Developmental Trajectories of Grammatical Comprehension in Individuals with Williams Syndrome
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| Title: | Developmental Trajectories of Grammatical Comprehension in Individuals with Williams Syndrome |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Harry R. M. Purser (ORCID |
| Source: | First Language. 2025 45(4):476-495. |
| Availability: | SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 20 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Grammar, Language Processing, Child Development, Intellectual Disability, Language Aptitude, Language Acquisition, Cognitive Ability, Prediction, Children, Adolescents, Young Adults, Interpersonal Communication, Receptive Language, Developmental Stages, Age Differences, Language Tests, Vocabulary Development, Scores, Comparative Analysis, Intelligence Tests, Foreign Countries |
| Geographic Terms: | United Kingdom |
| Assessment and Survey Identifiers: | Raven Progressive Matrices |
| DOI: | 10.1177/01427237251326625 |
| ISSN: | 0142-7237 1740-2344 |
| Abstract: | Despite earlier claims that language abilities are intact in individuals with Williams syndrome (WS), many studies have shown that language development is often delayed and atypical, that is, it develops in line with different cognitive abilities compared to typically developing populations. It is unclear, however, whether general cognitive development predicts language comprehension in WS. The current study is the first to examine the development of grammatical comprehension in a large group (N = 58) of individuals with WS aged 5 to 21 years old. Grammatical comprehension is key to a person's ability to understand what is being said and engage in successful social interaction. Using cross-sectional developmental trajectories, performance on the Test for the Reception of Grammar was shown to increase with chronological age and performance was predicted by vocabulary scores, but not non-verbal ability. In addition, there was no meaningful difference between items that contained spatial language and similar grammatical constructions that did not contain spatial language and performance on both types of expressions was similarly predicted by vocabulary scores. Overall, these results show that grammatical development in WS is delayed but not atypical in its relationship to vocabulary. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2025 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1477850 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Despite earlier claims that language abilities are intact in individuals with Williams syndrome (WS), many studies have shown that language development is often delayed and atypical, that is, it develops in line with different cognitive abilities compared to typically developing populations. It is unclear, however, whether general cognitive development predicts language comprehension in WS. The current study is the first to examine the development of grammatical comprehension in a large group (N = 58) of individuals with WS aged 5 to 21 years old. Grammatical comprehension is key to a person's ability to understand what is being said and engage in successful social interaction. Using cross-sectional developmental trajectories, performance on the Test for the Reception of Grammar was shown to increase with chronological age and performance was predicted by vocabulary scores, but not non-verbal ability. In addition, there was no meaningful difference between items that contained spatial language and similar grammatical constructions that did not contain spatial language and performance on both types of expressions was similarly predicted by vocabulary scores. Overall, these results show that grammatical development in WS is delayed but not atypical in its relationship to vocabulary. |
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| ISSN: | 0142-7237 1740-2344 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/01427237251326625 |
