Narration Abilities of Children With Language-Learning Disabilities in Response to Oral and Written Stimuli

Abstract

The purpose of the present investigation was to examine story retelling and inference abilities in children with language-learning disabilities (LLD). There were 10 children in the LLD group and 20 who showed normal acquisition of language, 10 of whom were matched for chronological age (NACA) and 10 of whom were matched for language ability (NALA) to an LLD child. Stimuli were both orally presented (Heard Condition) and read silently (Read Condition) by the participants. Four stories were presented in each of these conditions. After each story, participants completed two tasks: retelling the story and answering questions that were either factual or that required inferencing. Generally, results indicated that children with LLD and NALA retold stories and drew inferences more poorly than NACA children regardless of stimulus presentation mode; children with LLD drew inferences best with orally presented stimuli; and children with NACA and NALA drew inferences best with stimuli presented in writing. A number of possible explanations for the differences between groups are discussed, including working memory and attending to relevant information in text, both of which are skills needed for reading comprehension. These children's difficulties in making inferences were attributed to impairments in cognitive functions. Clinically, then, teaching children with LLD to make inferences from both text and oral narratives would address impaired cognitive functions and reading comprehension abilities.