Chapter 5 - Working Memory and Dynamic Testing in Children with Learning Disabilities

Abstract

This chapter reviews working memory (WM), learning disabilities (LD), and dynamic testing. LD are not the result of inadequate opportunity to learn, general intelligence, or physical or emotional disorders; they result from basic disorders in specific psychological processes, and these specific processing deficits are a reflection of neurological, constitutional, or biological factors. Dynamic assessment (DA) includes two critical features that are designed to do the following: determine the learner's potential for change when given assistance and provide a prospective measure of performance change independent of assistance. Research using DA measures shows that children with LD may have difficulties maintaining and holding information. This may manifest itself in a number of practical tasks. All these tasks have the quality of interference and monitoring. Dynamic testing does improve the WM performance of children with LD. However, such improvement does not allow them to catch up to average achievers matched on chronological age and intelligence. Further research in this area may allow helping such children to cope with the complex demands of their everyday lives.