ERIC Number: EJ1038947
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014-Feb
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0922-4777
EISSN: N/A
What Is Not Working in Working Memory of Children with Literacy Disorders? Evidence from a Three-Year-Longitudinal Study
Fischbach, Anne; Könen, Tanja; Rietz, Chantal S.; Hasselhorn, Marcus
Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, v27 n2 p267-286 Feb 2014
The goals of this study were to explore the deficits in working memory associated with literacy disorders (i.e. developmental disorders of reading and/or spelling) and the developmental trajectories of these working memory deficits. The performance of 28 children with literacy disorders was compared to a non-disabled control group with the same group size at five bi-annual times of measurement in a three-year-longitudinal study beginning at the end of primary school (9.5 years of age). Storage capacity and central-executive working memory were assessed in phonological and visual-spatial modalities, the latter under static and dynamic conditions. Overall, children with literacy disorders were outperformed by their typical developing peers in all phonological and in dynamic visual-spatial storage and central-executive tasks except for the static visual-spatial storage task. Results at single times of measurement revealed that the most consistent deficit was found in the storage capacity of the phonological loop. An additional central-executive impairment is supported by low backward spans. The causes for output deficits in dynamic visual-spatial tasks and good performance under static visual-spatial condition are discussed.
Descriptors: Short Term Memory, Longitudinal Studies, Executive Function, Literacy, Phonology, Disabilities, Visual Perception, Spatial Ability, Task Analysis, Performance, Elementary School Students, Correlation, Measurement
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A