Research PaperInferential language use by youth with Down syndrome during narration
Introduction
Down syndrome (DS) is the leading known genetic cause of intellectual disability (Presson et al., 2013). In addition to their cognitive delay, individuals with DS experience difficulties with nearly all facets of language (Abbeduto, Warren, & Conners, 2007; McDuffie, Thurman, Channell, & Abbeduto, 2017). Expressive language is particularly impaired, with delays observed relative to both receptive language and nonverbal cognitive ability level (Chapman, Seung, Schwartz, & Kay-Raining Bird, 1998; Miller, 1999). Syntax, or grammar, is also particularly impaired relative to other domains of language, such as vocabulary (Abbeduto et al., 2003; Finestack, Sterling, & Abbeduto, 2013; Phillips, Loveall, Channell, & Conners, 2014), with expressive morphosyntax being the most impaired (Chapman & Hesketh, 2000; Finestack & Abbeduto,2010). Far less is known about the pragmatic language abilities, or social use of language, of individuals with DS, particularly for individuals who have progressed beyond the early stages of development. The limited literature points to a complex pragmatic language profile of relative strengths and difficulties, varying by sub-domain assessed and comparison group (e.g., autism spectrum disorder and fragile X syndrome; typical development) used (Abbeduto et al., 2008, Lee et al., 2017; Martin, Losh, Estigarribia, Sideris, & Roberts, 2013; Roberts et al., 2007; Smith, Naess, & Jarrold, 2017).
Inferential language is a complex sub-domain of pragmatic language that requires an individual to use social cognition to integrate information that is not explicitly provided from the context, draw logical conclusions (i.e., generate inferences), and use language to communicate these inferences to a listener. To date, no studies have comprehensively examined inferential language abilities in individuals with DS. Because inferential language serves as a framework for positive social interactions and learning in academic contexts (Carpendale and Lewis, 2006, Symons, 2004), it is important to determine whether the phenotypic characteristics of DS impact this important foundation for development. The purpose of the current study, therefore, was to investigate inferential language use by youth with DS in the context of narrative storytelling.
Section snippets
Inferential language in narrative
Narrative storytelling (i.e., the ability to coherently relay a sequence of events to a listener) is an important aspect of expressive language needed for everyday communication and is an area in which individuals with DS also struggle, although the extent of their challenges in narration is not clear (Boudreau & Chapman, 2000; Channell, McDuffie, Bullard, & Abbeduto, 2015; Finestack, Palmer, & Abbeduto, 2012; Hesketh & Chapman, 1998; Hogan-Brown, Losh, Martin, & Mueffelmann, 2013; Miles &
Inferential language in DS
What is currently known about inferential language use in DS comes from a handful studies focusing on mental state language and causal referencing in autism spectrum disorder in which DS was included as a comparison group (Baron-Cohen, Leslie, & Frith, 1986; Tager-Flusberg, 1992). Although both the Baron-Cohen and Tager-Flusberg studies included very small sample sizes, they pointed to a general trend of young children with DS making fewer references to character mental states (Baron-Cohen et
Current study
The purpose of the current study was to examine inferential language use in the context of narrative storytelling by individuals with DS. We analyzed the use of different types of inferences that vary in complexity of social-cognitive reasoning to determine patterns of strength and weakness across the inference types. We included two comparison groups: younger TD children and same-age peers with FXS, with the groups matched on nonverbal cognitive ability level. We compared participants with DS
Participants
The 68 participants for this study (DS n = 23, FXS n = 22, TD n = 23) were drawn from a larger longitudinal project focusing on language development in neurodevelopmental disorders. Participants overlapped with those reported in previous papers (e.g., Channell et al., 2015, Finestack et al., 2013; Kover, McDuffie, Abbeduto, & Brown, 2012; McDuffie et al., 2010); however, all analyses in the present study are unique and have not been previously reported.
In the larger project, all participants were
Analytic approach
To address Aim 1, we conducted an analysis of variance (ANOVA) to examine the impact of participant group on overall inferential language use. Then, we conducted an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) to examine whether potential group differences changed after accounting for the effect of MLU (Aim 3). Based on the initial findings reported below, in keeping with the focus of the current study on DS, and importantly, to limit the number of statistical comparisons, we proceeded to address Aim 2
Discussion
The purpose of this study was to examine inferential language use during narrative storytelling by children and adolescents with DS relative to same-aged peers with FXS and younger TD children matched by nonverbal cognitive ability level. First, we aimed to compare groups according to their overall rate of inferential language use (i.e., the proportion of utterances containing inferential language). Second, because prior literature led to the hypothesis that inferential language use may vary by
Acknowledgements
We are most thankful for all the families who participated in this study. We also thank the countless staff who worked with participant recruitment and scheduling, data collection, and language sample transcription. We thank Taylor Hoffman for her contributions to the coding specific to this project. This research was supported by NIH grants R01HD024356 and U54HD079125 (PI: Abbeduto).
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Verb production by individuals with Down syndrome during narration
2019, Research in Developmental DisabilitiesCitation Excerpt :For example, Hesketh and Chapman (1998) and Michael et al. (2012) both used narrative tasks, but Grela’s (2002) data included language transcripts from the Child Language Database Exchange System (CHILDES; MacWhinney, 2000) that were collected during mother-child free play at home. Because narration may be cognitively taxing (e.g. Berman & Slobin, 1994), participants with DS might leave out key story grammar elements (e.g. character actions; Ashby, Channell, & Abbeduto, 2017; Channell et al., 2015), thus precluding the need for including a verb. It is also possible that children are simply more comfortable with their mothers during free play and therefore talk more and produce more verbs.
Inferential language use by school-aged boys with fragile X syndrome: Effects of a parent-implemented spoken language intervention
2018, Journal of Communication DisordersCitation Excerpt :Additionally, several studies have examined the use of narrative language in FXS employing a variety of methods, including a study by Finestack, Palmer, & Abbeduto (2012) in which the Narrative Scoring Scheme (NSS; Heilmann, Miller, Nockerts, & Dunaway, 2010) was used. Other studies of narrative language abilities in FXS have included more fine-grained, frequency-based approaches to examine the episodic structure of narratives (Channell, McDuffie, Bullard, & Abbeduto, 2015) as well as the use of inferential language to provide explanations for, and evaluations of, events and character actions and reactions (Ashby, Channell, & Abbeduto, 2017). Collectively, these studies document delays relative to chronological age expectations on all measures for individuals with FXS.
Narrative abilities in individuals with Down syndrome: single case-profiles
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2023, Frontiers in PsychologyPhonological patterns in Greek language in toddlers and children with Down syndrome and children with language impairment
2022, British Journal of Special EducationHow do students with intellectual disabilities tell stories? An investigation of narrative macrostructure and microstructure
2022, Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities