Speech production in children with Down's syndrome: The effects of reading, naming and imitation.

This study aimed to compare reading, picture naming and repetition for the same 10 words, to identify if the speech of eight children with DS (aged 11-14 years) was more accurate, consistent and intelligible when reading. Results show that children were slightly, yet significantly, more accurate and intelligible when they read words compared with when they produced those words in naming or imitation conditions although the reduction in inconsistency was non-significant. The results of this small-scale study provide tentative support for previous claims about the benefits of reading for children with DS. The mechanisms behind a facilitatory effect of reading are considered, and directions are identified for future research. PMID: 25774762 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics - Category: Speech Therapy Authors: Tags: Clin Linguist Phon Source Type: research