The understanding of complex syntax in children with Down syndrome [version 1; peer review: 3 approved]

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dc.contributor.authorFrizelle, Pauline
dc.contributor.authorThompson, Paul A.
dc.contributor.authorDuta, Mihaela
dc.contributor.authorBishop, Dorothy V.M.
dc.contributor.funderDOCTRid Research Instituteen
dc.contributor.funderWellcome Trusten
dc.date.accessioned2019-11-26T06:00:09Z
dc.date.available2019-11-26T06:00:09Z
dc.date.issued2018-11-01
dc.description.abstractBackground: Down syndrome (DS) is associated with poor language skills that seem disproportionate to general nonverbal ability, but the nature and causes of this deficit are unclear. We assessed how individuals with DS understand complex linguistic constructions, and considered how cognitive ability, memory and hearing level impact the ability of those with DS to process these sentence types. Methods: There were three groups participating in the study: children with DS (n = 33) and two control groups composed of children with cognitive impairment of unknown aetiology (CI) (n = 32) and children with typical development (n = 33). Both groups were matched to those with DS on cognitive ability. Using a newly devised animation task, we examined how well individuals with DS (n = 33) could understand relative clauses, complement clauses and adverbial clauses compared to children with CI and typically developing controls. Participants also completed the Test for the Reception of Grammar-2, three measures of memory (forward and backward digit recall, visuo-spatial memory) and a hearing screen. Results: Results indicated that (1) with the exception of intransitive subject relative clauses, children with DS performed at floor on all other complex sentences, (2) they performed at a significantly lower level than both control groups, and (3) DS status accounted for a significant proportion of the variance over and above memory skills. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that children with DS have a disproportionate difficulty understanding complex sentences compared to two control groups matched on mental age. Furthermore, their understanding of syntax is not completely explained by poor cognitive or memory skills, rather it appears to be a specific deficit that may distinguish children with DS from other neurodevelopmental disorders.en
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.description.versionPublished Versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.articleid140en
dc.identifier.citationFrizelle, P., Thompson, P.A., Duta, M. and Bishop, D.V., 2018. The understanding of complex syntax in children with Down syndrome. Wellcome open research, 3. (33pp). DOI:10.12688/wellcomeopenres.14861.1en
dc.identifier.doi10.12688/wellcomeopenres.14861.1en
dc.identifier.eissn2398-502X
dc.identifier.endpage33en
dc.identifier.journaltitleWellcome Open Researchen
dc.identifier.startpage1en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/9240
dc.identifier.volume3en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherF1000 Research Ltden
dc.relation.urihttps://wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/3-140/v1
dc.rights© 2018 Frizelle P et alen
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en
dc.subjectComplex syntaxen
dc.subjectDown syndromeen
dc.subjectChildrenen
dc.subjectReceptive languageen
dc.subjectRelative clauseen
dc.subjectComplement clauseen
dc.subjectAdverbial clauseen
dc.titleThe understanding of complex syntax in children with Down syndrome [version 1; peer review: 3 approved]en
dc.typeArticle (peer-reviewed)en
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