Normal Development of Information Processing

Ages 3–5

• Gradually increases verbal fluency.
• Gradually increases processing speed.
• Gradually improves impulse control.
• By 4 years, can process 2 and 3 steps of information.
• By 5 years, can process 4-step units of information.

Ages 6–7

• Begins using silent verbal mediation as language complexity increases.
• Processes 6 steps in simple problem solving by 6 years.

Ages 9–12

• Continues to improve verbal fluency and processing speed.
• Shows verbal fluency near adult levels.

Adolescence

• Increases in verbal fluency and sequencing.
• Continues to impove fluency and efficiency of verbal processing.
• Shows small improvements from age 15 and up.

As cited in:

Richard, G.J., Fahy, J.K., (2005). The source for Development of Executive Functions. East Moline, IL: Linguisystems