Word retrieval, attention, and inhibition under the interference condition for the 3rd-4th grade students with specific language impairment

Abstract

Objectives: This study was conducted to examine word retrieval in children with specific language impairment (SLI) under the interference condition; which is known to place a high burden on verbal processing. This study investigated whether reduced word retrieval can be explained in the aspect of attention and inhibition deficiency. Methods: The participants were a total of 30 elementary school students in 3rd-4th grades, including 15 children with SLI and 15 typically developing (TD) children. A word retrieval task under an interference condition, an attention task (rapid automatized naming, RAN), a nonverbal inhibition task (Go-No-Go task), and a verbal inhibition task (STROOP Color and Word Test) were used as the experimental tasks. Accuracy, response time of word retrieval under the interference conditions, attention, and nonverbal and verbal inhibition abilities between groups were compared. Results: The children with SLI had significantly longer response time in word retrieval under the interference condition. Error analysis results showed difficulty in inhibiting unrelated words as well as interference words. Also, color RAN, object RAN and verbal inhibition, which required high levels of attention and language processing, were significantly lower than those of normal children. In the SLI group, the word retrieval response time showed a significant correlation with the response time of color and object RAN. Conclusion: Children with SLI showed a limitation in inhibiting interference stimuli and paying attention to target stimuli for semantic processing. Therefore, when treating vocabulary learning and word retrieval in children with SLI, a cognitive approach should be considered.