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What is Down syndrome?
- Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome) is a chromosomal abnormality resulting in 3 strands of the 21st chromosome rather than 2
- Develops and can be diagnosed during pregnancy
- Prevalence is around 1 in 600 live births
- Older maternal age is a risk factor
- Characteristics: craniofacial abnormalities, hypotonia, heart conditions, overweight, and developmental delays
- These characteristics differ between each child with Down syndrome
How does verbal language develop in children with Down syndrome?
- Strengths
- Receptive language: semantics, language comprehension
- Nonverbal communication (pragmatics): turn-taking, remaining on topic, eye contact, gestures
- Challenges
- Expressive language: phonology, morphology, articulation
- Fluency disorders (such as stuttering)
- These can be caused by their enlarged tongue within their smaller oral cavity
How does written language develop in children with Down syndrome?
- Strengths
- Writing and reading may develop before speaking in children with Down syndrome
- Challenges
- Handwriting is difficult for children with Down syndrome because of hypotonia
- Spelling is a challenge because of delayed or impaired abilities in speech, hearing, and memory of language
Why is early intervention important?
- Early intervention includes whole-word, phoneme, and explicit instruction
- Focus on generalizing skills across environments
- Programs are often based on helping individuals with Down syndrome reach functionality, rather than age-level benchmarks
- Effective interventions are those that are individualized, recognizing the child’s strengths while working to improve their areas of weakness
- Important to maintain transparency of goals and progress with all involved in the intervention
- Responses to intervention are highly variable due to the variable nature of Down syndrome
What are some verbal language-specific interventions?
- Speech therapy
- Focuses on children’s form, content, and use
- Addresses low muscle tone (articulation)
- Can also help with fluency, intelligibility, or phonological skills
- Alternative and augmentative communication (AAC)
- Systems and strategies that provide cognitive and motor stimulation to provide more efficient communication for those struggling with the verbal aspects of speech
- Types: Picture exchange communication systems (PECS) provide instruction for how children can effectively implement both high- and low-technology systems. Speech-generating devices (SGD) focus on technologically improving or supplementing the individual’s speech, especially if they have a significant verbal impediment
How is technology a useful tool for literacy interventions?
- Typing instead of handwriting can counteract fine motor control challenges
- Technology can model reading and writing for students using speech recognition software
What is the overall importance of using interventions for children with Down syndrome?
Written and verbal language development should not be disregarded for students with Down syndrome because it is altogether possible with proper intervention.
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