Attentional Control in Preschoolers With and Without SLI

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application is guided by a theoretical framework positing that children with typical language skills apply general cognitive resources, such as attention, to facilitate language acquisition, and limitations in these processes may contribute to poor language skills. From this perspective, the study of attentional functioning of children who exhibit difficulty with language would have value for both informing this theory and for understanding the nature of the disorder. However, research on attentional functioning of children with specific language impairment (SLI) is scarce, and only a few facets of attention have been addressed at all. In addition, although school-age children with SLI have been studied, the assessment of attentional functioning in preschoolers with SLI has not. This is likely the result the limitations inherent to the methods used for evaluating attentional skills at younger ages. The purpose of this application is to extend a method previously used successfully with preschool children to study selected aspects of attentional control including distractibility, inhibitory control, and error monitoring. This work, along with a previous study on sustained attention, is intended to determine whether specific subcomponents of attention are weak for children with SLI. This work is a prerequisite for a long term goal of addressing how attention may affect language acquisition in SLI. Furthermore, the methodology proposed has the potential to offer improved procedures for diagnosing attentional difficulties at an early age, regardless of language status.