The Effect of Working Memory Training on a Clinical Marker of French-Speaking Children With Developmental Language Disorder

Stanford, Emily; Durrleman, Stéphanie; Delage, Hélène

doi:10.1044/2019_ajslp-18-0238

Cited by 31 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 90 publications

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“…If WM limitations are indeed responsible for deficits computing complex syntax in SLD, it may be of interest to train WM in this population to explore the possibility that WM rehabilitation positively influences syntactic performance. In fact, such a training study with promising preliminary results is currently underway with children with DLD (Delage et al, 2017; Stanford et al, 2019). Considering the similarities between children with DLD and a subgroup of children diagnosed with SLD, it would not be unreasonable to test the efficiency of such a training program in both populations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complex syntax and working memory in children with specific learning difficulties

Stanford

Delage

2019

First Language

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Working memory (WM) limitations are frequently reported for children with specific learning disorder (SLD). However, WM capacity influences more than literacy and numeracy, as research highlights the contribution of WM to language development, in particular syntax. In this article, the authors study the effect of syntactic intervention, i.e. syntactic elements intervening between filler and gap, on comprehension in children with SLD and evaluate the relationship of this effect to WM capacity. Specifically, they assess how these children comprehend wh-questions and relative clauses. Additionally, they examine how comprehension relates to WM, measured by backward digit recall. The authors report that a subgroup of children with SLD struggle to comprehend structures containing intervention, and that WM capacity influences performance in SLD. Their conclusion is that computing a syntactic relation in which a moved object and an intervening subject share a featural specification taxes the processing system of children with SLD who have WM limitations. Thus, syntactic difficulties, although not typically associated with SLD, may form part of the SLD profile, especially when WM capacity is reduced.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complex syntax and working memory in children with specific learning difficulties

Stanford

Delage

2019

First Language

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“…This is in contrast to less morphosyntactically complex pronouns, such as subject and reflexive pronouns and first-and second-person object pronouns, which develop with relatively little difficulty (Paradis et al, 2003;Chillier-Zesiger et al, 2006;Tuller et al, 2011;Delage et al, 2016). Common non-target behavior reported for children with DLD in elicitation studies includes ungrammatical omissions of the 3p object clitics, productions with a gender error on the object clitic, or productions in which a lexical noun phrase is used instead of a more pragmatically appropriate object clitic (Tuller et al, 2011;Stanford et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Executive Functions and Morphosyntax: Distinguishing DLD From ADHD in French-Speaking Children

Stanford

Delage

2020

Front. Psychol.

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Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is commonly associated with deficits in executive functions executive functions (EF), but children with this disorder frequently demonstrate co-occurring morphosyntactic impairment when assessed using standardized tests. On the other hand, children with developmental language disorder (DLD), a population defined by impaired linguistic functioning, are often diagnosed with comorbid EF deficits. We investigated EF and morphosyntax in 60 Frenchspeaking children aged six to 12: 20 with typical development (TD), 20 with ADHD, and 20 with DLD. To obtain an EF profile for the different cognitive groups, we used standardized tests to assess lower-order EF skills, (i) selective attention and (ii) shortterm memory capacity, and higher-order EF skills, (i) working memory capacity and (ii) attention shifting. To test morphosyntax, we used (i) a standardized omnibus test that elicited a variety of complex structures and (ii) a more fine-grained probe test that assessed the production of third person object clitic pronouns, a clinical marker of DLD in French. Children with ADHD and DLD were associated with different EF and morphosyntactic profiles: children in the ADHD group demonstrated higher-order EF weakness and difficulty on the omnibus morphosyntax task, whereas children with DLD showed both lower-and higher-order limitations and struggled with both morphosyntax tasks. Our findings indicate that deficits in morphosyntax are not characteristic of ADHD but that the performance of children with ADHD can mimic morphosyntactic impairment when all-encompassing omnibus tests evaluating various and unpredictable structures are used. If morphosyntax is tested using reliable markers of atypical language development and external cognitive-load factors are optimally reduced, there are significant discrepancies in the observed ADHD-DLD outcomes. Clinical implications that include perspectives for the differential diagnosis of ADHD and DLD are discussed.

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“…For example the participants in Ruf et al (2017) received tDCS stimulation concurrent with working memory training over a period of three training sessions whereas the participants in Richmond et al (2014) tDCS enhanced working memory training over a period of 10 training sessions. Similarly, studies that have focused on improving working memory in individuals with and without DLD also include multiple sessions ( Stanford et al, 2019 ). Although the number of sessions varies across studies, a consistent finding in working memory training studies is that the programs are effective as a tool in producing reliable short-term improvements in working memory skills in individuals with cognitive disorders (i.e., DLD, ADHD, etc.…”

Section: Summary Of Results and Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tracking Changes in Frontal Lobe Hemodynamic Response in Individual Adults With Developmental Language Disorder Following HD tDCS Enhanced Phonological Working Memory Training: An fNIRS Feasibility Study

Berglund-Barraza

Tian

Basak

et al. 2020

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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Background: Current research suggests a neurobiological marker of developmental language disorder (DLD) in adolescents and young adults may be an atypical neural profile coupled with behavioral performance that overlaps with that of normal controls. Although many imaging techniques are not suitable for the study of speech and language processing in DLD populations, fNIRS may be a viable option. In this study we asked if fNIRS can be used to identify atypical cortical activation patterns in individual adults with DLD and track potential changes in cortical activation patterns following a phonological working memory training protocol enhanced with anodal HD tDCS stimulation to the presupplementary motor area (preSMA). Objective/Hypothesis: The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to determine if fNIRS can be used to identify atypical hemodynamic responses in individual young adults with DLD during active spoken word processing and, (2) to determine if fNIRS can detect changes in hemodynamic response in these same adults with DLD following anodal HD tDCS enhanced phonological working memory training. Methods: Two adult subjects with DLD (female, age 25) completed a total of two sessions of fNIRs working memory task prior to and following one session of a non-word repetition task paired with anodal HD tDCS (1.0 mA tDCS; 20 min) to the preSMA. Standardized z -scores of behavioral measures (accuracy and reaction time) and changes in hemodynamic response during an n-back working memory task for the two participants with DLD was compared to that of a normative sample of 21 age- and gender- matched normal controls (ages 18 to 25) prior to and following phonological working memory training. Results: Individual standardized z -scores for each participant with DLD indicated that prior to training, hemoglobin response in the prefrontal lobe for both participants was markedly different from each other and normal controls. Following training, standard scores showed that the hemodynamic response for both participants moved within normal limits for ROIs. Conclusion: These findings highlight the feasibility of fNIRS to establish individual differences in the link between behavior and neural patterns in single subjects with DLD, as well as track individual differences in changes in brain activity following working memory training.

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The Effect of Working Memory Training on a Clinical Marker of French-Speaking Children With Developmental Language Disorder

Cited by 31 publications

References 90 publications

Complex syntax and working memory in children with specific learning difficulties

Complex syntax and working memory in children with specific learning difficulties

Executive Functions and Morphosyntax: Distinguishing DLD From ADHD in French-Speaking Children

Tracking Changes in Frontal Lobe Hemodynamic Response in Individual Adults With Developmental Language Disorder Following HD tDCS Enhanced Phonological Working Memory Training: An fNIRS Feasibility Study

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