Cluttering in Down syndrome.

OBJECTIVE

To study the occurrence of cluttering in individuals with Down syndrome (DS) taking into account the wide range of symptoms that may be found in cluttering.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Twenty-six speech language therapists, who had clients with DS among their caseload, administered the Predictive Cluttering Inventory in 76 individuals with DS aged between 3.8 and 57.3 years.

RESULTS

Sixty of the 76 participants (78.9%) obtained a score that classified them as a clutterer, and 13 other participants (17.1%) qualified as a clutterer-stutterer. In almost 65% of the participants, not all items had been scored; thus, compromising strict administration of the Predictive Cluttering Inventory.

CONCLUSION

The results clearly illustrate the need for a consensus on the symptoms that are essential for a diagnosis of cluttering, and also indicate that an instrument like the Predictive Cluttering Inventory may not be suitable for every clinical population. Future research is necessary to determine if the disfluent speech exhibited by certain clinical subgroups (such as individuals with DS) represents a distinct pattern that is different from developmental stuttering, and does not form part of a syndrome of cluttering either.