Down syndrome and William's syndrome Flashcards
Genetic communication disorders
- Developmental in the womb
- Cannot be acquired
Down syndrome:
General characteristics
Speech
- Mechanical speech problems
- Muscular hypotonia (weakness)
- Undersized mouth cavity (protruding tongue)
- Flattened nose (nasality)
- DYSARTHRIA
- Affects abilities of articulation, place and manner
Down syndrome:
General characteristics
Sensory defecits and cognitive
- High incidence of hearing loss (infections)
- Impaired visual field
- Mental capacity of 5-15 year old
- Late walking (eg. acquiring new skills and exploring world)
- Short attention span and slow reaction time
Down syndrome:
General characteristics
Phonology
- Delayed speech but follows typical acquisition order
- Nasal
- Protruding tongue = no dental sounds
- Dysarthria
Down syndrome:
General characteristics
Memory
- Poor memory
- Comprehension better than production
- Vocab comprehension area of strength = better than chronological/biological age
- Poor story recall
- Better memory with visual aids than auditory
Down syndrome:
General characteristics
Lexicon and semantics
- Late to talk = lack of social interaction
- Typical early word types (nouns and environment labels)
- Grammatical words are rarer than content
Down syndrome:
AAC
- Cannot use BSL as it is just as complicated
- Better learning with spoken and signed words (DSA 2008)
- Concerns children may stop talking if using AAC
- Makaton = visual and speech sign language system
Down syndrome:
General characteristics
Morphology and syntax
- Speech remains telegraphic
- No grammatical words
Down syndrome:
General characteristics
Pragmatics
- As good as cognitive age
- Resembles typical 5 y/o child
- Staring = better understanding but violates typical pragmatics and personal space for others
- Less spontaneous
- Turn taking = poor
Down syndrome:
General characteristics
Literacy
- Some learn reading skills
- No reported differences in input accounting for patterns of deficit ad strengths observed
Typical profile
Chronological age: Mental Age:
4-6 18 months
8-11 30 months
12-17 48 months (age 4)
Delay or deviance/
- Developmental lag hypothesis (Fowler 1990)
- Quantitative difference
- Processing is qualitatively different
Deviance:
- Especially grammar
- Qualitative differences
- Disassociation between grammar and lexicon
- Information processing problems
William’s Syndrome
Basic info
- Neuro-developmental disorder
- Rarer than downs
- Advanced language
- Wide mouth
- Flat nose
- Bulgy cheeks
- Irregular teeth
- Low birth rate, dehydration
William’s syndrome
Behavioural and cognitive characteristics
- Mild-severe learning difficulties
- Poor spacial awareness
- Over friendly
- Hyperactive
- Emotionally immature
- Anxious but doesn’t recognise danger
- Obsessive
- Hypersensitive to noise
William’s syndrome
Language
- Relatively good phonology
- Muscles not as week as downs
- Word store good BUT different = holds rare words and lacks semantic organisation
- Narrative = peripheral and irrelevant detail picking out
