Visuospatial Immediate Memory in Specific Language Impairment

Abstract

Purpose Investigations of the cognitive processes underlying specific language impairment (SLI) have implicated deficits in verbal short-term and working memory and in particular the storage and processing of phonological information. This study investigated short-term and working memory for visuospatial material for a group of children with SLI, to test whether the verbal memory impairments already established extend to the visuospatial domain. Method Fifteen children with SLI and control groups of children matched on chronological age and language age completed tests of visuospatial short-term and working memory. Results The SLI group performed comparably with age-matched control children on all measures and at a higher level than the language-age control group on several measures. Conclusions The visuospatial short-term and working memory abilities were at age-appropriate levels in this SLI group. This contrasts markedly with their impairments on tests of verbal short-term and working memory.