ABSTRACT
There is a large body of evidence showing that comparison of multiple stimuli leads to better conceptualization and generalization of novel names than no-comparison settings in typically developing (TD) children. By contrast, the evidence regarding this issue remains scarce in children with intellectual disabilities (ID). Children with intellectual disabilities (ID) and TD children matched on mental age with the Raven's coloured progressive matrices were tested in several novel name learning comparison conditions, with familiar objects. We manipulated the conceptual distance between the learning stimuli in the learning phase and between the learning and generalization phase stimuli for object and relational nouns. Results showed that both populations had rather similar performance profile when matched on their cognitive skills (low- vs. high-functioning). Unexpectedly, ID children's performance was equivalent for relations and better for objects compared to their TD peers' performance. However, when controlling for chronological age, the difference between ID and TD children disappeared in the case of object categories and was better understood by TD children in the case of relations. We discuss the role of conceptual distance on participants' conceptual generalization as a function of their intellectual abilities and cognitive functioning.
Subject(s)
Intellectual Disability , Names , Child , Cognition , Humans , Intelligence Tests , LearningABSTRACT
Several cross-sectional studies and one longitudinal study were conducted on the language abilities of various cohorts of persons with Down syndrome aged between 14 and 50 years. No significant difference was observed on any of the receptive and productive morphosyntactic and lexical measures used, suggesting no marked change in the language of these persons from adolescence onto late adulthood. Repeated measures of cerebral metabolic rate (CMR) for fluorodeoxyglucose using a Positron Emission Tomography were made over a 4-year interval with 7 participants with Down syndrome aged between 37 and 49 years. A gradual decrease in global CMR for both cerebral hemispheres and for each participant was documented. It was particularly marked for 3 participants. However, no language deterioration could be associated with their marked lowering in CMR.
Subject(s)
Down Syndrome/diagnosis , Language Development Disorders/diagnosis , Language Tests , Adolescent , Adult , Age Factors , Brain/physiopathology , Cohort Studies , Cross-Sectional Studies , Down Syndrome/physiopathology , Energy Metabolism/physiology , Female , Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 , Humans , Language Development Disorders/physiopathology , Longitudinal Studies , Male , Middle Aged , Tomography, Emission-ComputedABSTRACT
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