Predicting language outcomes in bilingual children with Down syndrome

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Linguistics
• Genetics

Background:

• Individual variation in language abilities is increasingly studied using continuous measures of bilingualism.
• Children with Down syndrome (DS) exhibit significant variation in language outcomes.
• Previous group studies suggest bilingual children with DS do not differ linguistically from monolingual peers when controlling for age and non-verbal cognition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if exposure to Welsh predicts English language abilities in children with Down syndrome.
• To examine the relationship between the amount of exposure to one language and linguistic abilities in another within this population.

Main Methods:

• Sixty-five children with Down syndrome (DS), aged 5;5-16;9, with varied linguistic experiences participated.
• Participants completed cognitive and linguistic assessments.
• Hierarchical regression analyses were used to analyze the data.

Main Results:

• The amount of Welsh language exposure did not significantly impact English language abilities.
• This finding held true even after controlling for non-verbal cognitive abilities, short-term memory, and socioeconomic status.

Conclusions:

• Exposure to an additional language, Welsh, does not negatively affect English language development in children with Down syndrome (DS).
• These findings have significant implications for clinical and educational practices concerning bilingual children with DS.