Project WorlD

Working Memory and Scholastic Learning in Children with Intellectual Disabilities

Storing and processing information in working memory are important for learning to read, write and calculate. It has been known for some years that the working memory of children with intellectual disabilities (ID) is impaired in comparison to typically developing children. Furthermore, children with ID seem to perform even poorer than younger children matched for mental age when they have to remember verbal material over the short term. However, the role of poor working memory of children with ID in explaining their difficulties in learning to read, write and calculate is not yet well understood. Additionally, it is unclear which processes involved in verbal short-term memory tasks are impaired in individuals with ID. In the project WorlD, we examine the role working memory plays for learning to read, write and calculate in children with intellectual disabilities (ID). Additionally, we test whether the specific problems children with ID have regarding verbal short-term memory tasks might be explained by a lack of subvocal rehearsal to refresh decaying memory traces or by less efficient long-term memory support in reconstructing partially decayed memory traces.

Selected Publications

Büttner, G., Poloczek, S., Schuchardt, K., & Mähler, C. (2012). Arbeitsgedächtnis bei Kindern und Jugendlichen mit Intelligenzminderung. In: M. Hasselhorn & C. Zoelch (Hrsg.), Funktionsdiagnostik des Arbeitsgedächtnisses (S. 95 – 112). Göttingen: Hogrefe.

Poloczek, S., Büttner, G., & Hasselhorn, M. (2012). Relationships between working memory and academic skills are the difference between children with intellectual disabilities and typically developing children?. Journal of Cognitive Education and Psychology, 11, 20–38.

Poloczek, S., Büttner, G., & Hasselhorn, M. (2014). Phonological short-term memory impairment and the word length effect in children with intellectual disabilities. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 35, 455-462. doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2013.11.025