Abstract

OCAMPO GAVIRIA, TULIA  and  SIERRA FITZGERALD, ÓSCAR. ANALYSIS OF WORKING MEMORY FUNCTIONING IN CHILDREN WITH LEARNING DISORDERS. Act.Colom.Psicol. [online]. 2014, vol.17, n.2, pp.81-90. ISSN 0123-9155.  https://doi.org/10.14718/ACP.2014.17.2.9.

The present research study sought to examine the way in which the different components of the working memory model initially proposed by Baddeley and Hitch in 1974 are affected in two types of learning disorders in seven year old children: Reading Learning Disorder (TAL for its Spanish acronym) and concomitant Reading and Mathematics Learning Disorder (TAL/TAM, for its Spanish acronym), in order to achieve greater understanding of the differences between the various school learning disorders. 45 children were assessed in this research: 15 children without Specific Learning Difficulties (Sin TEA, for its Spanish acronym), 15 with TAL and 15 with TAL/TAM. Results show that children with either of these specific learning disorders have deficits in working memory and that these are greater in those children who present a more generalized learning disorder, as in the case of the children with TAL/TAM, confirming the close relationship between working memory and school learning. In addition, it was found that children with TAL have significant difficulties in verbal working memory, when not only information storage but also its processing is requiered. Children with TAL/TAM differed from those with TAL in visuospatial working memory tasks, leading to the conclusion that a deficit in this cognitive ability is what would put them at risk for difficulties in mathematics, in addition to reading problems.

Keywords : Working memory; school learning; learning disorders.

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