Investigating Task Persistence in Preschool Children With Developmental Language Disorder

Purpose: The present study was designed to investigate persistence in preschool children with developmental language disorder (DLD) compared to similar-age peers with typical language (TL) on tasks designed to be moderately challenging, yet equivalent in difficulty for both groups. Method: Sixteen preschool-age children with DLD were matched to 16 children with TL based on chronological age, biological sex, and maternal education. The children completed two play-based tasks that were designed to elicit some success but impossible to complete. Task persistence was measured by the total time spent attempting to complete each unachievable task. Results: Despite equivalent task difficulty for both groups, the children with DLD exhibited less persistence than the TL group. This reduced persistence behavior on the part of the DLD group was a generalized and not a task-specific response. Conclusions: Despite experiencing the same degree of success on moderately challenging play-based tasks, the children in the DLD group exhibited reduced task persistence relative to the TL group. Potential implications for reduced persistence for children with DLD are discussed.