Verbal working memory in children with mild intellectual disabilities

• Published in: Journal of intellectual disability research 2007-02, Vol.51 (2), p.162-169
• Main Authors: Van der Molen, M. J., Van Luit, J. E. H., Jongmans, M. J., Van der Molen, M. W.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; automatic rehearsal; Biological and medical sciences; central executive; Children; Children & youth; Developmental Delays; Female; Humans; Intellectual deficiency; Intellectual Disability - epidemiology; Intelligence quotient; Learning disabilities; Male; Measures (Individuals); Medical sciences; Memory; Memory Disorders - diagnosis; Memory Disorders - epidemiology; Mental Age; mental retardation; mild intellectual disabilities; Mild Intellectual Disability; Mild Mental Retardation; Phonetics; phonological loop; Phonology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Rehearsal; Remedial Instruction; Slaves; Verbal Behavior; Wechsler Scales; Working memory
• ISSN: 0964-2633; 1365-2788
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2788.2006.00863.x

Background  Previous research into working memory of individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) has established clear deficits. The current study examined working memory in children with mild ID (IQ 55–85) within the framework of the Baddeley model, fractionating working memory into a central executive and two slave systems, the phonological loop and visuo‐spatial sketchpad. Method  Working memory was investigated in three groups: 50 children with mild ID (mean age 15 years 3 months), 25 chronological age‐matched control children (mean age 15 years 3 months) and 25 mental age‐matched control children (mean age 10 years 10 months). The groups were given multiple assessments of the phonological‐loop and central‐executive components. Results  The results showed that the children with mild ID had an intact automatic rehearsal, but performed poorly on phonological‐loop capacity and central‐executive tests when compared with children matched for chronological age, while there were only minimal differences relative to the performance of the children matched for mental age. Conclusions  This overall pattern of results is consistent with a developmental delay account of mild ID. The finding of a phonological‐loop capacity deficit has important implications for the remedial training of children with mild ID.