Thomas Michael S C, Annaz Dagmara, Ansari Daniel, Scerif Gaia, Jarrold Chris, Karmiloff-Smith Annette
Developmental Neurocognition Laboratoy, School of Psychology, Birkbeck College, University of London, London, UK.
J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2009 Apr;52(2):336-58. doi: 10.1044/1092-4388(2009/07-0144). Epub 2009 Feb 27.
In this article, the authors present a tutorial on the use of developmental trajectories for studying language and cognitive impairments in developmental disorders and compare this method with the use of matching.
The authors assess the strengths, limitations, and practical implications of each method. The contrast between the methodologies is highlighted using the example of developmental delay and the criteria used to distinguish delay from atypical development.
The authors argue for the utility of the trajectory approach, using illustrations from studies investigating language and cognitive impairments in individuals with Williams syndrome, Down syndrome, and autism spectrum disorder.
Two conclusions were reached: (a) An understanding of the underlying mechanism will be furthered by the richer descriptive vocabulary provided by the trajectories approach (e.g., in distinguishing different types of delay) and (b) an optimal design for studying developmental disorders is to combine initial cross-sectional designs with longitudinal follow-up.
在本文中，作者介绍了关于使用发育轨迹来研究发育障碍中的语言和认知障碍的教程，并将该方法与匹配法的使用进行比较。
作者评估了每种方法的优势、局限性和实际意义。以发育迟缓为例以及用于区分发育迟缓与非典型发育的标准，突出了两种方法之间的对比。
作者通过对威廉姆斯综合征、唐氏综合征和自闭症谱系障碍患者的语言和认知障碍研究中的例证，论证了轨迹法的实用性。
得出了两个结论：(a) 轨迹法提供的更丰富的描述性词汇（例如，在区分不同类型的发育迟缓方面）将有助于进一步理解潜在机制；(b) 研究发育障碍的最佳设计是将初始横断面设计与纵向随访相结合。
