List recall performance in adults with language learning disability

This thesis is a pilot study of ongoing research concerning the nature of impairments in adults with language learning disorders. The current study assessed lexical-semantic organization in14 adults with language learning disorders (LLD), ages 18;9 to 24;3 and 14 adults with no history of language impairment (TD) matched for age, gender, and education with a list recall task adapted from Watson, Balota, and Roediger (2001). All adults were enrolled in a four-year university. No significant differences were found on accuracy of list recall in LLD and TD. Similar to previous research, list recall for semantically- related words was higher in accuracy than for phonologically- related words for both LLD and TD participants. All participants were more likely to accurately recall the words at the beginning and at end of the lists. The LLD group showed a positive correlation between oral language and phonological processing performance with accuracy of recall. These results suggest that adults with language learning disorders who are enrolled in a four-year university are able to implement strategies that compensate for any language difference that may exist. Also, the similarities in patterns and accuracy of list recall suggest similar lexical-semantic organization in adults with LLD and TD.