The Relationship Between Executive Function and Language Abilities in Grade School Children

1. The Relationship Between Executive Function and Language Abilities in Grade School Children By: Jacquelyn Liesen Faculty Mentors: Mrs. Jill Fahy & Dr. Rebecca Throneburg

2. Executive Functions • High-Order Cognitive abilities • Cognitive Processes • Attentional Control and Shifting • Inhibition • Working Memory • Fundamental Components • Goal Selection • Planning/Organizing • Initiation/Persistence • Flexibility/Shifting • Self-monitoring/regulation

3. Development of Executive Functions & Language Executive Functions • Longest developmental phase in humans • Birth through mid-20s • Developmental spurts correspond with frontal lobe maturity • Attentional and inhibitory control • Rapid development in first few years of life • Planning/organization • Emerging skills throughout childhood • More sophisticated in adolescence • Flexibility/shifting • Emerges in early school-age • Matures in adolescence, early 20s • Self-monitoring • Not fully developed til late adolescence/early 20s Language • Critical period 0-3 • Morphology • Generally mastered by age five • Vocabulary acquisition • Shifts from oral exposure to written exposure • Proceeds throughout school years, adolescence • Syntax • Spoken syntax levels off in early school years • Written syntax becomes more complex

4. Literature Review: Relationship Between Language and EFs • Few studies in this area • Most involve isolated assessment of EF skills in un-naturalistic environments, with minimal language assessment • Fewer still have evaluated EF behaviors in naturalistic environments • Research has concluded • Children with SLI may have a deficit in working memory (Hoffman & Gillam, Marton & Schwartz) • Significance between preschooler's narrative language abilities and inhibition, working memory, flexibility, and planning (Trainor) • Typically developing adolescents and those with SLI differ in executive functions on the BRIEF (Hughes, Turkstra, and Wulfeck)

5. Research Questions • What is the relationship between executive functions and receptive language skills in typically developing children ages six and eight years of age? • What is the relationship between executive functions and expressive language skills in typically developing children ages six and eight years of age? • What is the relationship between executive functions and structure language skills in typically developing children ages six and eight years of age? • What is the relationship between executive functions and content language skills in typically developing children ages six and eight years of age?

6. Subjects • Attending a school in Central Illinois in a regular education classroom

7. Assessment Measures: Language • Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-4 • Receptive language • Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-4 • Language skills • Core Language Score • Expressive Language Index • Receptive Language Index • Language Content Index • Language Structure Index • Working Memory Index

8. Assessment Measures: Executive Functions • Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Functions – Parent Form • Parents’ rating of executive function ability in naturalistic environment • Initiate • Working Memory • Plan/Organize • Organization of Materials • Monitor • Inhibit Control • Shift Control • Emotional Control • Global Executive Composite • T-scores of 65 and above indicate clinical significance/area of concern

9. Results • Means and Standard Deviations of BRIEF Standard scores represented as T-scores with mean of 50 and a SD of +/-15. T-scores c>65 are considered clinically significant (higher score = more impairment)

10. Results • Means and Standard Deviations of CELF Mean=100. Typical performance = +/- SD of 15

11. Results • Means and Standard Deviations of PPVT Mean=100. Typical performance = +/- SD of 15

12. Relationship between PPVT and BRIEF Parent No significant correlations

13. Sig at the * = .05 ** = .01 level Relationship between BRIEF &CELF

14. Clinical Implications • Suggests that expressive communication skills engage not only semantics & syntax, but also EFs. • Expressive language skills are particularly related to planning and organizing, shifting, monitoring, and initiating • Indicate children with weak expressive language skills may also have weak executive function skills. • Successful use of compensatorystrategiesis dependent upon the presence of intact executive functions • Speech-language pathologists should assess children’s executive functions in addition to language • Avoid assuming that intact executive function skills are available to compensate for weak language skills

15. Limitations • Small sample with similar demographics. • Executive function behaviors are based on parent report only, without use of direct measures. • Did not assess language in naturalistic environments

16. Future research • Similar research to validate findings • Subtypes of children with specific language impairment (semantic, syntactic) • Treatment of executive functions for children with language impairments

17. References • Anderson, P. (2002). Assessment and development of executive function (EF) during childhood. Child Neuropsychology, 8, 71-82. • Anderson, V. A., Anderson, P., Northam, E., Jacobs, R., & Catroppa, C. (2001). Development of executive functions through late childhood and adolescence in and australian sample. Developmental Neuropsychology, 20, 385-406. • Dunn, L., & Dunn, D. (Ed.). (2007). Peabody picture vocabulary test, fourth edition. Minneapolis, MN: Pearson Assessments. • Gioia, G. A., Isquith, P. K., Guy, S. C., & Kenworthy, L. (2000). Behavior rating inventory of executive function. Child Neuropsychology, 6, 235-238. • Hoffman, L. M., & Gillam, R. B. (2004). Verbal and spatial information processing constraints in children with specific language impairment. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 47, 114-125. doi: 1092-4388/04/4701-0114 • Hughes, D. M., Turkstra, L. S., & Wulfeck, B. B. (2009). Parent and self-ratings of executive function in adolescents with specific language impairment. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 44(6), 901-916 doi: 10.3109/13682820802425693

18. References • Im-Bolter, N., Johnson, J., & Pascual-Leone, J. (2006). Processing limitations in children with specific language impairment: The role of executive function. Child Development, 77, 1822-1841. • Marton, K., & Schwartz, R. G. (2003). Working memory capacity and language processes in children with specific language impairment. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 46, 1138-1153. doi: 1092-4388/03/4605-1138 • Richard, G. J., & Fahy, J. K. (2005). The source for development of executive functions. East Moline, Illinois: Linguisystems. • Trainor, K. (2010). The relationship between preschool executive function skills and oral narrative skills. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, Illinois. • Ye, Z., & Zhou, X. (2009). Executive control in language processing. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 33, 1168-1177. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2009.03.003.