Speech and Language Issues For Babies and Pre-school age children who have Down Syndrome

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Speech and Language Issues For Babies and
Pre-school age children who have Down Syndrome

• Ups and Downs Southwest Conference 2007

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The importance of speech and language

• One of the most important things children learn
  to do
• Critical to social, emotional and cognitive
  development
• Allows control over their social and emotional
  world
• Enables children to relate to others
• Underpins the development of friendships

• Plays a huge part in enabling children to
  negotiate their way through the world
• Once stringing words together, words take over as
  our most powerful way to reason and remember

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Evidence suggests that the brain is most ready
for speech and language learning between birth
and 6-8yrs

• The ability to fully master grammar and phonology
  may reduce after this time. (There is however, NO
  evidence that speech and language cannot steadily
  progress into adult life.
• Full control over grammar and phonology becomes
  less likely if some control is not in place by
  6yrs old.
• Speech and language therapy please!

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• Some observers believe that the development of
  grammar is triggered by the number of words a
  child can understand and use.
• The brain begins to analyse regularities in both
  grammar and phonology.
• It is thought that the brain is most ready to do
  this from 3-8 years.
• If the child does not have a sufficient
  vocabulary by this age it is possible that this
  analytical and computational system may not be
  activated.
• The reason for this information is to highlight
  for both parents AND professionals the importance
  of early language intervention.

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• Babies with DS find it more difficult to maintain
  their attention
• Be responsive and follow your childs lead,
  talking about what they are already interested in
• Most children with DS understand a lot more than
  they can say
• Vast majority of children with DS are late in
  starting to talk
• Average age for first spoken word about 18
  months. First ten words 27 months
• Tend to start using two words together when they
  have a productive vocabulary of about 50 words
  occurs on average at around 37 months

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Dont Panic!
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Facts

• Speech is more delayed than it should be
  according to their cognitive abilities
• Speech and language motor work is necessary
• Children who have DS have difficulties with their
  short term verbal memory
• Signing is necessary

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Signing

• Enables a child with no speech to communicate
• Will reduce frustration and/or withdrawal
• Encourages two-way communication with the child
  before speech is in place
• Encourages your child to look at you during
  exchanges of communication
• Emphasises words and gives visual backup to
  auditory information
• Illustrates different meanings for words which
  sound the same.

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Language Assessments

• These should take place in a variety of contexts
  eg home, playschool/nursery, with different
  adults, with other children etc.
• Should be an ongoing gathering of information
• Should be an exchange of information with
  parents.
• Should take into account the childs signing
  vocabulary

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A number of parent-oriented interventions have
demonstrated that communication intervention in
the first 3 years of life fosters pre-linguistic
and/or early linguistic skills in individuals
with D.S.

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Target Word Teaching

• Same research team who developed Hanen programme
  carried out studies with parents teaching their
  children specific target words for specific
  lengths of time
• Eg a group of children aged between 29-46
  months (all had at least 10 signs) were taught 10
  words
• Parents set up new routines to make it easy to
  use and model the words frequently repeating
  the word three times during each interaction.
• Child not required to imitate at this point
• The children learned and used more words more
  quickly than the control group who were still
  playing with mum and getting regular speech and
  language therapy.

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Reading

• Current evidence strongly suggests that teaching
  children with D.S. a sight vocabulary should be a
  routine part of their speech and language therapy
  programme as well as a priority in any early
  intervention programme.
• Learning to read will visually support grammar
  and sentence learning.
• 3-4 years is usually optimum age to start
• Matching words

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Practical activities

• Matching words
• Good and simple use of language
• Looking at lots of books together and reading to
  your child
• Rhyme, rhythm, repetitive, catchphrase/chorus
• As much eye contact as possible
• Singing
• Exaggerated facial expressions
• Make your own picture cards
• Color cards for identification, speech
  production exercise and later word recognition
• Press the letter toys

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Things to remember

• Insist on a sound not just pointing to get a
  requested item
• As words develop, repeat back more fully and/or
  correctly (eg correct grammar, increase phrase by
  one word)
• Encourage talking on the telephone as children
  get a bit older
• Keep records

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