attention control is a critical component of many information and language processing models (Baddeley, 1996;Cowan et al, 2005). Comorbid deficits in attention are often observed in children with SLI (Cantwell & Baker, 1991;Cohen et al, 2000;Snowling, Bishop, Stothard, Chipchase, & Kaplan, 2006), and limitations in sustained and selective attention have been identified in children with SLI (Finneran, Francis, & Leonard, 2009;Hanson & Montgomery, 2002;Spaulding, 2010;Spaulding, Plante, & Vance, 2008). However, more research is needed to determine the nature of the attention difficulties and how they might affect language processing throughout childhood.…”

Novel Morpheme Learning in Monolingual and Bilingual Children

“…First, RT measures could yield crucial information for the effort of designing a morpheme-learning task that would capture typical language abilities in bilingual children. Processing deficits are well established in children with SLI (e.g., Bishop, 1992;Gathercole & Baddeley, 1990;Hanson & Montgomery, 2002;Leonard et al, 2007;Leonard, McGregor, & Allen, 1992), such that children with SLI are characterized by slower RTs than their typically developing peers on a wide array of linguistic and nonlinguistic tasks. Therefore, the speed-rather than (or in addition to) the accuracy with which children perform the morpheme-learning task-could speak to the status of their language system.…”