Speech fluency and language skills in children with Down syndrome

Following up our latest blog posts, we also have a new publication on speech fluency and language skills!

EST team members Kari-Anne B. Næss, Hilde Hofslundsengen alongside Egil Nygaard, and Scott Yaruss published about speech fluency and language skills, some months ago, in the Special Issue Down Syndrome: Neuropsychological Phenotype across the Lifespan. 

Participants were a national sample of children with Down syndrome aged six years. The results showed that parent reported much more difficulties with speech fluency in children with Down syndrome than in younger typically developed children (same non-verbal age level). Furthermore, better language skills among the children with Down syndrome were related to less fluency difficulties. The results suggest that speech fluency and language skills should be taken into consideration when planning treatment for children with Down syndrome, perhaps speech and language theraphy that simultaneously aims to improve language skills and fluency.

 

If you want to know more, the full paper can be read here (free): Brain Sciences | Free Full-Text | The Association between Difficulties with Speech Fluency and Language Skills in a National Age Cohort of Children with Down Syndrome (mdpi.com)