title: The impact of dual tasking on sentence comprehension in children with specific language impairment.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In this study, the authors assessed the hypothesis of a limitation in attentional allocation capacity as underlying poor sentence comprehension in children with specific language impairment (SLI).
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifteen children with SLI, 15 age-matched controls, and 15 grammar-matched controls participated in the study. Sixty sentences were presented in isolation, and 60 sentences were presented with a concurrent choice reaction time task in which colored stimuli randomly appeared at the center of the computer screen.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sentence comprehension was affected by the dual-task condition to a greater extent in children with SLI relative to age controls but not relative to grammatical controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study does not support limitations in attentional allocation capacity as representing a core deficit in SLI. Rather, the data show that these children show attentional allocation capacity comparable to that of younger children having similar language level, suggesting that SLI is characterized by a slowed development of both attentional and language domains.
authors: University of Liège, Belgium. al.leclercq@ulg.ac.be
authors: Anne-Lise
authors: AL
authors: Leclercq
authors: Steve
authors: S
authors: Majerus
authors: Gaïd
authors: G
authors: Prigent
authors: Christelle
authors: C
authors: Maillart
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D000293:Adolescent; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001308:Auditory Perceptual Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D032882:Comprehension / Q000502:physiology*; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008037:Linguistics; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology