ERIC Number: EJ1144705
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-2194
EISSN: N/A
Relationships of Attention and Executive Functions to Oral Language, Reading, and Writing Skills and Systems in Middle Childhood and Early Adolescence
Berninger, Virginia; Abbott, Robert; Cook, Clayton R.; Nagy, William
Journal of Learning Disabilities, v50 n4 p434-449 Jul-Aug 2017
Relationships between attention/executive functions and language learning were investigated in students in Grades 4 to 9 (N = 88) with and without specific learning disabilities (SLDs) in multiword syntax in oral and written language (OWL LD), word reading and spelling (dyslexia), and subword letter writing (dysgraphia). Prior attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis was correlated only with impaired handwriting. Parental ratings of inattention, but not hyperactivity, correlated with measures of written language but not oral language. Sustaining switching attention correlated with writing the alphabet from memory in manuscript or by keyboard and fast copying of a sentence with all the letters of the alphabet. Multiple regressions based on a principal component for composites of multiple levels of language (subword, word, and syntax/text) showed that measures of attention and executive function involving language processing rather than ratings of attention and executive function not specifically related to language accounted for more variance and identified more unique predictors in the composite outcomes for oral language, reading, and writing systems. Inhibition related to focused attention uniquely predicted outcomes for the oral language system. Findings are discussed in reference to implications for assessing and teaching students who are still learning to pay attention to heard and written language and self-regulate their language learning during middle childhood and adolescence.
Descriptors: Correlation, Attention Control, Executive Function, Multiple Regression Analysis, Oral Language, Literacy, Alphabets, Factor Analysis, Learning Disabilities, Comparative Analysis, Handwriting, Parent Attitudes, Cognitive Ability, Memory, Language Processing, Inhibition, Prediction, Elementary School Students, Grade 4, Grade 9, High School Students, Language Acquisition, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Clinical Diagnosis, Spelling, Syntax, Metacognition, Children, Intelligence Tests, Achievement Tests, Cognitive Tests, Language Tests, Reading Comprehension, Cognitive Processes
SAGE Publications and Hammill Institute on Disabilities. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Grade 4; Intermediate Grades; Grade 9; Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education; High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (NIH)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children; Woodcock Johnson Psycho Educational Battery; Clinical Evaluation of Language Functions; Wechsler Individual Achievement Test
Grant or Contract Numbers: P50HD071764