Predictors for Longitudinal Growth in Working Memory for School-Aged Children With Autism

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session Nine
  In Roundtable Session: Supporting Early Childhood Learners With Disabilities (Table 16)

Abstract

Working memory (WM) in autistic children is highly malleable throughout their childhood, and various environmental factors play important roles in their development. This study used the Early Childhood Longitudinal Studies-Kindergarten Class of 2011 dataset. Latent growth model was built to identify predictors for autistic children’s WM upon entering kindergarten and their relative growth throughout their elementary school years. Findings indicate that socioeconomic status and students’ approaches to learning (ATL) positively predicted autistic children’s WM performance upon entering kindergarten. Special education services and students’ ATL positively predicted their rate of growth during the first three years of elementary school, while student-teacher relationship predicted their rate of growth during the last three years of elementary school. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Author

• Sohyun An Kim, University of California - Los Angeles
  Presenting Author