Effects of Input Organization on Auditory Short-Term Memory

Abstract

Children with learning disabilities have more problems with memory tasks than do children who are making normal progress in school. It was hypothesized that this is because they do not make comparable use of the various ways of organizing memory. This study compared the performances of the two groups on auditory short-term memory tests under different conditions of input organization. The results showed that the learning disabled children used input organization in a pattern of performance similar to that of the normal children, but their memory spans were nonetheless significantly poorer on the experimental tests. Some aspects of linguistic organization are discussed, and these results are compared with other recent studies. Recommendations are made for remedial activities which use meaningful language.

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