This study aims to examine the relationship between vocabulary proficiency and short-term memory capacity in deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH) children. We test the hypothesis that the relationship between vocabulary skills and digit span performance could be strengthened when the digit span task encompasses cross-modal integration processes. A group of DHH children performed two types of auditory digit span tasks. Furthermore, they participated in a standardized vocabulary proficiency test, comprising two subtests: Receptive Vocabulary and Expressive Vocabulary. The verbal digit span served as a significant predictor of Expressive Vocabulary among the DHH children. Simultaneously, the auditory-pointing digit span accounted for a substantial portion of performance variation in both Receptive and Expressive Vocabulary. After considering the impact of the duration of auditory-verbal intervention through regression models, likelihood ratio tests demonstrated that the auditory-pointing digit span persisted as a significant determinant of both receptive and expressive vocabulary skills. A positive influence of the intervention was also confirmed by the present results. This study provides evidence that memory span and the ability to integrate cross-modal information could serve as significant cognitive correlates of vocabulary proficiency in DHH children.

中文翻译：

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聋哑或听力障碍儿童的跨模式数字跨度和词汇熟练程度


本研究旨在探讨聋哑或听力困难 (DHH) 儿童的词汇熟练程度与短期记忆能力之间的关系。我们测试了这样一个假设：当数字跨度任务包含跨模式集成过程时，词汇技能和数字跨度表现之间的关系可以得到加强。一组 DHH 儿童执行两种类型的听觉数字跨度任务。此外，他们还参加了标准化词汇能力测试，包括两个子测试：接受性词汇和表达性词汇。言语数字跨度是 DHH 儿童表达词汇量的重要预测指标。同时，听觉指向的数字跨度在接受性和表达性词汇的表现变化中占了很大一部分。通过回归模型考虑听觉-语言干预持续时间的影响后，似然比测试表明，听觉指向数字跨度仍然是接受和表达词汇技能的重要决定因素。目前的结果也证实了干预措施的积极影响。这项研究提供的证据表明，记忆广度和整合跨模式信息的能力可以作为 DHH 儿童词汇熟练程度的重要认知相关因素。