title: Delayed motor skill acquisition in kindergarten children with language impairment.
abstract: The acquisition and consolidation of a new grapho-motor symbol into long-term memory was studied in 5-year-old children with language impairment (LI) and peers matched for age and visual-motor integration skills. The children practiced the production of a new symbol and were tested 24h and two weeks post-practice day. Differences in performance speed emerged between the groups: children with LI showed a later onset of rapid learning in the practice phase, and only the comparison group exhibited delayed, consolidation, gains 24h post-training. At two weeks post-training, children with LI improved, closing the gap in performance speed. Speed-accuracy trade-off was characteristic of speed improvements in LI. These results indicate atypical and delayed acquisition in children with LI, and support the view that deficient skill acquisition in LI goes beyond the language system.
authors.affiliation: School of Education, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel. japhae@mail.biu.ac.il
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Adi-Japha
authors.forename: Orli
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Strulovich-Schwartz
authors.forename: Mona
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Julius
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D007807:Language Tests; D008297:Male; D057567:Memory, Long-Term / Q000502:physiology; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology; D019957:Motor Skills Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology