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Pathways to language: a naturalistic study of children with Williams syndrome and children with Down syndrome*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 December 2012

YONATA LEVY  and
ARIELA EILAM
YONATA LEVY*
Affiliation:
The Hebrew University, Jerusalem
ARIELA EILAM
Affiliation:
The Hebrew University, Jerusalem
*
Address for correspondence: e-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

This is a naturalistic study of the development of language in Hebrew-speaking children with Williams syndrome (WS) and children with Down syndrome (DS), whose MLU extended from 1·0 to 4·4. Developmental curves over the entire span of data collection revealed minor differences between children with WS, children with DS, and typically developing (TD) controls of similar MLU. Development within one calendar year showed remarkable synchrony among the variables. However, age of language onset and pace of acquisition departed significantly from normal timing. It is argued that in view of the centrality of genetic timing and the network properties of cognition, normal schedules are crucial determinants of intact development. Consequently, with respect to neurodevelopmental syndromes, the so-called ‘language delay’ is indicative of deviance that is likely to impact development in critical ways.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 40 , Special Issue 1: Atypical development , January 2013 , pp. 106 - 138
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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Footnotes

[*]

This work was supported by grants from the Israeli Science Foundation (ISF) and from the Shalem Foundation to the first author, and the Levin Center for Child and Adolescent Psychopathology at the Hebrew University to the second author. The data were collected by the second author as part of her PhD work.

References

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