Taalontwikkeling van jonge kinderen met Downsyndroom: het verband tussen woordbegrip en woordproductie en de invloed van ouderlijke responsiviteit op de taalontwikkeling.

Abstract

Background and aim. Young children with Down Syndrome (DS) show deficiencies in language development, especially in their word production. Little is known about the possible influence of parental responsiveness in the development of word production in children with DS. The purpose of this study was to examine the relation between word comprehension and word production in young children with DS, and the possible mediating role of parental responsiveness. Methods. Sixteen children with DS and one of their parents participated. Word comprehension and word production were measured with the N-CDI at the age of 26, and 34 months, respectively. Word production and parental responsiveness were also measured in a videotaped parent-child structured play interaction. For parental responsiveness an overall score as well as a percentage score (parental responses/intentional actions child) were determined. Results. A significant relation between word comprehension at 26 months and word production at 34 months was found. The overall parental responsiveness score was significantly related to word comprehension but not to word production. Conclusion. Word comprehension at age 26 months appears a significant predictor of word production at age 34 months, but parental responsiveness was a not mediating variable.