The language development of children with Down syndrome: First words to two-word phrases

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Buckley, Sue and Oliver, Bonamy R. 1994. The language development of children with Down syndrome: First words to two-word phrases. Down Syndrome Research and Practice, 2(2), pp. 71-75. ISSN 0968-7912 [Article]

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.3104/reports.33

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A longitudinal study was conducted to investigate the early language development of children with Down syndrome. Using parental records of their children's speech, the study investigated very early language development, from first words to the consolidation of two-word phrases. Seventeen children were studied, all with Down syndrome and the age range of these subjects when the study began was one year to four years. The mean age for reaching the ten word stage was 27.3 months, a delay of around 12 months. The results showed that the children with Down syndrome studied here learned very similar words to those of typically developing children. The results also indicated that, as with typically developing children, some children with Down syndrome experienced a vocabulary explosion. The mean age for this language explosion was 30 months, with a mean vocabulary of 24.4 words. However, it was clear that there was a wide range of individual differences with some children showing no explosion. The mean age for two-word phrase consolidation was 36.9 months, suggesting a delay of around 18 months. The results indicated that, having reached the ten word stage, children with Down syndrome proceed in their language development at a slower rate to a two-word stage than typically developing children. Detailed individual profiles are included to illustrate the wide range of individual differences observed in the rate of language acquisition in this group.

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Article

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https://doi.org/10.3104/reports.33