Speed of naming in children with Williams and Down syndromes

Abstract

Background Williams syndrome (WS) and Down syndrome (DS) are two neurodevelopmental genetically based disorders which exhibit mental retardation with a unique cognitive profile. Naming in individuals with WS and DS has been investigated in several studies, with results indicating that the performance of children with WS and DS is at a similar level and below mental age expectations on naming tasks.Method Speed of naming pictures, colours, numbers, letters and words was assessed in 8 individuals with WS, 10 individuals with DS, and 18 mental age controls. All stimuli were presented on a computer monitor and reaction times for naming were recorded.Results Our results indicated that speed of naming in children with DS and WS is not statistically different to that of mental age controls. However, error analysis in naming words and pictures revealed qualitative differences between the three groups.Conclusion These results challenge the tenet of increased naming speed in children with WS compared to mental age controls. The findings are discussed in the light of current evidence concerning the linguistic abilities of children with neurodevelopmental disorders and those with typical development.