Vocabulary and Syntax Reception in Children with Down Syndrome
,
Abstract
Introduction: Intellectual disability and specific cognition in down syndrome (DS) affect language development and processing. We assessed vocabulary and syntax reception among children with DS with typically developed (TD) Persian-speaking Iranian children. We also investigated the association between vocabulary and syntax reception in children with DS.
Materials and Methods: Using the Stanford–Binet intelligence scales test, 18 TD children (4-6 years old) and 18 DS children were matched based on non-verbal mental age. Vocabulary reception was assessed using the receptive picture vocabulary test (RPVT) and syntax reception by the Persian syntax comprehension test.
Results: Mean total vocabulary reception was lower in children with DS (P<0.001). Syntax reception was also impaired in children with DS compared to the normal values of the test. Among children with DS, vocabulary reception was positively correlated with syntax reception. Every unit increase in total vocabulary reception score was associated with 0.08 (95% confidence interval, CI: 0.04-0.12) improvement in syntax score in children with DS.
Conclusion: Vocabulary and syntax reception in DS children, especially complex syntax structures, was impaired. The observed association between vocabulary and syntax reception shows that vocabulary reception improvement might result in progressing syntax reception in children with DS.
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Lanfranchi S, Jerman O, Dal Pont E, Alberti A, Vianello R. Executive function in adolescents with down syndrome. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research. 2010; 54(4):308-19. [DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2788.2010.01262.x] [PMID]
McDuffie A, Chapman RS, Abbeduto L. Language profiles of adolescents and young adults with down syndrome and fragile x syndrome. Speech and Language Development and Intervention in Down Syndrome and Fragile X Syndrome. 2008:117-41. [Link]
Loveall SJ, Channell MM, Phillips BA, Abbeduto L, Conners FA. Receptive vocabulary analysis in down syndrome. Research in Developmental Disabilities. 2016; 55:161-72. [DOI:10.1016/j.ridd.2016.03.018] [PMID] [PMCID]
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Næss K-AB, Lyster S-AH, Hulme C, Melby-Lervåg M. Language and verbal short-term memory skills in children with down syndrome: A meta-analytic review. Research in Developmental Disabilities. 2011; 32(6):2225-34. [DOI:10.1016/j.ridd.2011.05.014] [PMID]
Roberts JE, Price J, Malkin C. Language and communication development in down syndrome. Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews. 2007; 13(1):26-35. [DOI:10.1002/mrdd.20136] [PMID]
Dade P. Encyclopedia of child behavior and development. Reference Reviews. 2011; 25(6):10-11. [DOI:10.1108/09504121111155932]
Michael SE, Ratner NB, Newman R. Verb comprehension and use in children and adults with down syndrome. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. 2012; 55(6):1736-1749. [DOI:10.1044/1092-4388(2012/11-0050)] [PMID]
Chapman RS, Schwartz SE, Bird EK-R. Language skills of children and adolescents with Down syndrome: I. Comprehension. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. 1991; 34(5):1106-20. [DOI:10.1044/jshr.3405.1106] [PMID]
Hick R, Botting N, Conti-Ramsden G. Cognitive abilities in children with specific language impairment: Consideration of visuospatial skills. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders. 2005; 40(2):137-49. [DOI:10.1080/13682820400011507] [PMID]
Bello A, Onofrio D, Caselli MC. Nouns and predicates comprehension and production in children with Down syndrome. Research in Developmental Disabilities. 2014; 35(4):761-75. [DOI:10.1016/j.ridd.2014.01.023] [PMID]
Lázaro M, Garayzábal E, Moraleda E. Differences on morphological and phonological processing between typically developing children and children with down syndrome. Research in Developmental Disabilities. 2013; 34(7):2065-74. [DOI:10.1016/j.ridd.2013.03.027] [PMID]
Galeote M, Sebastián E, Checa E, Rey R, Soto P. The development of vocabulary in Spanish children with down syndrome: Comprehension, production, and gestures. Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability. 2011; 36(3):184-96. [DOI:10.3109/13668250.2011.599317] [PMID]
Muter V. Uncommon understanding: Development and disorders of language comprehension in children. By DVM Bishop. Psychology Press, Hove, UK, 1997. pp. 278.£ 29.95 (hb). The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines. 1998; 39(7):1055. [DOI:10.1017/S002196309821314X]
Abbeduto L, Murphy MM, Cawthon SW, Richmond EK, Weissman MD, Karadottir S, et al. Receptive language skills of adolescents and young adults with Down or fragile X syndrome. American Journal on Mental Retardation. 2003; 108(3):149-60. [DOI:10.1352/0895-8017(2003)1082.0.CO;2] [PMID]
Berglund E, Eriksson M. Communicative development in Swedish children 16-28 months old: The Swedish early communicative development inventory-words and sentences. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. 2000; 41(2):133-44. [DOI:10.1111/1467-9450.00181] [PMID]
Facon B, Magis D. Does the development of syntax comprehension show a premature asymptote among persons with Down syndrome? A cross-sectional analysis. American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. 2019; 124(2):131-44. [DOI:10.1352/1944-7558-124.2.131] [PMID]
Laws G, Gunn D. Phonological memory as a predictor of language comprehension in Down syndrome: A five-year follow-up study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 2004; 45(2):326-37. [DOI:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.00224.x] [PMID]
Caselli MC, Monaco L, Trasciani M, Vicari S. Language in Italian children with Down syndrome and with specific language impairment. Neuropsychology. 2008; 22(1):27. [DOI:10.1037/0894-4105.22.1.27] [PMID]
Laws G, Bishop DVM. Pragmatic language impairment and social deficits in Williams syndrome: A comparison with Down’s syndrome and specific language impairment. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders. 2004; 39(1):45-64. [DOI:10.1080/13682820310001615797] [PMID]
Witecy B, Penke M. Language comprehension in children, adolescents, and adults with Down syndrome. Research in Developmental Disabilities. 2017; 62:184-96. [DOI:10.1016/j.ridd.2017.01.014] [PMID]
Joffe V, Varlokosta S. Patterns of syntactic development in children with Williams syndrome and Down’s syndrome: Evidence from passives and wh-questions. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics. 2007; 21(9):705-27. [DOI:10.1080/02699200701541375] [PMID]
Aminloo S, Kamkary K, Shokrzadeh S. The concurrent validity of the new version of the Tehran-Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for children-revised. Journal of Exceptional Education. 2012;13(7):50-61. [Link]
Kamkari,K. Psychometric properties of the new version intelligence Tehran-Stanford-Binet in learning disabled students. Journal of Psychometry. 2017; 6(22).19-42. [Link]
Heydarpanahi S, Ghorbani A, Jalilevand N, Kamali M. Revising the first version of receptive picture vocabulary test and design the first version of expressive picture vocabulary test based on it for normal Persian-speaking children aged 30 to 71 months. Middle Eastern Journal of Disability Studies. 2023. [Unpublished article]
Mohamadi R, Ahmadi A, Kazemi MD, Minaei A. Development of the Persian syntax comprehension test. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology. 2019; 124:22-9. [DOI:10.1016/j.ijporl.2019.05.032] [PMID]
Pooresmaeil E, Mohamadi R, Ghorbani A, Kamali M. The relationship between comprehension of syntax and reading comprehension in cochlear implanted and hearing children. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology. 2019; 121:114-9. [DOI:10.1016/j.ijporl.2019.03.004] [PMID]
Mohamadi R, Alavije MR, Minayi A, Modaresi Y, Dastjerdi MK, Ghaderi M. Generation and content validation of a Persian syntax comprehension test. Psychology of Language and Communication. 2015; 19(3):222-36. [DOI:10.1515/plc-2015-0013]
McGregor KK, Newman RM, Reilly RM, Capone NC. Semantic representation and naming in children with specific language impairment. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. 2002; 45(5):998-1014. [DOI:10.1044/1092-4388(2002/081)] [PMID]
Brooks PJ, Kempe V. Encyclopedia of language development. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications; 2014. [DOI:10.4135/9781483346441]
Perry LK, Perlman M, Lupyan G. Iconicity in English and Spanish and its relation to lexical category and age of acquisition. Plos One. 2015; 10(9):e0137147. [DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0137147] [PMID] [PMCID]
Bassano D. Early development of nouns and verbs in French: Exploring the interface between lexicon and grammar. Journal of Child Language. 2000; 27(3):521-59. [DOI:10.1017/S0305000900004396] [PMID]
Mohamadi R, Kazemi-Dastjerdi M, Minaei A, Jenabi MS. The comprehension of active and passive sentences in persian typically developing children aged 48-71 months. Journal of Modern Rehabilitation. 2016; 10(2):80-5. [Link]
Maratsos M, Fox DE, Becker JA, Chalkley MA. Semantic restrictions on children’s passives. Cognition. 1985; 19(2):167-91. [DOI:10.1016/0010-0277(85)90017-4] [PMID]
Sinclair A, Sinclair H, De Marcelus O. Young children's comprehension and production of passive sentences. Archives de Psychologie. 1971:41(161-164), 1–22. [Link]
Golinkoff RM, Hirsh-Pasek K, Bloom L, Smith LB, Woodward AL, Akhtar N, et al. Becoming a word learner: A debate on the lexical acquisition: Oxford University Press; 2000. [DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195130324.001.0001] [PMID]
Kiese-Himmel C. Receptive (aural) vocabulary development in children with permanent bilateral sensorineural hearing impairment. The Journal of Laryngology and Otology. 2008; 122(5):458-65. [DOI:10.1017/S0022215107000321] [PMID]
Chapman RS, Hesketh LJ, Kistler DJ. Predicting longitudinal change in language production and comprehension in individuals with down syndrome. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. 2002; 45(5):902-12. [DOI:10.1044/1092-4388(2002/073)] [PMID]
Baddeley A, Jarrold C. Working memory and down syndrome. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research. 2007; 51(12):925-31. [DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2788.2007.00979.x] [PMID]
Weighall AR, Altmann GT. The role of working memory and contextual constraints in children’s processing of relative clauses. Journal of Child Language. 2011; 38(3):579-605. [DOI:10.1017/S0305000910000267] [PMID]
Chapman R, Hesketh L. Language, cognition, and short-term memory in individuals with down syndrome. Down Syndrome Research and Practice. 2001; 7(1):1-7. [DOI:10.3104/reviews.108] [PMID]
Frizelle P, Thompson PA, Duta M, Bishop DVM. The understanding of complex syntax in children with down syndrome. Wellcome Open Research. 2018; 3. [DOI:10.12688/wellcomeopenres.14861.1] [PMID] [PMCID]
Lanfranchi S, Jerman O, Dal Pont E, Alberti A, Vianello R. Executive function in adolescents with down syndrome. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research. 2010; 54(4):308-19. [DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2788.2010.01262.x] [PMID]
McDuffie A, Chapman RS, Abbeduto L. Language profiles of adolescents and young adults with down syndrome and fragile x syndrome. Speech and Language Development and Intervention in Down Syndrome and Fragile X Syndrome. 2008:117-41. [Link]
Loveall SJ, Channell MM, Phillips BA, Abbeduto L, Conners FA. Receptive vocabulary analysis in down syndrome. Research in Developmental Disabilities. 2016; 55:161-72. [DOI:10.1016/j.ridd.2016.03.018] [PMID] [PMCID]
Martin GE, Klusek J, Estigarribia B, Roberts JE. Language characteristics of individuals with down syndrome. Topics in Language Disorders. 2009; 29(2):112. [DOI:10.1097/TLD.0b013e3181a71fe1] [PMID] [PMCID]
Næss K-AB, Lyster S-AH, Hulme C, Melby-Lervåg M. Language and verbal short-term memory skills in children with down syndrome: A meta-analytic review. Research in Developmental Disabilities. 2011; 32(6):2225-34. [DOI:10.1016/j.ridd.2011.05.014] [PMID]
Roberts JE, Price J, Malkin C. Language and communication development in down syndrome. Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews. 2007; 13(1):26-35. [DOI:10.1002/mrdd.20136] [PMID]
Dade P. Encyclopedia of child behavior and development. Reference Reviews. 2011; 25(6):10-11. [DOI:10.1108/09504121111155932]
Michael SE, Ratner NB, Newman R. Verb comprehension and use in children and adults with down syndrome. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. 2012; 55(6):1736-1749. [DOI:10.1044/1092-4388(2012/11-0050)] [PMID]
Chapman RS, Schwartz SE, Bird EK-R. Language skills of children and adolescents with Down syndrome: I. Comprehension. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. 1991; 34(5):1106-20. [DOI:10.1044/jshr.3405.1106] [PMID]
Hick R, Botting N, Conti-Ramsden G. Cognitive abilities in children with specific language impairment: Consideration of visuospatial skills. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders. 2005; 40(2):137-49. [DOI:10.1080/13682820400011507] [PMID]
Bello A, Onofrio D, Caselli MC. Nouns and predicates comprehension and production in children with Down syndrome. Research in Developmental Disabilities. 2014; 35(4):761-75. [DOI:10.1016/j.ridd.2014.01.023] [PMID]
Lázaro M, Garayzábal E, Moraleda E. Differences on morphological and phonological processing between typically developing children and children with down syndrome. Research in Developmental Disabilities. 2013; 34(7):2065-74. [DOI:10.1016/j.ridd.2013.03.027] [PMID]
Galeote M, Sebastián E, Checa E, Rey R, Soto P. The development of vocabulary in Spanish children with down syndrome: Comprehension, production, and gestures. Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability. 2011; 36(3):184-96. [DOI:10.3109/13668250.2011.599317] [PMID]
Muter V. Uncommon understanding: Development and disorders of language comprehension in children. By DVM Bishop. Psychology Press, Hove, UK, 1997. pp. 278.£ 29.95 (hb). The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines. 1998; 39(7):1055. [DOI:10.1017/S002196309821314X]
Abbeduto L, Murphy MM, Cawthon SW, Richmond EK, Weissman MD, Karadottir S, et al. Receptive language skills of adolescents and young adults with Down or fragile X syndrome. American Journal on Mental Retardation. 2003; 108(3):149-60. [DOI:10.1352/0895-8017(2003)1082.0.CO;2] [PMID]
Berglund E, Eriksson M. Communicative development in Swedish children 16-28 months old: The Swedish early communicative development inventory-words and sentences. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. 2000; 41(2):133-44. [DOI:10.1111/1467-9450.00181] [PMID]
Facon B, Magis D. Does the development of syntax comprehension show a premature asymptote among persons with Down syndrome? A cross-sectional analysis. American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. 2019; 124(2):131-44. [DOI:10.1352/1944-7558-124.2.131] [PMID]
Laws G, Gunn D. Phonological memory as a predictor of language comprehension in Down syndrome: A five-year follow-up study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 2004; 45(2):326-37. [DOI:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.00224.x] [PMID]
Caselli MC, Monaco L, Trasciani M, Vicari S. Language in Italian children with Down syndrome and with specific language impairment. Neuropsychology. 2008; 22(1):27. [DOI:10.1037/0894-4105.22.1.27] [PMID]
Laws G, Bishop DVM. Pragmatic language impairment and social deficits in Williams syndrome: A comparison with Down’s syndrome and specific language impairment. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders. 2004; 39(1):45-64. [DOI:10.1080/13682820310001615797] [PMID]
Witecy B, Penke M. Language comprehension in children, adolescents, and adults with Down syndrome. Research in Developmental Disabilities. 2017; 62:184-96. [DOI:10.1016/j.ridd.2017.01.014] [PMID]
Joffe V, Varlokosta S. Patterns of syntactic development in children with Williams syndrome and Down’s syndrome: Evidence from passives and wh-questions. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics. 2007; 21(9):705-27. [DOI:10.1080/02699200701541375] [PMID]
Aminloo S, Kamkary K, Shokrzadeh S. The concurrent validity of the new version of the Tehran-Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for children-revised. Journal of Exceptional Education. 2012;13(7):50-61. [Link]
Kamkari,K. Psychometric properties of the new version intelligence Tehran-Stanford-Binet in learning disabled students. Journal of Psychometry. 2017; 6(22).19-42. [Link]
Heydarpanahi S, Ghorbani A, Jalilevand N, Kamali M. Revising the first version of receptive picture vocabulary test and design the first version of expressive picture vocabulary test based on it for normal Persian-speaking children aged 30 to 71 months. Middle Eastern Journal of Disability Studies. 2023. [Unpublished article]
Mohamadi R, Ahmadi A, Kazemi MD, Minaei A. Development of the Persian syntax comprehension test. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology. 2019; 124:22-9. [DOI:10.1016/j.ijporl.2019.05.032] [PMID]
Pooresmaeil E, Mohamadi R, Ghorbani A, Kamali M. The relationship between comprehension of syntax and reading comprehension in cochlear implanted and hearing children. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology. 2019; 121:114-9. [DOI:10.1016/j.ijporl.2019.03.004] [PMID]
Mohamadi R, Alavije MR, Minayi A, Modaresi Y, Dastjerdi MK, Ghaderi M. Generation and content validation of a Persian syntax comprehension test. Psychology of Language and Communication. 2015; 19(3):222-36. [DOI:10.1515/plc-2015-0013]
McGregor KK, Newman RM, Reilly RM, Capone NC. Semantic representation and naming in children with specific language impairment. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. 2002; 45(5):998-1014. [DOI:10.1044/1092-4388(2002/081)] [PMID]
Brooks PJ, Kempe V. Encyclopedia of language development. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications; 2014. [DOI:10.4135/9781483346441]
Perry LK, Perlman M, Lupyan G. Iconicity in English and Spanish and its relation to lexical category and age of acquisition. Plos One. 2015; 10(9):e0137147. [DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0137147] [PMID] [PMCID]
Bassano D. Early development of nouns and verbs in French: Exploring the interface between lexicon and grammar. Journal of Child Language. 2000; 27(3):521-59. [DOI:10.1017/S0305000900004396] [PMID]
Mohamadi R, Kazemi-Dastjerdi M, Minaei A, Jenabi MS. The comprehension of active and passive sentences in persian typically developing children aged 48-71 months. Journal of Modern Rehabilitation. 2016; 10(2):80-5. [Link]
Maratsos M, Fox DE, Becker JA, Chalkley MA. Semantic restrictions on children’s passives. Cognition. 1985; 19(2):167-91. [DOI:10.1016/0010-0277(85)90017-4] [PMID]
Sinclair A, Sinclair H, De Marcelus O. Young children's comprehension and production of passive sentences. Archives de Psychologie. 1971:41(161-164), 1–22. [Link]
Golinkoff RM, Hirsh-Pasek K, Bloom L, Smith LB, Woodward AL, Akhtar N, et al. Becoming a word learner: A debate on the lexical acquisition: Oxford University Press; 2000. [DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195130324.001.0001] [PMID]
Kiese-Himmel C. Receptive (aural) vocabulary development in children with permanent bilateral sensorineural hearing impairment. The Journal of Laryngology and Otology. 2008; 122(5):458-65. [DOI:10.1017/S0022215107000321] [PMID]
Chapman RS, Hesketh LJ, Kistler DJ. Predicting longitudinal change in language production and comprehension in individuals with down syndrome. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. 2002; 45(5):902-12. [DOI:10.1044/1092-4388(2002/073)] [PMID]
Baddeley A, Jarrold C. Working memory and down syndrome. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research. 2007; 51(12):925-31. [DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2788.2007.00979.x] [PMID]
Weighall AR, Altmann GT. The role of working memory and contextual constraints in children’s processing of relative clauses. Journal of Child Language. 2011; 38(3):579-605. [DOI:10.1017/S0305000910000267] [PMID]
| Issue | Vol 17 No 2 (2023) | |
| Section | Research Article(s) | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.18502/jmr.v17i2.12408 | |
| Keywords | ||
| Down syndrome Syntax Receptive vocabulary Reception | ||
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
How to Cite
1.
Ashrafi F, Arshi B, Mohamadi R, Zarei Faskhodi B, Rasouli M. Vocabulary and Syntax Reception in Children with Down Syndrome. jmr. 2023;17(2):114-124.
