Functional Communicative Profile of Children With Down Syndrome

Functional Communicative Profile of Children With Down Syndrome

The aim of this study was to verify the use of communicative functions by children with DS in two interaction conditions: interaction with therapist and interaction with parent.

Parents and caregivers' engagement on therapeutic process of children with Down syndrome (DS) is important for language and communication development. The identification of the communicative skills presented by these children as well as the context influence in their performance as interlocutors, will contribute to the design of therapeutic interventions.

Pragmatics theories are helpful to language use studies, since it takes into account social and environmental aspects and considers adult-child interaction as a determinant factor for its occurrence.

Inclusion Criteria:

• genetic diagnosis of Down syndrome
• good health conditions
• normal results on audiologic evaluation
• pediatric and ear, nose and throat periodic check ups.
• attend speech-language therapy at the Speech Language Pathology Laboratory in Syndromes and Sensorimotor Deficits (SLPL-SSD) of the School of Medicine of the University of São Paulo.

Exclusion Criteria:

• submission to long term hospitalizations due to heart diseases and major respiratory airway infections, that may interfere in the child's global development
• presence of visual or auditory important deficits