Sleep problems and temperament in young children with Down syndrome and typically developing controls

The present study (a) addressed difficulties in speech fluency in children with Down syndrome and typically developing children at a similar non-verbal level and (b) examined the association between difficulties with speech fluency and language skills in children with Down syndrome. Data from a cross-sectional parent survey that included questions about children’s difficulties with speech fluency, as well as clinical tests from a national age cohort of 43 six-year-olds with Down syndrome and 57 young typically developing children, were collected. Fisher’s exact test, Student’s t-test, linear regression, and density ellipse scatter plots were used for analysis. There was a significantly higher occurrence of parent-reported difficulties with speech fluency in the children with Down syndrome. Higher language scores were significantly associated with a lower degree of difficulties; this association was strongest for vocabulary and phonological skills. Although difficulties with speech fluency were not reported for all children with Down syndrome, a substantially higher occurrence of such difficulties was reported compared to that for typically developing children. The significant association between difficulties with speech fluency and the level of language functioning suggests that speech fluency and language skills should be taken into consideration when planning treatment for children with Down syndrome.

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Pathways to language: a naturalistic study of children with Williams syndrome and children with Down syndrome

Journal of Child Language ◽

10.1017/s0305000912000475 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 40 (1) ◽

pp. 106-138 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

YONATA LEVY ◽

ARIELA EILAM

Keyword(s):

Down Syndrome ◽

Data Collection ◽

Williams Syndrome ◽

Language Delay ◽

Typically Developing ◽

Naturalistic Study ◽

Children With Down Syndrome ◽

Network Properties ◽

Development Of Language ◽

Language Onset

ABSTRACTThis is a naturalistic study of the development of language in Hebrew-speaking children with Williams syndrome (WS) and children with Down syndrome (DS), whose MLU extended from 1·0 to 4·4. Developmental curves over the entire span of data collection revealed minor differences between children with WS, children with DS, and typically developing (TD) controls of similar MLU. Development within one calendar year showed remarkable synchrony among the variables. However, age of language onset and pace of acquisition departed significantly from normal timing. It is argued that in view of the centrality of genetic timing and the network properties of cognition, normal schedules are crucial determinants of intact development. Consequently, with respect to neurodevelopmental syndromes, the so-called ‘language delay’ is indicative of deviance that is likely to impact development in critical ways.

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Physiological arousal and observed behaviour in parent–child interactions involving young children with Down syndrome

Journal of Intellectual Disability Research ◽

10.1111/jir.12714 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 64 (6) ◽

pp. 426-433 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

E. Lorang ◽

S. Hartley ◽

A. Sterling

Keyword(s):

Down Syndrome ◽

Young Children ◽

Physiological Arousal ◽

Children With Down Syndrome ◽

Parent Child Interactions ◽

Observed Behaviour ◽

Parent Child

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Gestural symbolic strategies in children with Down syndrome

Gesture ◽

10.1075/gest.20002.bel ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 19 (2-3) ◽

pp. 299-334

Author(s):

Arianna Bello ◽

Silvia Stefanini ◽

Pasquale Rinaldi ◽

Daniela Onofrio ◽

Virginia Volterra

Keyword(s):

Down Syndrome ◽

Picture Naming ◽

Item Analysis ◽

Naming Task ◽

Typically Developing ◽

Typically Developing Children ◽

Children With Down Syndrome ◽

Communicative Development ◽

Developmental Age ◽

Representational Gestures

Abstract In early communicative development, children with Down syndrome (DS) make extensive use of gestures to compensate for articulatory difficulties. Here, we analyzed the symbolic strategies that underlie this gesture production, compared to that used by typically developing children. Using the same picture-naming task, 79 representational gestures produced by 10 children with DS and 42 representational gestures produced by 10 typically developing children of comparable developmental age (3;1 vs. 2;9, respectively) were collected. The gestures were analyzed and classified according to four symbolic strategies. The two groups performed all of the strategies, with no significant differences for either choice or frequency of the strategies used. The item analysis highlighted that some photographs tended to elicit the use of the same strategy in both groups. These results indicate that similar symbolic strategies are active in children with DS as in typically developing children, which suggests interesting similarities in their symbolic development.

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