Reading Disabilities in Children with Cerebral Palsy: Associations with Working Memory

Little is known about the relationship between working memory (WM) abilities and reading in children with cerebral palsy (CP) who have age-appropriate communication and language. The aim of this group case study is to analyze the WM abilities and their relationship to reading in children with CP and age-appropriate communication and language. Fifteen children with CP (6:9 to 11:6 years) and age-appropriate communication and language were identified. They were given tests of communication and language, reading (decoding), and three aspects of WM: phonological short-term memory (PSTM); visuospatial short-term memory (VSTM); and the central executive (CE). The children were divided into two groups; five who had age-appropriate reading (Age-appropriate Readers), and ten with very low reading abilities (Developing Readers). The results showed that PSTM was mostly age appropriate in both reading groups and their scores mostly correlated with their reading abilities. VSTM scores were very poor in both groups and not related to reading group membership or reading. CE abilities were mostly as would be expected for the Age-appropriate Readers, but low for the Developing Readers; CE scores correlated with reading abilities. The findings suggest that there are variations in the working memory abilities in this group of children and that the CE may be an important contributor to their reading development.