Department of Speech and Hearing Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois.
Semin Speech Lang. 2021 Aug;42(4):301-317. doi: 10.1055/s-0041-1730914. Epub 2021 Jul 26.
Promoting language abilities, including early word learning, in children with neurogenetic disorders with associated language disorders, such as Down syndrome (DS) and fragile X syndrome (FXS), is a main concern for caregivers and clinicians. For typically developing children, the quality and quantity of maternal language input and maternal gesture use contributes to child word learning, and a similar relation is likely present in DS and FXS. However, few studies have examined the combined effect of maternal language input and maternal gesture use on child word learning. We present a multidimensional approach for coding word-referent transparency in naturally occurring input to children with neurogenetic disorders. We conceptualize high-quality input from a multidimensional perspective, considering features from linguistic, interactive, and conceptual dimensions simultaneously. Using case examples, we highlight how infrequent the moments of word-referent transparency are for three toddlers with DS during play with their mothers. We discuss the implications of this multidimensional framework for children with DS and FXS, including the clinical application of our approach to promote early word learning for these children.
促进语言能力，包括早期词汇学习，对于患有神经遗传疾病和相关语言障碍的儿童，如唐氏综合征（Down syndrome，DS）和脆性 X 综合征（fragile X syndrome，FXS），是照顾者和临床医生关注的主要问题。对于正常发育的儿童来说，母亲语言输入的质量和数量以及母亲手势的使用有助于儿童的词汇学习，这种相似的关系可能也存在于 DS 和 FXS 中。然而，很少有研究检查母亲语言输入和母亲手势使用对儿童词汇学习的综合影响。我们提出了一种多维方法来对神经遗传障碍儿童自然输入中的词汇指代透明度进行编码。我们从多维角度来理解高质量的输入，同时考虑语言、互动和概念维度的特征。通过案例示例，我们强调了在与母亲玩耍时，三个患有 DS 的幼儿在词汇指代透明度方面的时刻是多么罕见。我们讨论了这个多维框架对 DS 和 FXS 儿童的意义，包括我们的方法在促进这些儿童早期词汇学习方面的临床应用。
