Language acquisition by children with Down syndrome: a naturalistic approach to assisting language acquisition Rosa Maria Vilaseca and Mar

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Language acquisition by children with Down
syndrome a naturalistic approach to assisting
language acquisitionRosa Maria Vilasecaand
María-José Del RioBarcelona University
Methods Measures Mean Length of Utterance with
verb- MLU is determined per
word Percentage of Two or More Word Utterances
with verb- The number of utterances of two
or more words with a verb divided by the
total number of utterances of two or more
words, expressed as a percentage. Methods Phase
1 Observation Four 20-minute videotaped
interactions in the home Phase
2 Intervention Four intervention sessions
and four observation sessions Phase
3 Observation Four observation sessions
intervention withdrawn Intervention
Naturalistic- in school setting, took place
during play and routine activities, use of
scaffolding, following the interest of each
child during the intervention, etc. Emphasis
on expansions incorporating verbs 30-45 minute
sessions
Abstract Many prior studies have focused on the
value of naturally occurring adult-child
interactional processes, such as scaffolding, for
the acquisition of language by children. Vilaseca
and Del Rio attempted to use such naturalistic
interventional strategies to improve the
communication skills of three children with Down
Syndrome, using an ABA experiment to verify the
value of the treatment. They were successful in
improving the verb use of the children.
Results
Figure 1 Evolution of the percentage of two or
more words utterances with verb (TMWUv) in
interaction both with the mother and the
therapist recorded once a month during one
year.
Participants -Three children with Down Syndrome,
two girls and one boy, aged between 46
(yearsmonths) and 51. The participants had just
entered two-word stage, and rarely employed
verbs. -Castilian was the mother tongue of all
three participants
Figure 2 Evolution of the mean length of
utterances with verb (MLUv) in interaction both
with the mother and the therapist.
Conclusions The use of verbs in multiword
utterances did improve in the context of the
treatment sessions. The participants received
more benefit the younger they were, and also when
there was a less pronounced difference between
the participants Chronological Age and their
Mental Age. There was some loss of the gains from
the treatment after treatment had ended it is
recommended that mothers whose children are
receiving this type of treatment be taught to use
comparable strategies. The researchers posit that
language intervention programs could be improved
with the addition of naturalistic intervention.
Vilaseca, Rosa Maria, and Maria-José Del Rio .
"Language acquisition by children with Down
syndrome a naturalistic approach to assisting
language acquisition ." Child Language Teaching
and Therapy 20(2004) 163-180.
Presentation and poster by Ben White