Written and Oral Narratives of Children and Adolescents with Down Syndrome
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| Title: | Written and Oral Narratives of Children and Adolescents with Down Syndrome |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Kay-Raining Bird, Elizabeth, Cleave, Patricia L., White, Denise |
| Source: | Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. Apr 2008 51(2):436-450. |
| Availability: | American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). 10801 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. Tel: 800-638-8255; Fax: 301-571-0457; e-mail: subscribe@asha.org; Web site: http://www.asha.org/about/publications/journal-abstracts/jslhr/ |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Physical Description: | |
| Page Count: | 15 |
| Publication Date: | 2008 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Down Syndrome, Children, Adolescents, Control Groups, Written Language, Oral Language, Story Telling, Communication Skills, Comparative Analysis |
| DOI: | 10.1044/1092-4388(2008/032) |
| ISSN: | 1092-4388 |
| Abstract: | Purpose: This study describes written and spoken narrative skills of school-age individuals with Down syndrome (DS). Method: Twenty-one students with DS (age 6;6 [years;months]-19;10) and 17 reading-matched, typically developing (TD) controls (age 4;9-10;9) were matched using Word Identification subtest raw scores (Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests-Revised; R. W. Woodcock, 1987; age equivalents: 5;0-9;7 for both groups). Matching on reading resulted in significantly higher mental ages and vocabulary comprehension age-equivalent scores for the controls. Narratives were elicited in 3 modes (oral, handwritten, and word-processed) using single-episode picture sequences. Narratives were analyzed for length, linguistic complexity, narrative structure, spelling, punctuation, and handwriting legibility. Results: Analyses revealed significant group differences only for measures of narrative length (DS [greater than] TD) and handwriting legibility (TD [greater than] DS). Oral narratives were longer and more complex than written narratives for both groups. Regression analyses revealed that vocabulary comprehension was the best predictor of narrative skills for the group with DS; age was the best predictor of narrative skills for the TD group. Conclusions: These school-age students with DS exhibited many oral and written narrative abilities that were comparable with those of real-word-reading-matched controls. Several findings suggest a possible increased constraint of fine-motor skill in the DS group. |
| Abstractor: | Author |
| Entry Date: | 2008 |
| Accession Number: | EJ789705 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Purpose: This study describes written and spoken narrative skills of school-age individuals with Down syndrome (DS). Method: Twenty-one students with DS (age 6;6 [years;months]-19;10) and 17 reading-matched, typically developing (TD) controls (age 4;9-10;9) were matched using Word Identification subtest raw scores (Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests-Revised; R. W. Woodcock, 1987; age equivalents: 5;0-9;7 for both groups). Matching on reading resulted in significantly higher mental ages and vocabulary comprehension age-equivalent scores for the controls. Narratives were elicited in 3 modes (oral, handwritten, and word-processed) using single-episode picture sequences. Narratives were analyzed for length, linguistic complexity, narrative structure, spelling, punctuation, and handwriting legibility. Results: Analyses revealed significant group differences only for measures of narrative length (DS [greater than] TD) and handwriting legibility (TD [greater than] DS). Oral narratives were longer and more complex than written narratives for both groups. Regression analyses revealed that vocabulary comprehension was the best predictor of narrative skills for the group with DS; age was the best predictor of narrative skills for the TD group. Conclusions: These school-age students with DS exhibited many oral and written narrative abilities that were comparable with those of real-word-reading-matched controls. Several findings suggest a possible increased constraint of fine-motor skill in the DS group. |
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| ISSN: | 1092-4388 |
| DOI: | 10.1044/1092-4388(2008/032) |
