Rapid automatized processing of nouns and verbs in typical children

Abstract

The utility of Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN) as a clinical tool to predict later reading abilities was addressed by researchers as early as the 1970s. Over the years, several variants of the task came into existence such as inclusion of a variety of stimuli, varying picture size, etc. but very few have addressed the response modal-ity. The study aimed to compare rapid processing skills in typical children in verbal and non-verbal modalities using picture arrays of nouns and verbs. Twenty typically developing children in the age range of 5–7 years partici-pated in the study. Picture arrays of five common nouns and verbs each served as the stimuli. The task comprised picture naming and picture pointing. The results revealed that nouns were processed faster than verbs in both ver-bal and non-verbal modalities. It was also found that there was no difference in the processing of nouns between the two modalities unlike verbs. Overall, the results point to the potential use of a non-verbal task to assess the rapid processing skills in children with limited verbal abilities