This thesis is a pilot study of ongoing research concerning the nature of impairments in adults with language learning disorders. The current study assessed lexical-semantic organization in14 adults with language learning disorders (LLD), ages 18;9 to 24;3 and 14 adults with no history of language impairment (TD) matched for age, gender, and education with a list recall task adapted from Watson, Balota, and Roediger (2001). All adults were enrolled in a four-year university. No significant differences were found on accuracy of list recall in LLD and TD. Similar to previous research, list recall for semantically- related words was higher in accuracy than for phonologically- related words for both LLD and TD participants. All participants were more likely to accurately recall the words at the beginning and at end of the lists. The LLD group showed a positive correlation between oral language and phonological processing performance with accuracy of recall. These results suggest that adults with language learning disorders who are enrolled in a four-year university are able to implement strategies that compensate for any language difference that may exist. Also, the similarities in patterns and accuracy of list recall suggest similar lexical-semantic organization in adults with LLD and TD. / text

This thesis is an expansion of an ongoing examination of gist and verbatim memory in young adults with language-learning disabilities (LLD) using the DRM paradigm (Deese, 1959; Roediger & McDermott, 1995). This study uses lists based on situation semantic features in addition to DRM lists based on backwards associative strength (BAS), which were categorized as strong-, mid-, and low-BAS (Stadler, Roediger, & McDermott, 1999). Items in each list (e.g., bacon, toast, cereal, muffin) related to a non-presented word (e.g., breakfast): the critical lure (CL). BAS is a measure of the likelihood that a list item will elicit the CL. Thirty young adults participated in this study and were divided into three groups: true LLD, compensated LLD, and typically developing (TD). Participants listened to word lists and verbally recalled the words they remembered hearing. Accurate recall was an indicator of verbatim memory; CL recall was an indicator of gist memory. The true LLD group recalled CL at a significantly higher rate than the other groups in the case of the situation lists; additionally, the compensated LLD group recalled CL for the low-BAS lists at a significantly higher rate than the other groups. These findings suggest that the LLD participants may process semantic information differently or may rely on gist memory to a greater extent than the TD controls. Results also indicated list type differences for both verbatim and gist recalls, supporting the effects of both semantic features and BAS together with other factors. / text