Manchester Institute of Education, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
Down Syndrome Education International, Cumbria, UK.
J Intellect Disabil Res. 2021 Dec;65(12):1021-1032. doi: 10.1111/jir.12890. Epub 2021 Oct 6.
This study examines speech production accuracy in children with Down syndrome and concurrent relationships with hearing, language and reading ability. It also examines change in speech production accuracy over a 21-month period.
A group of 50 children with Down syndrome (aged 5-10 years) completed measures of speech accuracy, non-verbal IQ, reading (single-word reading, letter-sound knowledge and phoneme blending) and language (expressive and receptive vocabulary and receptive grammar). Hearing was assessed by parental report. Speech accuracy was reassessed 21 months later.
Although there was considerable variability in the sample, speech was characterised by high levels of errors. There were no effects of gender, hearing status or non-verbal IQ on speech production accuracy. In contrast, speech production accuracy was significantly related to age and to measures of receptive vocabulary, phoneme blending and word reading. There was no significant improvement in speech production accuracy over time.
Children with Down syndrome experience difficulties producing accurate sounds in speech. These difficulties are related to age and to vocabulary and reading skills and persist over time, highlighting the need for intensive targeted speech intervention in this group of children.
本研究考察了唐氏综合征儿童的言语产生准确性及其与听力、语言和阅读能力的并发关系。它还检查了在 21 个月的时间内言语产生准确性的变化。
一组 50 名唐氏综合征儿童（年龄 5-10 岁）完成了言语准确性、非言语智商、阅读（单字阅读、字母-声音知识和音素混合）和语言（表达和接受词汇量和接受语法）的测试。听力通过家长报告进行评估。21 个月后重新评估言语准确性。
尽管样本中有很大的差异，但言语的特点是错误率很高。性别、听力状况或非言语智商对言语产生准确性均无影响。相比之下，言语产生准确性与年龄以及接受性词汇量、音素混合和单词阅读等测量指标显著相关。随着时间的推移，言语产生准确性没有显著提高。
唐氏综合征儿童在言语中产生准确声音方面存在困难。这些困难与年龄以及词汇量和阅读技能有关，并随着时间的推移而持续存在，这凸显了在这群儿童中进行强化有针对性的言语干预的必要性。
