Relation between receptive language and cognitive maturity in persons with mental retardation.
We examined the correlations between receptive language level and performance on indices of nonverbal cognitive functioning for 20 persons with mental retardation and for 20 children without mental retardation matched to them on nonverbal MA. The correlations suggested that the retarded group focused on the formal, sequential properties of language. The correlations also suggested that the nondisabled group placed less emphasis on the formal, sequential properties of language and more on semantic, conceptual properties. These differences in approach may explain why the persons with mental retardation did poorly on the task of understanding spoken language compared to the children without mental retardation.
Department of Educational Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison 53706.
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D000293:Adolescent; D001077:Aptitude Tests; D002648:Child; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D003210:Concept Formation; D004495:Education of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D007807:Language Tests; D007808:Language Therapy; D008297:Male; D013067:Speech Perception