SHORT-TERM-MEMORY AND SEVERE LANGUAGE DIS ORDERED CHILDREN

Memory, and particularly short-term memory or ''working memory'' (Badd eley), is involved in language acquisition in children. We have studie d short-term memory, with verbal-and non verbal tests, of 8 children s uffering from developmental dysphasia compared with other ones, matche d in terms of age and performance I.Q. (W.I.S.C.-R.). The digit span d id not significantly differ in the two groups, while the visuo-spatial span was lower in the dysphasic group. The memorization of a list of monosyllabic words by dysphasic children was poor in the absence of vi sual presentation and improved by it. Differences between dysphasic an d control-children are unlikely to be due to speech rate which does no t significantly differ from one group to the other one. The results su ggest the existence, in language disordered children, of cognitive fun ctions disorders much more important than those directly involved in t he speech production.