RECALL prompting hierarchy improves responsiveness for autistic children and children with language delay: a single-case design study.

The purpose of the current study was to expand upon previous research on RECALL, a dialogic reading intervention modified for autistic children aimed at increasing engagement. Children ages 3-6 years ( = 6) with language delays with or without co-occurring autism were tested using a multiple baseline across participants design. During baseline, the interventionist used dialogic reading and asked questions after every page.

The Effects of Syntactic, Semantic, and Pragmatic Prominence on Pronoun Interpretation in Adults With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

Purpose: Pronouns are referentially ambiguous: For example, "she" could refer to any female. Nonetheless, errors in pronoun interpretation rarely occur for adults with typical development (TD) due to several strategies implicitly shared between the talker and listener. The purpose of this study was to test the impacts of syntactic, semantic, and prosodic prominence on pronoun interpretation for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and TD.

Home-literacy environments and language development in toddlers with Down syndrome.

Introduction: The present study aimed to (1) characterize the home-literacy environments (HLE) of toddlers with Down syndrome (DS) and (2) examine if richness of the HLE, child engagement during shared storybook reading activities, quality of a caregiver-child shared storybook reading activity, and exposure to language in the home environment predicted child receptive vocabulary concurrently (Time 1) and 6 months later (Time 2).

Methods: Participants were toddlers with DS ( = 13 at Time 1, 11-29 months of age; = 10 at Time 2) and their mothers. Mothers completed a at Time 1, which was used to characterize the HLE and to calculate two composite variables: richness of the HLE and child engagement in shared storybook reading.

Research Note: Testing the Simple View of Reading in Adolescents and Adults With Down Syndrome.

Purpose: The Simple View of Reading is a well-supported framework in typical development that proposes that reading comprehension is predicted by word identification and language comprehension abilities. Although there has been some research examining relations between reading comprehension, word identification, and language comprehension, there has been little research directly testing the Simple View in individuals with Down syndrome, a population that often has difficulties with reading comprehension. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to test the Simple View model in English-speaking readers with Down syndrome and examine the contributions of word identification and language comprehension abilities to their reading comprehension success.

Exploring Caregiver Perceptions of Post-High School Employment Experiences Among Young Adults With Down Syndrome.

This qualitative study explored employment experiences and perceived satisfaction of young adults with Down syndrome (DS) who recently exited high school, as reported by their caregivers (n = 101). We analyzed caregivers' open-ended responses about their young adults' type of employment (n = 52 were employed) and identified themes associated with reported satisfaction (for both employed and unemployed). Natural supports were key to caregiver satisfaction; few opportunities for paid, community-based employment and long waiting lists for formal services were related to caregiver dissatisfaction.

Perspectives on adaptive functioning and intellectual functioning measures for intellectual disabilities behavioral research.

Introduction: Intellectual disability (ID) is a significant limitation in both intellectual ability and adaptive functioning, but many studies of participants with ID only include a measure of overall intellectual functioning when describing their samples. The purpose of this perspective article was to provide a starting point for future research regarding the utility of including measures of both intellectual and adaptive functioning in research focused on ID. In this article, we discuss the differences and similarities between the constructs of intellectual and adaptive functioning, how they are measured, and the benefits of using both measures to describe participant abilities.

Inclusion of Individuals With Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Norm-Referenced Language Assessments.

Standardized, norm-referenced language assessment tools are used for a variety of purposes, including in education, clinical practice, and research. Unfortunately, norm-referenced language assessment tools can demonstrate floor effects (i.e.

Speech-Language Pathologist Reading Survey: Scope of Practice, Training, Caseloads, and Confidence.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine speech-language pathologists' (SLPs) opinions on their scope of practice related to reading, self-reported background training, current caseloads, and confidence in their abilities to define, assess, and provide effective treatment for reading-related difficulties.

Method: SLPs ( = 271) from across the United States completed an online survey assessing their opinions on scope of practice, education and training in reading, and confidence in defining, assessing, and treating reading-related difficulties.

Results: A majority of respondents agreed that the identification, assessment, prevention, and intervention of reading disabilities are all within the scope of practice of SLPs.

Post-High School Transition Outcomes for Young Adults With Down Syndrome.

There is limited available research on the post-high school outcomes of young adults with Down syndrome (DS). The purpose of this study, therefore, was to characterize employment, community-based living, and community engagement outcomes and their correlates among young adults with DS who recently transitioned out of high school. Caregivers (n = 100) of young adults with DS who exited high school within the past 5 years completed an online survey.

Reading Skills in Down Syndrome: Implications for Clinical Practice.

Though children with Down syndrome can learn to read, they may have difficulty developing some component skills, including phonological awareness and word decoding. Given reading's foundation in language, speech-language pathologists (SLPs) should play a central role in supporting access to and providing reading instruction for children with Down syndrome. This article reviews the available research on reading in Down syndrome and offers guidance for SLPs working with this population.

A meta-analysis of prosody in autism, Williams syndrome, and Down syndrome.

Prosody, the rhythm and melody of speech, is an important component of effective communication, and it is an area of difficulty for many populations who struggle with communication. This paper is a meta-analysis of nine studies (and two sets of unpublished data) that assessed prosody using the Profiling Elements of Prosody in Speech-Communication (PEPS-C; Peppé & McCann, 2003) in autism spectrum disorder, Williams syndrome, and Down syndrome. Our original goal was to include studies involving any neurodevelopmental disorder that is commonly associated with intellectual disability, yet our systematic search, which included three databases (i.

Verb production by individuals with Down syndrome during narration.

Background: Despite research identifying verb knowledge as a strong predictor of later syntactic skills in typical development, virtually no research has examined verb development in Down syndrome.

Aims: The purpose of this study was to examine verb production (density, diversity, and type-token ratios) by individuals with Down syndrome in the context of story generation relative to two comparison groups - nonverbal cognitive ability level matches with typical development and chronological age matches with mixed-etiology intellectual disability.

Methods And Procedures: Thirty-five participants with Down syndrome (11-21 years), 27 participants with intellectual disability (13-20 years), and 29 participants with typical development (4-6 years) completed a narrative story generation task.

Joint attention in Down syndrome: A meta-analysis.

Background: Some studies have indicated that joint attention may be a relative strength in Down syndrome (DS), but other studies have not.

Aim: To conduct a meta-analysis of joint attention in DS to more conclusively determine if this is a relative strength or weakness when compared to children with typical development (TD), developmental disabilities (DD), and autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Methods And Procedures: Journal articles published before September 13, 2016, were identified by using the search terms "Down syndrome" and "joint attention" or "coordinating attention".

Narrative Language Sampling in Typical Development: Implications for Clinical Trials.

Purpose: This study examined cross-sectional age-related trajectories of expressive language variables (syntactic complexity, lexical diversity, unintelligibility, dysfluency, and talkativeness) derived from a narrative language sampling procedure.

Method: Narrative samples were analyzed from 103 typically developing individuals, ages 4-21 years.

Results: Results showed that this procedure was effective for the entire age range, with participants producing an utterance on virtually every page of the wordless picture books used to prompt the narrative.

Receptive vocabulary analysis in Down syndrome.

The present study is an in-depth examination of receptive vocabulary in individuals with Down syndrome (DS) in comparison to control groups of individuals of similar nonverbal ability with typical development (TD) and non-specific etiology intellectual disability (ID). Verb knowledge was of particular interest, as it is known to be a predictor of later syntactic development. Fifty participants with DS, aged 10-21 years, 29 participants with ID, 10-21 years, and 29 participants with TD, 4-9 years, completed measures of receptive vocabulary (PPVT-4), nonverbal ability (Leiter-R), and phonological memory (Nonword Repetition subtest of the CTOPP).

Reading Skills in Down Syndrome: An Examination of Orthographic Knowledge.

The primary goal of this study was to examine the word identification domain of the Simple View of Reading in participants with Down syndrome (DS) by comparing them to participants with typical development (TD) matched on word identification ability. Two subskills, phonological recoding and orthographic knowledge, were measured. Results revealed that individuals with DS performed similarly to controls on 2 measures of orthographic knowledge, but more poorly on phonological recoding and a third measure of orthographic knowledge.

Patterns of autism spectrum symptomatology in individuals with Down syndrome without comorbid autism spectrum disorder.

Background: Prevalence estimates of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Down syndrome (DS) are highly varied. This variation is partly due to the difficulty of screening for and diagnosing comorbid ASD in individuals with a syndrome that carries its own set of social communicative and behavioral difficulties that are not well documented. The aim of this study was to identify the typical range of social communicative impairments observed in children, adolescents, and young adults with DS who do not have comorbid ASD.

Matching variables for research involving youth with Down syndrome: Leiter-R versus PPVT-4.

Much of what is known about the cognitive profile of Down syndrome (DS) is based on using either receptive vocabulary (e.g., PPTV-4) or nonverbal ability (e.

Phonological recoding, rapid automatized naming, and orthographic knowledge.

Phonological recoding, orthographic knowledge, and rapid automatized naming (RAN) are three major contributors to word identification. However, the interrelations between these components remain somewhat unclear. The current analyses focus on how phonological recoding and alphanumeric versus non-alphanumeric RAN contribute to different components of orthographic knowledge (word specific vs.

Individuals with intellectual disability can self-teach in reading.

Previous research has suggested that individuals with intellectual disability (ID) underperform in several areas of reading compared to mental age-matched peers. However, it is unclear how they compare on orthographic aspects of reading, which have to do with learning and matching the specific letter patterns in words. The leading approach to understanding orthographic learning is the self-teaching hypothesis, which suggests that orthographic learning is acquired through the experience of phonologically recoding words.

Strengths and weaknesses in reading skills of youth with intellectual disabilities.

Reading-related skills of youth with intellectual disability (ID) were compared with those of typically developing (TD) children of similar verbal ability level. The group with ID scored lower than the TD group on word recognition and phonological decoding, but similarly on orthographic processing and rapid automatized naming (RAN). Further, phonological decoding significantly mediated the relation between group membership and word recognition, whereas neither orthographic processing nor RAN did so.

Memory profiles of Down, Williams, and fragile X syndromes: implications for reading development.

The purpose of this review was to understand the types of memory impairments that are associated with intellectual disability (ID, formerly called mental retardation) and the implications of these impairments for reading development. Specifically, studies on working memory, delayed memory and learning, and semantic/conceptual memory in Down syndrome, Williams syndrome, and fragile X syndrome were examined. A distinct memory profile emerged for each of the 3 etiologies of ID.

An individual differences analysis of the self-teaching hypothesis.

The self-teaching hypothesis suggests that children learn orthographic structure of words through the experience of phonologically recoding them. The current study is an individual differences analysis of the self-teaching hypothesis. A total of 40 children in Grades 2 and 3 (7-9 years of age) completed tests of phonological recoding, word identification, and orthographic knowledge.