Rule-Based Category Learning in Down Syndrome

Abstract Rule-based category learning was examined in youths with Down syndrome (DS), youths with intellectual disability (ID), and typically developing (TD) youths. Two tasks measured category learning: the Modified Card Sort task (MCST) and the Concept Formation test of the Woodcock–Johnson-III (Woodock, McGrew, & Mather, 2001). In regression-based analyses, DS and ID groups performed below the level expected for their nonverbal ability. In cross-sectional developmental trajectory analyses, results depended on the task. On the MCST, the DS and ID groups were similar to the TD group. On the Concept Formation test, the DS group had slower cross-sectional change than the other 2 groups. Category learning may be an area of difficulty for those with ID, but task-related factors may affect trajectories for youths with DS.

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Prototype formation in autism

Development and Psychopathology ◽

10.1017/s0954579401001080 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 111-124 ◽

Cited By ~ 135

Author(s):

LAURA GROFER KLINGER ◽

GERALDINE DAWSON

Keyword(s):

Down Syndrome ◽

Category Learning ◽

Typically Developing ◽

Rule Based ◽

Approach To Learning ◽

Learning Tasks ◽

New Information ◽

Category Formation ◽

Summary Representation ◽

Rule Based Approach

Individuals with autism have difficulty integrating information and generalizing previously learned concepts to new situations. It was hypothesized that these problems result from an underlying impairment in category formation. Persons with autism may not abstract a summary representation (a prototype) during category learning and, instead, may form categories by memorizing a list of rules. Children with autism, Down syndrome, and normal development participated in one set of category learning tasks that could be solved using a rule-based approach and a second set of tasks in which there was no rule that defined category membership (prototype tasks). In the rule-based tasks, all groups were successful at using a rule to learn a new category. In the prototype tasks, only the typically developing children were able to learn a new category. Neither the persons with autism nor the persons with Down syndrome appeared to develop a prototype during category learning. These data suggest that persons with autism and Down syndrome have difficulty categorizing new information by forming prototypes and, instead, tend to rely on a rule-based approach to learning.

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From a molar to a molecular approach to the developmental trajectory of syntax comprehension by persons with intellectual disability

10.31234/osf.io/vsu7x ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Bruno Facon

Keyword(s):

Developmental Trajectories ◽

Developmental Trajectory ◽

Typically Developing ◽

Cognitive Level ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Test Items ◽

Complex Sentences ◽

Regression Curves ◽

Cognitive Measure ◽

Syntactic Skills

The aim was to investigate whether a progressive dissociation between the cognitive level and syntax comprehension occurs during the development of persons with intellectual disabilities (ID). Two cross-sectional developmental trajectory analyses were successively conducted. Study 1 comprised 615 typically developing participants and 615 participants with ID. Their total scores on a syntax comprehension test were regressed on a nonverbal cognitive measure and the slopes of the two groups’ regression lines were compared. In Study 2, logistic regression curves of the two groups for each of the 92 test items were compared. Results showed only negligible between-groups differences of developmental trajectories, whatever the level of analysis. The idea of a progressive dissociation between cognitive level and receptive syntactic skills of people with ID is not confirmed. However, a syntax test evaluating more complex sentences than those used in this study might show such a dissociation.

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The Association between Difficulties with Speech Fluency and Language Skills in a National Age Cohort of Children with Down Syndrome

Brain Sciences ◽

10.3390/brainsci11060704 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 704

Author(s):

Kari-Anne B. Næss ◽

Egil Nygaard ◽

Hilde Hofslundsengen ◽

J. Scott Yaruss

Keyword(s):

Down Syndrome ◽

Language Skills ◽

Typically Developing ◽

Typically Developing Children ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Exact Test ◽

Children With Down Syndrome ◽

Speech Fluency ◽

Age Cohort ◽

Student’S T

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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Intelligibility, Articulation Rate, Fluency, and Communicative Efficiency in Typically Developing Children

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/2021_jslhr-20-00640 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

Theresa Schölderle ◽

Elisabet Haas ◽

Stefanie Baumeister ◽

Wolfram Ziegler

Keyword(s):

Assessment Tool ◽

Developmental Trajectories ◽

Speech Rate ◽

Principal Component ◽

Developmental Trajectory ◽

Typically Developing ◽

Articulation Rate ◽

Typically Developing Children ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Communicative Efficiency

Purpose This article describes the developmental trajectories of four communication-related parameters (i.e., intelligibility, articulation rate, fluency, and communicative efficiency) in a cross-sectional study of typically developing children between 3 and 9 years. The four target parameters were related to auditory-perceptual parameters of speech function. Method One hundred forty-four typically developing children (ages 3;0–9;11 [years;months]; 72 girls and 72 boys) participated. Speech samples were collected using the materials of the Bogenhausen Dysarthria Scales for Childhood Dysarthria, a German assessment tool for childhood dysarthria, and analyzed following established auditory-perceptual criteria on relevant speech functions. To assess intelligibility, naïve listeners transcribed sentences repeated by the children. Articulation rate and fluency were measured by acoustic analyses; communicative efficiency was determined by multiplying the proportion of correctly transcribed syllables by speech rate. Results Intelligibility showed a steep developmental trajectory, with the majority of children obtaining a proportion of intelligible syllables close to 1.0 at the age of 5 years. Articulation rate demonstrated a flatter trajectory, with high variability still within the older children. Disfluencies, on the contrary, occurred only in the youngest children. By definition, communicative efficiency shared the characteristics of intelligibility and rate curves. A principal component analysis revealed, among other findings, strong connections between intelligibility and articulation, as well as between communicative efficiency, articulation, and rate measures. Conclusions While children speak intelligibly, in terms of the applied assessment, at a comparably young age, other communication-relevant parameters show a slower developmental progress. Knowledge on the typical development of communication-related parameters and on their complex relationships with functional speech variables is crucial for the clinical assessment of childhood dysarthria. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.14880285

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Physical Activity Patterns of Youth with Down Syndrome

Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities ◽

10.1352/1934-9556-50.2.109 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 50 (2) ◽

pp. 109-119 ◽

Cited By ~ 53

Author(s):

Phil E. Esposito ◽

Megan MacDonald ◽

Joseph E. Hornyak ◽

Dale A. Ulrich

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Down Syndrome ◽

General Trend ◽

Vigorous Physical Activity ◽

Activity Patterns ◽

Typically Developing ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Physical Activity Patterns ◽

Children With Down Syndrome ◽

Sedentary Activities

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the physical activity patterns of children with Down syndrome. A cross-sectional approach and accelerometry were used to measure the time children with Down syndrome (N = 104) spent in sedentary, light, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Results indicated that adolescents from ages 14 to 15 years were the most sedentary and spent the least amount of time in light and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. A general trend of decreasing physical activity as children increase in age was found. This trend is similar to that found among typically developing youth. Participants in this study were found to spend a majority of their day engaged in sedentary activities. Results indicate that most participants were not accumulating the recommended 60 minutes of moderate or vigorous physical activity.

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Emotion Knowledge in Children and Adolescents With Down Syndrome: A New Methodological Approach

American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities ◽

10.1352/1944-7558-119.5.405 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 119 (5) ◽

pp. 405-421 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Marie Moore Channell ◽

Frances A. Conners ◽

Joan M. Barth

Keyword(s):

Down Syndrome ◽

Developmental Trajectories ◽

Methodological Approach ◽

Emotion Knowledge ◽

Typically Developing ◽

Contextual Cues ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Mental Age ◽

Dynamic Expression ◽

Context Cues

Abstract Emotion knowledge was examined in 19 youth with Down syndrome (DS) and compared to typically developing (TD) children of similar developmental levels. This project expanded upon prior research on emotion knowledge in DS by utilizing a measure that minimized the need for linguistic skills, presented emotion expressions dynamically, and included social context cues. In Study 1, participants with DS were as accurate as TD participants when judging emotions from static or dynamic expression stimuli and from facial or contextual cues. In Study 2, participants with DS and TD participants showed similar cross-sectional developmental trajectories of emotion knowledge across mental age. This project highlights the importance of measure selection when examining emotion knowledge in samples with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

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Cross-Sectional Trajectories of Mental State Language Development in Children With Down Syndrome

American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology ◽

10.1044/2020_ajslp-19-00035 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 29 (2) ◽

pp. 760-775

Author(s):

Marie Moore Channell

Keyword(s):

Down Syndrome ◽

Mental State ◽

Language Use ◽

Picture Book ◽

Developmental Trajectory ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Children With Down Syndrome ◽

Mental State Language ◽

Mental State Terms ◽

State Language

Purpose This article (a) examined the cross-sectional trajectories of mental state language use in children with Down syndrome (DS) and (b) identified developmental factors associated with its use. Method Forty children with DS aged 6–11 years generated stories from a wordless picture book and completed an assessment battery of other linguistic, cognitive, and social–emotional skills. Their narratives were coded for mental state language density (the proportion of utterances containing mental state references) and diversity (the number of different mental state terms used). Results The emergence of mental state language use during narrative storytelling was observed across the sample; 0%–24% of children's utterances included references to mental states, and a variety of mental state terms were produced. Cross-sectional developmental trajectory analysis revealed that expressive vocabulary and morphosyntax were significantly related to increased mental state language density and diversity. Nonverbal emotion knowledge was significantly related to greater diversity of mental state terms used. Age and nonverbal cognition were not significant factors. Conclusions This first in-depth, within-syndrome characterization of mental state language use by school-age children with DS provides an important next step for understanding mental state and narrative development in this population. By identifying skills associated with the development of mental state language, this study provides an avenue for future longitudinal research to determine causal relationships, ultimately informing intervention efforts.

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