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Executive function, higher-order cognitive skills necessary for controlling thought, attention, and action, has been identified as an area of weakness among children with specific language impairment (SLI). There is fairly consistent evidence that children with SLI have deficits on some components of executive function including working memory and inhibition. However, a third component of executive function, cognitive flexibility is relatively understudied. Cognitive flexibility refers to the ability to switch attention between stimuli, stimulus properties, or tasks. Results from the few studies that have considered cognitive flexibility in SLI are mixed with regard to whether this component is affected in SLI. We compared preschool children with SLI to typical preschoolers using the Dimensional Change Card Sort task, a measure of cognitive flexibility, and found that the SLI group performed significantly worse than typical peers. These findings add to mounting evidence of executive function deficits associated with SLI and suggest that preschoolers with SLI demonstrate weaker cognitive flexibility than peers with typical language development.
Research supported by NIDCD F32DC014188
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