title: Story retelling and language ability in school-aged children with cerebral palsy and speech impairment.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Research on retelling ability and cognition is limited in children with cerebral palsy (CP) and speech impairment.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To explore the impact of expressive and receptive language, narrative discourse dimensions (Narrative Assessment Profile measures), auditory and visual memory, theory of mind (ToM) and non-verbal cognition on the retelling ability of children with CP and speech impairment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifteen speaking children with speech impairment (seven girls, eight boys) (mean age = 11 years, SD = 1;4 years), and different types of CP and different levels of gross motor and cognitive function participated in the present study. Story retelling skills were tested and analysed with the Bus Story Test (BST) and the Narrative Assessment Profile (NAP). Receptive language ability was tested with the Test for Reception of Grammar-2 (TROG-2) and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test - IV (PPVT-IV). Non-verbal cognitive level was tested with the Raven's coloured progressive matrices (RCPM), memory functions assessed with the Corsi block-tapping task (CB) and the Digit Span from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III. ToM was assessed with the false belief items of the two story tests "Kiki and the Cat" and "Birthday Puppy".
  
  
  RESULTS
  The children had severe problems with retelling ability corresponding to an age-equivalent of 5;2-6;9 years. Receptive and expressive language, visuo-spatial and auditory memory, non-verbal cognitive level and ToM varied widely within and among the children. Both expressive and receptive language correlated significantly with narrative ability in terms of NAP total scores, so did auditory memory.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results suggest that retelling ability in the children with CP in the present study is dependent on language comprehension and production, and memory functions. Consequently, it is important to examine retelling ability together with language and cognitive abilities in these children in order to provide appropriate support.
authors.affiliation: Division of Speech and Language Pathology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nordberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Annika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dahlgren Sandberg
authors.affiliation: Division of Speech and Language Pathology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.|Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Carmela
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Miniscalco
mesh_terms: D001076:Aptitude; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D032882:Comprehension; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007806:Language Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D033262:Narration; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D013064:Speech Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D014705:Verbal Behavior
keywords: cerebral palsy; children; memory; narrative ability; non-verbal cognitive ability; theory of mind