Beyond Surface Performance: Analyzing Grammatical Production and Judgment Abilities in Boys With Fragile X Syndrome.

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Title:	Beyond Surface Performance: Analyzing Grammatical Production and Judgment Abilities in Boys With Fragile X Syndrome.
Authors:	Edgar, Tiffany Chavers¹ chaversedgar@wisc.edu, Schabes, Claudia^1,2, Elmquist, Marianne¹, Sterling, Audra^1,2
Source:	American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. Jul2026, Vol. 35 Issue 4, p1830-1840. 11p.
Subject Terms:	Language & languages, Data analysis, Research, Speech perception, *Children, Men, Cross-sectional method, Grammar, Research funding, Fragile X syndrome, Descriptive statistics, Statistics, Judgment (Psychology)
Abstract:	Purpose: Boys with fragile X syndrome (FXS) have relative weakness in morphosyntax, specifically finiteness markers. However, most research has focused on grammatical production as compared to receptive grammatical judgment. Thus, the current study examined both grammatical production and judgment through pattern analysis and individual differences. Method: Thirty-three boys with FXS aged 9-18 years completed the third-person singular, BE/DO, and grammatical judgment probes from the Test of Early Grammatical Impairment. Unscorable responses were categorized and coded. To compare grammatical judgment to grammatical production, participants were categorized using a median split approach. Results: Grammatical production and grammatical judgment performance showed variability across participants, with mean scores below ceiling in both domains. Comparison of production and judgment revealed substantial heterogeneity. Specifically, over half of the participants demonstrated discrepant performance between the grammatical production and judgment domains, whereas the remaining participants showed consistent performance across both domains. Differences in grammatical profiles were not explained by chronological age or nonverbal cognitive ability. Conclusions: Findings revealed persistent difficulties in the grammatical production and judgment of finiteness marking (particularly BE forms) and highlighted the heterogeneity of linguistic profiles. These findings emphasize the importance of comprehensively assessing both grammatical production and judgment skills to inform intervention approaches in FXS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
	Copyright of American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology is the property of American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database:	Education Research Complete

Description
Abstract:	Purpose: Boys with fragile X syndrome (FXS) have relative weakness in morphosyntax, specifically finiteness markers. However, most research has focused on grammatical production as compared to receptive grammatical judgment. Thus, the current study examined both grammatical production and judgment through pattern analysis and individual differences. Method: Thirty-three boys with FXS aged 9-18 years completed the third-person singular, BE/DO, and grammatical judgment probes from the Test of Early Grammatical Impairment. Unscorable responses were categorized and coded. To compare grammatical judgment to grammatical production, participants were categorized using a median split approach. Results: Grammatical production and grammatical judgment performance showed variability across participants, with mean scores below ceiling in both domains. Comparison of production and judgment revealed substantial heterogeneity. Specifically, over half of the participants demonstrated discrepant performance between the grammatical production and judgment domains, whereas the remaining participants showed consistent performance across both domains. Differences in grammatical profiles were not explained by chronological age or nonverbal cognitive ability. Conclusions: Findings revealed persistent difficulties in the grammatical production and judgment of finiteness marking (particularly BE forms) and highlighted the heterogeneity of linguistic profiles. These findings emphasize the importance of comprehensively assessing both grammatical production and judgment skills to inform intervention approaches in FXS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:	10580360
DOI:	10.1044/2026_AJSLP-25-00344