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Effect of Preschool Working Memory, Language, and Narrative Abilities on Inferential Comprehension at School-Age in Children with Spina Bifida Myelomeningocele and Typically Developing Children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 February 2013

Meredith Pike ,
Paul Swank ,
Heather Taylor ,
Susan Landry  and
Marcia A. Barnes
Meredith Pike
Affiliation:
Deparment of Psychology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario
Paul Swank
Affiliation:
Children's Learning Institute, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Health-Science Center-Houston, Houston, Texas
Heather Taylor
Affiliation:
Children's Learning Institute, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Health-Science Center-Houston, Houston, Texas
Susan Landry
Affiliation:
Children's Learning Institute, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Health-Science Center-Houston, Houston, Texas
Marcia A. Barnes*
Affiliation:
Children's Learning Institute, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Health-Science Center-Houston, Houston, Texas
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Marcia A. Barnes, The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Department of Pediatrics, 7000 Fannin, Suite 2431, Houston, TX 77030. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Children with spina bifida myelomeningocele (SBM) are more likely to display a pattern of good-decoding/poor comprehension than their neurologically intact peers. The goals of the current study were to (1) examine the cognitive origins of one of the component skills of comprehension, bridging inferences, from a developmental perspective and (2) to test the effects of those relations on reading comprehension achievement. Data from a sample of children with SBM and a control group (n = 78) who participated in a longitudinal study were taken from age 36-month and 9.5-year time points. A multiple mediation model provided evidence that three preschool cognitive abilities (working memory/inhibitory control, oral comprehension, narrative recall), could partially explain the relation between group and bridging inference skill. A second mediation model supported that each of the 36-month abilities had an indirect effect on reading comprehension through bridging inference skill. Findings contribute to an understanding of both typical and atypical comprehension development, blending theories from the developmental, cognitive, and neuropsychological literature. (JINS, 2013, 19, 1–10)

Keywords

Longitudinal studyReading comprehensionInhibitionLanguage developmentLearning disordersNeural tube defects
Type
Research Articles
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 19 , Issue 4 , April 2013 , pp. 390 - 399
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2013

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