Contribution of Memory Mechanisms and Socio-Emotional Functioning to the Production of Personal Narratives in Children With and Without Developmental Language Disorder
- Jun 25
- 2 min read
Gabaj, M., Kuvač Kraljević, J., & Westerveld, M. F. (2025). Contribution of memory mechanisms and socio-emotional functioning to the production of personal narratives in children with and without developmental language disorder. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 68(10), 4845-4864. https://doi.org/10.1044/2025_JSLHR-25-00047
Key terms that are in this paper
Personal narrative: A story someone tells about something in their life.
Episodic buffer: A part of memory that helps connect different pieces of information, such as what happened, where it happened, and the words needed to tell the story.
Semantic memory: Long-term knowledge about words, facts, and meanings.
Aim of the paper
This study looked at how children with and without DLD tell personal stories.
Personal stories are important because children use them to share experiences, build friendships, explain feelings, and take part in conversations at school and in everyday life.
The study included 50 Croatian-speaking children with DLD and 50 children with typical language development. The children were 9 to 11 years old.
The researchers wanted to find out whether memory skills (measured using a variety of memory tasks) and socio-emotional functioning (e.g., anxiety) helped explain how both groups of children told personal stories.
They used the global TALES protocol, which uses emotion-based prompts to encourage children to come up with personal stories.
What was found
Both children with DLD and without DLD could tell personal stories about real events in their lives.
Children without DLD found it easier to tell stories that were longer, more grammatically accurate and cohesive.
Children with DLD found it harder to organise events in a clear order.
There was no clear difference between the two groups in how often children included the time and place of the story.
The episodic buffer was important for personal storytelling. Children who were better at holding and connecting information in memory tended to tell stronger personal stories.
Children with higher anxiety tended to have more difficulty telling personal stories.
The link between memory, anxiety, and storytelling was similar for children with DLD and children without DLD.
What does this mean?
Personal storytelling depends on stronger memory and emotional well-being.
Children may need to hold many things in mind at once when telling a personal story.
For example, they need to remember what happened, choose the right words, explain the order of events, and make the story clear for the listener.
Children with DLD may benefit from extra support when telling personal stories.
This could include help with planning the story, putting events in order, and linking ideas clearly.
Children may tell personal stories more easily when they feel comfortable and supported.
Where can I read this paper?
Depending on whether you are part of an institution which has access, you can read or buy this paper by following this link: https://doi.org/10.1044/2025_JSLHR-25-00047
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