RETRACTED: Do Deaf Children Delay in Their Executive Functioning Due to Their Delayed Language Abilities?

Abstract

Language use during daily interactions plays a key role in executive functioning. Given that increasingly sophis- ticated language is required for effective executive functioning as an individual matures, it is likely that children with delayed language skills will have difficulties in performing tasks which are related to executive functioning. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between language ability and executive functioning in a group of deaf students who communicate using spoken Turkish, as measured by their performance on WSCT (Wisconsin Card Sorting Test). For that purpose, 82 children who are deaf were tested by means of their lan- guage skills and executive functioning abilities. Results show that, language skills have significant impact on the executive functioning of the children. Gender was found to be another factor affecting the executive functions. Results were discussed with the relevant literature.