Abstract:

One of the problematic issues in childhood temporary memory research seems to be the elusiveness of the factors affecting working memory (WM) and short-term memory (STM) capacities. The purpose of this research was (a) to determine the impact of one year preschool education -a form of early intervention- on WM and STM capacities of children either with typical development or with hearing loss, and (b) to determine the impact of early parent guidance on WM and STM capacities of children with hearing loss. The sample (N = 223) consisted of children with typical development (n = 103) and children with hearing loss (n = 120) from three different educational settings in Eskişehir, Turkey. Measures were Sentence-Digit Span, Task Paper-Folding, and Digit Span-Backward tasks for WM, and Digit Span task for STM capacity. Among children with typical development, one-way MANCOVAs indicated no significant differences between children who had preschool education and those who had not on mean WM and STM tasks scores when age and IQ were controlled. On the side of children with hearing loss, both preschool education and early parent quidance resulted in better WM/STM task performances. Finding of the study clearly indicated that early intervention is a must for cognitive development, at least for WM/STM capacities of children with hearing loss.

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