VERBAL FLUENCY IN CHILDREN WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY: INFLUENCE OF BASIC EXECUTIVE COMPONENTS
Sažetak
Phonemic and semantic fluency tasks are frequently used to differentiate executive control roles and the integrity of lexical-semantic representation. The main goal of this study is to determine the influence of basic executive components on phonemic and semantic productivity in children with mild intellectual disability.
The sample consisted of 95 children with unspecified mild intellectual disability (MID), ages 10-13.11. Phonemic fluency was assessed by the Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT), while semantic fluency was assessed by the Category Naming Test (CNT). Cognitive flexibility was assessed by Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and Trail Making Test (TMT). Number Manipulation Task (NMT) was used for the verbal working memory assessment, while Day/Night Stroop Task was used for the assessment of inhibitory control.
The results analysis showed that all of the assessed EF components significantly affect phonemic productivity. Semantic productivity significantly depends on WCST and TMT performance. Verbal working memory and inhibitory control do not significantly contribute to semantic productivity.
The results of our study indicate that the discrepancy between phonemic and semantic productivity in children with MID could be directly associated with the basic executive functions components.
Key words: verbal fluency, executive functions, mild intellectual disability
Reference
Barton, J. A. (1988). Problem-solving strategies in learning disabled and normal boys: Developmental and instructional effects. Journal of Educational Psychology, 80, 184-191. doi: 10.1037/0022-0663.80.2.184
Baddeley, A. (1992). Working memory. Science, 255, 556-559.
Baker, S., Gersten, R., & Scanlon, D. (2002). Procedural facilitators and cognitive strategies: Tools for unraveling the mysteries of comprehension and the writing process, and for providing meaningful access to the general curriculum. Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 17, 65-77. doi: 10.1111/1540-5826.00032
Borkowski, J. G., & Muthukrishna, N. (1992). Moving metacognition into the classroom: Working models and effective strategy teaching. In M. Pressley, K. R. Harris, & J. T. Guthrie (Eds.), Promoting Academic Competency and Literacy in Schools (pp. 477-501). New York, NY: Academic Press.
Bray, N. W., Fletcher, K. L., & Turner, L. A. (1997). Cognitive competencies and strategy use in individuals with mental retardation. In W.E. Jr. MacLean (Ed.), Ellis’ Handbook of Mental Deficiency: Psychological Theory and Research 3rd ed. (pp. 197-217). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Brocki, K. C., & Bohlin, G. (2004). Executive functions in children aged 6 to 13: a dimensional and developmental study. Developmental Neuropsychology, 26, 571-593. doi: 10.1207/s15326942dn2602_3
Buha, N., & Gligorović, M. (2012). Relationship between working memory and intellectual functioning in children with mild intellectual disability (in Serbian). Specijalna edukacija i rehabilitacija, 11, 21-38. doi:10.5937/specedreh1201021B
Danielsson, H., Henry, L., Rönnberg, J., & Nilsson, L. G. (2010). Executive functions in individuals with intellectual disability. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 31, 1299-1304. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2010.07.012
Espy, K. A., Kaufman, P. M., Glisky, M. L., & McDiarmid, M. D. (2001). New procedures to assess executive functions in preschool children. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 15, 46-58. doi: 10.1076/clin.15.1.46.1908
Filipetti, V. A., & Allegri, R. (2011). Verbal fluency in spanish-speaking children: Analysis model according to task type, clustering, and switching strategies and performance over time. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 25, 413-436. doi: 10.1080/13854046.2011.559481
Gerstadt, C. L., Hong, Y. J., & Diamond, A. (1994). The relationship between cognition and action: Performance of 3.5 to 7-year-olds on stroop-like day-night test. Cognition, 53, 129–153. doi: 10.1016/0010-0277(94)90068-x
Gligorović, M., & Buha, N. (2011). Verbal fluency in children with mild intellectual disability (in Serbian). Specijalna edukacija i rehabilitacija, 10, 595-612.
Gligorović, M., & Buha, N. (2013). Problem solving verbal strategies in children with mild intellectual disability (in Serbian). Specijalna edukacija i rehabilitacija, 12, 11-23. doi:10.5937/specedreh12-3333
Gourgey, A. F. (2001). Metacognition in basic skills instruction. In H. J. Hartman (Ed.), Metacognition in Learning and Instruction (pp.17-32). Dordrecht, Nederland: Kluwer Academic.
Hartman, H. J. (2001). Developing students’ metacognitive knowledge and skills. In H. J. Hartman (Ed.), Metacognition in Learning and Instruction (pp. 33–68). Dordrecht, Nederland: Kluwer Academic.
Heaton, R. K., Chelune, G. J., Talley, J. L., Kay, G. G., & Curtiss, G. (1993). Wisconsin Card Sorting Test Manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
Hurks, P. P. M., Vles, J. S. H., Hendriksen, J. G. M., Kalff, A. C., Feron, F. J. M., Kroes, M.,…Jolles, J. (2006). Semantic category fluency versus initial letter fluency over 60s as a measure of automatic and controlled processing in healthy school-aged children. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 28, 684–695. doi: 10.1080/13803390590954191
Jurado, M. B., & Roselli, M. (2007). The elusive nature of executive functions: a review of our current understanding. Neuropsychology Review, 17, 213-233. doi: 10.1007/s11065-007-9040-z
Kail, R. (1993). The role of global mechanisms in developmental change in speed of processing. In M. L. Howe, & R. Pasnak (Eds.), Emerging Themes in Cognitive Development (Vol. 1) (pp. 97-116). New York, NY: Springer-Verlag.
Klenberg, L., Korkman, M., & Lahti-Nuuttila, P. (2001). Differential development of attention and executive functions in 3- to 12-year-old Finnish children. Developmental Neuropsychology, 20, 407–428. doi: 10.1207/S15326942DN2001_6
Koren, R., & Kofman, O. (2005). Analysis of word clustering in verbal fluency of school-aged children. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 20, 1087-1104. doi: 10.1016/j.acn.2005.06.012
Levelt, W. J. M. (1999). Models of word production. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 3, 223–232. doi: 10.1016/s1364-6613(99)01319-4
Levin, H. S., Culhane, K. A., Hartmann, J., Evankovich, K., & Mattson, A. J. (1991). Developmental changes in performance on tests of purported frontal lobe functioning. Developmental Neuropsychology, 7, 377-395. doi: 10.1080/87565649109540499
Lukić, V. (1983). Children’s Lexical Frequency Dictionary (in Serbian). Beograd, SFRJ: Prosveta.
Luo, L., Luk, G., & Bialystok, E. (2010). Effect of language proficiency and executive control on verbal fluency performance in bilinguals. Cognition, 114, 29–41. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2009.08.014
Maier, S. F., Peterson, C., & Schwartz, B. (2000). From helplessness to hope: the seminal career of Martin Seligman. In J. E. Gillham (Ed.), The Science of Optimism and Hope (pp. 11-37). Radnor, PA: Templeton foundation press.
Merrill, E. C., & Taube, M. (1996). Negative priming and mental retardation: the processing of distractor information. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 101, 63-71.
Peterson, C., Maier, S.F., & Seligman, M. E. P. (1993). Learned Helplessness: A Theory for the Age of Control. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Reitan, R. M. (1992). Trail Making Test: Manual for Administration and Scoring. South Tucson, AZ: Reitan Neuropsychology Laboratory.
Riva, D., Nichelli, F., & Devoti, M. (2000). Developmental aspects of verbal fluency and confrontation naming in children. Brain and Language, 71, 267-284. doi: 10.1006/brln.1999.2166
Sanders, K. Y. (2006). Overprotection and lowered expectations of persons with disabilities: The unforeseen consequences. Work: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment and Rehabilitation, 27, 181-188.
Sauzeon, H., Lestage, P., Raboutet, C., N’Kaoua, B., & Claverie, B. (2004). Verbal fluency output in children aged 7–16 as a function of the production criterion: Qualitative analysis of clustering, switching processes, and semantic network exploitation. Brain and Language, 89, 192-202. doi: 10.1016/S0093-934X(03)00367-5
Smidts, D. P., Jacobs, R., & Anderson, V. (2004). The Object Classification Task for Children (OCTC): A measure of concept generation and mental flexibility in early childhood. Developmental Neuropsychology, 26, 385-401. doi: 10.1207/s15326942dn2601_2
Strauss, E., Sherman, E. M. S., & Spreen, O. (2006). A Compendium of Neuropsychological Tests: Administration, Norms and Commentary (3rd. ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Troyer, A. K. (2000). Normative data for clustering and switching on verbal fluency tasks. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 22, 370-378. doi: 10.1076/1380-3395(200006)22:3;1-V;FT370
Turner, L. A., Hale, C. A., & Borkowski, J. G. (1996). Influence of intelligence on memory development. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 100, 468-480.
Welsh, M. C. (2001). The prefrontal cortex and the development of executive functions. In: Handbook of Brain and Behavior Development (Eds A. Kalverboer & A. Gramsbergen), pp. 767-789. Kluwer, Dordrecht.
Welsh, M. C., Friedman, S. L., & Spieker, S. J. (2006). Executive functions in developing children: current conceptualizations and questions for the future. In: Blackwell Handbook of Early Childhood Development (Eds K. McCartney & D. Phillips), pp. 167-187. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford.
Welsh, M. C., Pennington, B. F., & Groisser, D. B. (1991). A normative-developmental study of executive function: A window on prefrontal function in children. Developmental Neuropsychology, 7, 131-149. doi: 10.1080/87565649109540483