Abstract
This review of recent work on language development in children and adolescents with Down syndrome focuses on sentence structure, grammatical words, and vocabulary. Evidence is summarized for a specific expressive language impairment, over and above the cognitive delay associated with the syndrome. A profile of strengths (lexical comprehension) and deficits (lexical and sentence production) is identified. Acquisition of productive syntax is shown to be ongoing in adolescence, without evidence of limits to learning at the onset of adolescence or the advent of complex syntax. Additional difficulties in verb and grammatical morpheme acquisition are identified. Predictors of individual variation in performance and competing explanations of language deficit are discussed briefly. Interventions shown to increase communicative effectiveness are summarized. MRDD Research Reviews 1997;3:307–312. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
