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Assessing the Quantity and Quality of Language Used by Mothers and Fathers of Children with Down Syndrome During Shared Book Reading

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 April 2022

Elizabeth HILVERT Open the ORCID record for Elizabeth HILVERT [Opens in a new window] ,
Emily LORANG ,
Nell MALTMAN  and
Audra STERLING
Elizabeth HILVERT
Affiliation:
Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Emily LORANG
Affiliation:
Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Nell MALTMAN
Affiliation:
Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Audra STERLING*
Affiliation:
Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Wisconsin-Madison
*
Corresponding author: Audra Sterling, Associate Professor, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Goodnight Hall, 1975 Willow Drive, Madison, WI 53706 [email protected]
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Abstract

Young children with Down syndrome (DS) have language delays beginning early in life. Book reading with parents provides a context for capitalizing on language learning opportunities. This study evaluated the quantity and quality of language input among mothers and fathers of young children with DS during book reading interactions and investigated associations with child language. Findings revealed that mothers were more talkative and used more descriptive language, whereas fathers spent more time reading the book text. Moreover, maternal and paternal input were correlated with different measures of child language, suggesting that mothers and fathers may use divergent approaches to support language development.

Keywords

parent-child interactionsDown syndromeshared book readinglanguage development
Type
Brief Research Report
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 50 , Issue 3: Special issue on Cross-cultural language development , May 2023 , pp. 778 - 790
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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