Executive Functioning and Language

Executive Functioning and LanguageWhat are Executive Functions?According to Dawson and Guare(2010), Executive function refers to “high-level cognitive processesrequired to plan and direct activities, including task initiation and follow-through, working memory,sustained attention, performance monitoring, inhibition of impulses, and goal-directed behavior (p.vii).”Core executive function skills:Working MemoryInhibitionPlanningCognitive FlexibilitySelf-RegulationExecutive function can be divided into 2 categories – meta-cognition (which includes meta-linguistics)and behavioral regulation.EF skills predict academic success more effectively than tests of academic achievement or cognitiveability.Children with poor EF skills are at high risk for dropping out of school.Children with poor EF skills are also at high risk for social/behavioral problems.Generally associated with frontal systems, specifically the pre-frontal cortexStudents use EF Skills when: (Howland, 2010)Diamond (2006): When “going on automatic” would lead one astray.When a new skill is being learned; until that skill becomes automatized.To complete tasks that demand integration and coordination of multiple skills.Research on Language and EFs:Hungerford and Gonyo (2007) looked at scores on the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function(BRIEF) to see if they predicted scores on the CELF-4 for students referred for language testing. Theyfound that the BRIEF predicted working memory, receptive language, language content, and corelanguage scores on the CELF-4. They didn’t find that it predicted expressive language; however, theresearchers thought that it wasn’t predicted because the CELF-4 looked primarily at language at thesentence level, and limited executive functions were needed at that level. Singer and Bashir (1999)reported that, “Metacognitive strategies, by and large, consist of routines that are mediated withlanguage (p. 267).” In their case study with George, they found that teaching him executive functioningstrategies, his language skills grammatical structure and cohesive ties improved without directintervention.

To learn more about EFs in adolescents with SLI, Hughes, Turkstra, and Wulfeck (2008) administered theBRIEF-SR to adolescents with and without SLI, and compared scores between these two groups and alsoto parents' scores on the BRIEF Parent-Report Form. Results showed that parent and self-ratings of EFproblems in everyday life were significantly higher for adolescents with SLI (i.e., indicating moreproblems) than for peers matched for age, sex, and race. In addition, in the SLI group, 57% of parentratings were in the clinically impaired range, compared to 10% in the typical group.Further, anecdotal comments from parents of adolescents with SLI revealed that EF-related problemswere their main concern; worries about their children's ability to use communication skills effectively insocial interactions, live independently, and obtain competitive employment far outnumbered theirconcerns about formal language skills. Although there continues to be debate about the underlying basisof EF problems in adolescents with language impairments (Booth, Boyle, & Kelly, 2010), these datasuggest that EFs should be considered in intervention planning for this group.Results suggest that SLI children: (Tropper, B. et al., 2008).Have more difficulty controlling behavioral responses under high levels of conflictAre poorer in monitoring/detecting conflict.High frequency of perseveration;Weak resistance to interference;Problems with expelling unnecessary material from working memory.Impaired selective attention abilities, resulting in less efficient language processing in thepresence of distraction.Executive function skills, not languages skills predicted social skills for students with languageimpairments. (Hungerford, Call-Morin, Bassendowski, and Whitford, 2009)Intervention Skills: What to TargetPre-School-1st gradeInhibition2nd-5th gradePlanning through Play/Center TimesDevelop Strategy UseGraphic OrganizersSelf-Regulation of AttentionMiddle School and High SchoolIndependent and Flexible Strategy UsePlanning/prioritizing/OrganizingBeing systematicSelf -regulation/self-monitoringSelf-advocacy

Games to Develop Inhibition in Preschoolers (Howland, 2010)Duck Duck GooseFreeze TagSimon Says (simplify for the younger child, do what the “good puppet” says, not what the“naughty puppet” says).Slap (Tap) Jack (we do this with letters)Musical Chairs Mother May I?References:Booth, J. N., Boyle, J. M., & Kelly, S. W. (2010). Do tasks make a difference? Accounting for heterogeneityof performance of children with reading difficulties on tasks of executive function: findings from a metaanalysis.British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 28(Pt 1), 133-176Dawson, P. and Guere, R. (2010). Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents: A Practical Guide toAssessment and Intervention. New York: Guilford Press.Howland, K. (2010). Strategies to Develop Executive Control Skills in Language-Impaired Children. Paperpresented at the American Speech Language Hearing Association Conference, 2010.Hughes, D. M., Turkstra, L. S., & Wulfeck, B. B. (2008). Parent and self-ratings of executive function inadolescents with specific language impairment. International Journal of Language and CommunicationDisorders, 1-16.Hungerford, S., Call-Morin, K., Bassendowski, N., Whitford, S. (2009). Do Executive Skills or LanguageSkills Best Predict Social Competence? Paper presented at the American Speech Language HearingAssociation Conference, 2009.Hungerford, S. and Gonyo, K. (2007). Relationships Between Executive Functions and LanguageVariables. Paper presented at the American Speech Language Hearing Association Conference, 2007.Singer, B.D. & Bashir, A.S. (1999). What are executive functions and self-regulation and what do theyhave to do with language learning disorders? Language, Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, 30, pp.256-273.Tropper, B., Marton, K., Russo-Victorino, K., Shafer, V., Schwartz, R.G. (2008). Research on ExecutiveFunctions in Children with SLI. Paper presented at the American Speech Language Hearing AssociationConference, 2008.