Comparison of performance on tests of executive functions between children with and without specific language impairments

Language is a neurologically based behavior. While language acquisition is part of the normal development of a child, not all children develop language within the established time line. There are some children, who do not have an underlying condition that would interfere with the acquisition of language; yet, they fail to acquire language normally. These children have specific language impairments. There are three main theories on the underlying causal mechanism for specific language impairments: (1) deficient phonological representation, (2) deficient linguistic memory, and (3) general cognitive capacity deficit.;Language is not limited to only one area in the brain. There are both cortical and subcortical loops involved in both the processing and production of language. Although the frontal lobe is involved in both language and executive function, there is a lack of research on executive functions in children with specific language impairments. The aim of this study was to compare the performance on tests of executive function between children with and without specific language impairments. The subjects of this study were twenty-three students enrolled in the Ross Multidisciplinary Diagnostic and Treatment Program. The subjects were assigned to one of two groups based on their performance on a measure of language development. All subjects received the battery of selected tests.;The results of this study did not reveal a significant difference between the groups on any of the tests administered. However, comparison of the two groups with normative data revealed striking deficits in executive function for subjects in both groups. The majority of children performed in a borderline area on the executive function tasks. These findings suggest that many of the children in this study are likely to have deficits in phonological representation as well as linguistic memory or deficient general cognitive capacities. Continued research with larger groups of children who have learning disabilities is needed to fully understand the nature of the differences between the learning disabled child with and without primary spoken language deficits.