Working Memory Deficits in Poor Comprehenders Reflect Underlying Language Impairments

The role of vocabulary, working memory and inference making ability in reading comprehension in Down syndrome

“…Ten of the 13 had discrepancies greater than 15 standard score points (1 standard deviation). In terms of age equivalent scores all the children had a reading comprehension age that was more than 12 months below their single word reading age, in-line with the criteria used by Nation and Snowling (1999) to identifiy poor comprehenders.…”

“…We included measures of vocabulary and verbal working memory as these have been found to be related to reading comprehension in typically developing children (Muter et al 2004;Oakhill, Cain & Bryant, 2003a) and found to be impaired in poor comprehenders (Catts, et al 2005;Nation et al 1999). A verbal working memory measure such as listening recall requires both the processing and storage of verbal information.…”

“…There is also evidence for deficits in higher level processes such as verbal working memory (Nation, Adams, Bowyer-Crane & Snowling, 1999), comprehension monitoring (Oakhill, Hartt & Samols, 2005) and inference generation (Cain, Oakhill, Barnes & Bryant, 2001). argue that a difficulty making inferences is causally related to the reading comprehension deficit as such difficulties are poorer than expected given overall comprehension level.…”

A structural analysis of working memory and related cognitive skills in young children

“…Links have been found between these working memory abilities and attainments in the areas of reading (e.g., De Jong, 1998;Swanson, 1994), mathematics (e.g., Bull & Scerif, 2001;Mayringer & Wimmer, 2000;Siegal & Ryan, 1989), and language comprehension (e.g., Nation, Adams, Bowyer-Crane, & Snowling, 1999;Seigneuric, Ehrlich, Oakhill, & Yuill, 2000). Measures of working memory at school entry (at 4 or 5 years, in the UK) have also been found to provide excellent predictors of childrenÕs success in national assessments of scholastic abilities up to 3 years later (Gathercole, Brown, & Pickering, 2003).…”

A compreensão leitora de jovens e adultos tardiamente escolarizados

“…O vocabulário pode também mediar o desempenho da memória de trabalho (Nation, Adams, Bowyer-Crane, & Snowling, 1999), o que auxiliaria o processamento das informações no texto e a realização de inferências. Um texto é mais facilmente lembrado quando o leitor conhece o signifi cado das palavras.…”