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Language and Children with Down
Syndrome
By Ann M. Sommerer - compiled as a synopsis of handouts distributed by James
MacDonald, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Director of Communicating Partners Center, during
his presentation at the 1999 National Down Syndrome Congress Conference;
reprinted from New Outlook, Vol. 14, Issue 3.
Why do children with Down syndrome have difficulty learning to talk?
 | Slower muscular development - It is
harder for children with Down syndrome
to make rapid movements needed to combine speech sounds for language. |
| Slower understanding of adult
language- It is more difficult for our
children to process long strings of information that they are exposed to. |
| Less practice interacting with
people Our children often spend much less
time interacting with people and practicing their communication. |
| Too passive a role in social life -
Our children are too often on the
taking rather than the giving end of relationships, thus affording less of
the active participation they need for speech to develop. |
| Old nonverbal communication works
too well - Especially within families,
children with Down syndrome develop elaborate ways to communicate with
movements, gestures and sounds that are effective at home, but not in
society. The children often have little need to use the more difficult
words. |
| Low expectations by others -
Many people do not engage children with Down
syndrome in communication much because they do not expect them to talk or be
understood. |
| People talk for them - Often, our
children appear to learn not to talk when
others talk for them. |
| Not enough time to talk -
Frequently, people do not wait long enough to
allow a child respond. Children with Down syndrome act very passive as
if
they know they won't have much chance to talk. |
| Over stimulation - Our children are
often exposed to much more language
than they can understand. It is like throwing several balls at a child
learning to catch. |
| Too much school language, not enough
communicative language - Much of the language we teach our children, like
numbers and colors are not very useful in daily communications. Children
need to have a practical life vocabulary if they are to practice their
language regularly. |
| Too much performance language, not
enough social talk - Many children with
Down syndrome use language to recite things and perform show and tell feats.
But, they often do not have the easy conversations that build
friendships. |
The more your child is in the
habit of doing the following things, the
more ready he will be for language.
| Imitates others sounds. |
| Takes turns in play. |
| Practices making sounds by himself. |
| Communicates with movements. |
| Communicates with sound. |
| Plays meaningfully with things. |
| Responds to speech. |
| Prefers being with people to being
alone. |
| Plays more of an active than a
passive role.
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To determine if your child is ready for
language score him from one to 5 on
the skills above. One = never or not at all; 2 = seldom; 3 = occasionally; 4
= frequently; 5 = always or strong and stable. Then use the before speech
activities to build these skills with your child. Begin focusing on one or
two skills that your child gets at least a three on so that both of you begin
with successes. Then proceed to building up to lower skills.
Before Speech Activities:
| Play frequently in ways your child
plays. |
| Balance your time together, be sure
both of you do about as much as the
other. |
| Wait for your child to talk; avoid
doing all of the talking. |
| Match your child's
communications; communicate in ways your child can. |
| Talk as child does, then show him a
next step. |
| Respond to your child's little
sounds and actions as communications at
first. |
| Respond more to your child's words
than gestures or sounds, after he's
talking regularly. |
| Show him what to say in one or two
words. |
| Make talking times more play than
work. |
| Translate your child's own language
of sounds and movement into a word. |
| Don't rush your child to words;
communicating with sounds comes first. |
| Reduce your questions; show your
child what to say instead. |
| Accept any mispronunciations at
first; he won't talk like an adult until
he's practices a lot. |
| Play with words back and forth;
words are your child's most important toys. |
| Be more of a play partner than a
teacher; your child will stay and learn
more. |
| Be a living dictionary; put
words on your child's experiences as they
happen. |
For related materials and services, contact Communicating Partners
Center, 332 Miniring Road, Columbus, OH 43202, phone and fax: 614-447-0010;
e-mail for Dr. MacDonald is : macdonald3@osu.edu.
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Triangle Down Syndrome Network
