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Working Memory and Neurodevelopmental Disorders

• Edited by Tracy Packiam Alloway, Susan E. Gathercole

• Price: $70.00 $63.00
• Binding: Hardback
• Pages: 320
• Published by: Psychology Press
• Publication Date: 31st August 2006
• ISBN: 978-1-84169-560-0

About the Book

Short-term or working memory - the capacity to hold and manipulate information mentally over brief periods of time - plays an important role in supporting a wide range of everyday activities, particularly in childhood. Children with weak working memory skills often struggle in key areas of learning and, given its impact on cognitive abilities, the identification of working memory impairments is a priority for those who work with children with learning disabilities.

Working Memory and Neurodevelopmental Disorders supports clinical assessment and management of working memory deficits by summarising the current theoretical understanding and methods of assessment of working memory. It outlines the working memory profiles of individuals with a range of neurodevelopmental disorders (including Down's syndrome, Williams syndrome, Specific Language Impairment, and ADHD), and identifies useful means of alleviating the anticipated learning difficulties of children with deficits of working memory.

This comprehensive and informative text will appeal to academics and researchers in cognitive psychology, neuropsychology and developmental psychology, and will be useful reading for students in these areas. Educational psychologists will also find this a useful text, as it covers the role of working memory in learning difficulties specific to the classroom.

Reviews

"This is a highly original book for which there are no obvious competitors. It explores the role of working memory deficits in a wide range of developmental disorders. There are other books on developmental disorders, or on working memory, but none I'm aware of with this conjunction of topics." - Dorothy Bishop, Professor of Developmental Neuropsychology, University of Oxford

"It is really enjoyable to read an edited text where the theme is conceptual, rather than primarily "disorder-based". The central focus on working memory in the developmental context is topical, and highly relevant to the understanding of developmental disorders. To my knowledge there is no similar text available, and so this one makes a significant contribution. Methodologically, the text is strong, with all authors providing a strong empirical pace for their arguments." - Vicki Anderson, Professorial Fellow, Departments of Psychology & Paediatrics, University of Melbourne

Table of Contents

T.P. Alloway, Introduction. S.J. Pickering, Working memory in Dyslexia. R.K. Wagner, A. Muse Short-term memory deficits in Developmental Dyslexia. H.L. Swanson, Working memory and reading disabilities: Both phonological and executive processing deficits are important. R.K. Vukovic, L. Siegel, The role of working memory in specific reading comprehension difficulties. M.C. Passolunghi, Working memory and arithmetic disability. L.M.D. Archibald, S.E. Gathercole, Short-term memory and working memory in Specific Language Impairment. T.P. Alloway,Working memory skills in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder. S. Roodenrys, Working memory function in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. S. Belleville, É. Ménard, L. Mottron, M. Ménard, Working memory in Autism. C. Jarrold, H.R.M. Purser, J. Brock, Short-term memory in Down Syndrome. M.L. Rowe, C.B. Mervis, Working memory in Williams Syndrome.

About the Author(s)

Tracy Packiam Alloway is a psychologist at the University of Durham. She has worked with a variety of educational professionals and has published numerous articles on working memory and learning. She has also developed classroom-based tools that are widely used to identify and support children with memory impairments.

Susan Gathercole is a psychologist with over 20 years of experience in research on memory during childhood. She has written many articles for psychologists and teachers, is a founding co-editor of the journal Memory, and has developed several standardised tests of memory for children.