Working memory training enhances complex syntax in children with Developmental Language Disorder

Abstract

Linguistic deficits attested in children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) have been explained in terms of limitations in working memory (WM). The goal of this research is to assess whether a tailored WM program can improve the syntactic abilities of children with DLD and those with typical development (TD). We created a novel iPad application consisting of five activities specifically designed to train the components of WM that have been shown to be the most predictive of performance on tests assessing complex syntax. Thirty-two children with DLD (M = 9;0) and 18 with TD (M = 8;5) followed the WM training (lasting 12 hours). Results show significant improvement in verbal WM (direct effects) in both TD and DLD groups, and in sentence repetition (transfer effects) in the DLD group, with the most pronounced improvements observed for complex syntactic structures. This progression is not observed for 38 age-matched children of the same age who followed an alternative, global scholastic training (20 DLD, 18 TD), which proves the specific efficacy of our WM training. The logical next step will be to incorporate the training into the therapy of children with DLD in order to reinforce the potential benefit of their interventions.

A Preliminary Examination of the Impact of Working Memory Training on Syntax and Processing Speed in Children with ASD

“…The empirical data presented above, particularly our training studies in DLD (Delage et al, , 2021Stanford et al, 2019), suggest that specific WM training could have a positive impact on the mastery of complex syntax in children with ASD. We extended the methods of the DLD WM training study to a population of children with ASD, using the Magic Memory (Delage et al, 2017) training program.…”

“…Findings revealed both direct benefits on untrained WM tasks and indirect benefits on expressive syntax. Specifically, the WM-training group had more accurate elicited production of 3rd person accusative clitics (Stanford et al, 2019) and repetition of complex sentences (Delage et al, , 2021. The active comparison group showed no such improvements, suggesting the specificity of the observed effects of the target WM training.…”

“…These findings have been interpreted to suggest a comorbidity between ASD and DLD, sometimes attributed to a shared etiology and common risk genotype (Bishop, 2010; but see Williams et al, 2008). High co-morbidity between the two populations suggests that training that has been shown to be effective in children with DLD could be equally beneficial in ASD, prompting the current study in which we train working memory (WM) in participants with ASD and observe transfer effects to complex syntax, as already demonstrated in children with DLD (Delage et al, , 2021Stanford et al, 2019).…”

“…Given that WM limitations in children with DLD predicted their (deficient) complex syntax abilities, WM training in this population was the logical continuation of this research area. Our previous work (Delage et al, , 2021Stanford et al, 2019) evaluated the effects of WM training on syntactic abilities of children with DLD via a novel WM training program, Magic Memory (Delage et al, 2017). This program included exercises targeting the aspects of WM most predictive of syntax (Delage & Frauenfelder, 2019, 2020.…”

“…We predicted (1) a significant increase in WM scores following training (direct effects on WM); and (2) a significant improvement in complex syntax (transfer effects on syntax). This study did not include an active control group of participants receiving an alternative training regimen, since our previous studies with children with DLD or typical development (Delage et al, , 2021Stanford et al, 2019) found no improvement in WM or syntax for participants receiving an alternative training program focusing on academic skills. There was no obvious reason to anticipate different results with a second active control group of ASD participants; thus, we focused our recruitment efforts on children to be included in the target (WM) training program.…”