Associative Lexical Relationships in Children with Down Syndrome

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Associative Lexical Relationships in Children with Down Syndrome
Language: English
Authors: Barrón-Martínez, Julia B., Arias-Trejo, Natalia, Salvador-Cruz, Judith
Source: International Journal of Disability, Development and Education. 2022 69(2):510-522.
Availability: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 13
Publication Date: 2022
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Down Syndrome, Language Acquisition, Language Skills, Young Children, Association (Psychology), Visual Stimuli, Auditory Stimuli, Language Processing, Foreign Countries, Measures (Individuals), Associative Learning
Geographic Terms: Mexico (Mexico City)
Assessment and Survey Identifiers: MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory
DOI: 10.1080/1034912X.2020.1726298
ISSN: 1034-912X
1465-346X
Abstract: From the second year of life, children with typical development (TD) demonstrate the ability to form word-word relations. However, this ability has received little attention in children with Down syndrome (DS). We investigated their ability to establish associative relationships between words that tend to occur in the same context. Two groups of children (TD and DS) matched by sex and mental age (mean 3.80 years) participated in a preferential looking test. A priming task using an eye-tracking technique in ten trials introduced associatively related versus unrelated word pairs. Participants in both groups were asked to find a target image (e.g. hen) when they heard an associative prime that was related (e.g. egg) or unrelated (e.g. door), and the mean proportion of target looking was then calculated. Both groups showed an associative priming effect. The results suggest that people with DS possess a lexical organisation. This study represents a first step in understanding lexical networks, an important factor in language processing, in people with DS, which could be used to design interventions or educational strategies for language therapy.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2022
Accession Number: EJ1344140
Database: ERIC
Full text is not displayed to guests.
Description
Abstract:From the second year of life, children with typical development (TD) demonstrate the ability to form word-word relations. However, this ability has received little attention in children with Down syndrome (DS). We investigated their ability to establish associative relationships between words that tend to occur in the same context. Two groups of children (TD and DS) matched by sex and mental age (mean 3.80 years) participated in a preferential looking test. A priming task using an eye-tracking technique in ten trials introduced associatively related versus unrelated word pairs. Participants in both groups were asked to find a target image (e.g. hen) when they heard an associative prime that was related (e.g. egg) or unrelated (e.g. door), and the mean proportion of target looking was then calculated. Both groups showed an associative priming effect. The results suggest that people with DS possess a lexical organisation. This study represents a first step in understanding lexical networks, an important factor in language processing, in people with DS, which could be used to design interventions or educational strategies for language therapy.
ISSN:1034-912X
1465-346X
DOI:10.1080/1034912X.2020.1726298