研究證據顯示學齡前發展性語言障礙兒童（DLD）的執行功能表現較典型發展兒童（TD）低落，但目前學界對於DLD兒童執行功能發展情形的瞭解尚處於起步階段，亟需縱貫性研究調查其執行功能缺陷為發展遲緩、穩定成長，抑或是隨著年齡增長而幾近典型發展。本研究旨在從語言和視覺空間兩面向探究學前DLD和TD兒童4項核心執行功能（持續性的選擇注意、抑制、更新工作記憶和轉換）一年的發展情形。研究紀錄15位第一年4至6歲的DLD兒童和30位與其性別和年齡配對的TD兒童，於電腦化執行功能作業和標準化語言測驗之表現，間隔一年後（第二年）再施予相同的作業和測驗。研究結果如下:（1）兩組兒童的4項核心執行功能在兩個時間點皆顯著成長，且語言和視覺空間兩面向之執行功能發展同步；（2）兩組兒童在持續的選擇注意力和抑制之表現相似，但TD兒童在更新工作記憶和轉換的表現顯著優於DLD兒童。據此推論，學前DLD兒童執行功能的成長似於TD兒童，雖然DLD兒童的更新工作記憶和轉換發展穩定，但卻持續呈現廣泛性的障礙，且有可能在整個發展過程中持續維持落後，而其注意力和抑制之表現應屬典型發展。建議教學實務者應評估DLD兒童的執行功能，對同時合併執行功能缺陷的DLD兒童進行直接和（或）間接的介入。

Research evidence has shown that preschoolers with developmental language disorder (DLD) demonstrate poorer executive functions (EFs) than children with typical development (TD). However, there is still a lack of understanding of EFs development in children with DLD. Collecting longitudinal data will help investigate whether their EFs deficits remain delayed,  develop stably, or would catch up with their age-matched TD peers. The present study was aimed to explore how EFs in preschoolers with DLD develop differently in one year from their peers with TD in terms of sustained selective attention, interference control, updating working memory, and shifting tasks that require linguistic or visual-spatial processing. A total of 15 children with DLD and 30 TD children were matched by age and gender provided 2 times of data at 1-year interval beginning at age 4 and 5. All participants received the same computerized EFs tasks and standardized language assessments at these 2 time-points. The two major findings of this study were as follows: (1) the performance on all EFs tasks improved significantly in 1 year for both groups, and the linguistic and visual-spatial domains developed consistently; (2) no group differences were found for sustained selective attention and interference control, but TD children outperformed children with DLD on updating working memory and shifting. The overall results indicated that the development of EFs in children with DLD was similar to their peers with TD. Updating working memory and shifting in children with DLD developed stably, but may remain domain-general deficits over the period of development. In contrast, sustained selective attention and interference control in children with DLD are spared. Thus, teachers and speech and language pathologists should evaluate EFs for children with DLD, and provide direct and/or indirect EFs interventions to those children with co-occurring developmental EF deficits.

發展性語言障礙、執行功能發展、學齡前兒童、縱貫研究

developmental language delay, executive function development, preschooler, longitudinal study