Parent-implemented augmented communication intervention and young children with Down syndrome: an exploratory report

Young children with Down syndrome (DS) present with speech and language impairments very early in childhood. Historically, early language intervention for children with DS included manual signs, though recently there has been an interest in the use of speech-generating devices (SGDs). This paper examines the language and communication performance of young children with DS who participated in parent-implemented communication interventions that included SGDs. Specifically, we compared the functional vocabulary usage and communication interaction skills of children with DS who received augmented communication interventions (AC) that included an SGD with those children with DS who received spoken communication intervention (SC).

Twenty-nine children with DS participated in this secondary data analysis. These children were part of one of two longitudinal RCT studies investigating the effectiveness of parent-implemented augmented communication interventions in a larger sample of 109 children with severe communication and language impairments.

There were significant differences between children with DS in the AC and SC groups in terms of the number and proportion of functional vocabulary targets used and the total vocabulary targets provided during the intervention at sessions 18 (lab)and 24 (home).

Overall, the AC interventions provided the children with a way to communicate via an SGD with visual-graphic symbols and speech output, while the children in the SC intervention were focused on producing spoken words. The AC interventions did not hinder the children's spoken vocabulary development. Augmented communication intervention can facilitate the communication abilities of young children with DS as they are emerging spoken communicators.