Referential communication skills in children with Down Syndrome.

AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate referential communication skills in children with Down Syndrome (DS). We studied the development of pragmatic language in relation to nonverbal skills by analyzing referential communication skills in children with DS, in both production and comprehension of referential messages: oriented and/or ambiguous, adequate (appropriate) and inadequate (inappropriate). METHODS: The study population was 24 children: 12 with DS (mean age, 7.8 years) and 12 with normal development (control group) (mean age, 7.4 years). In the first phase (F1), all 24 children were administered a test to evaluate their nonverbal skills, followed in a second phase (F2) by a test to specifically evaluate their referential communication skills. RESULTS: A strong relationship between nonverbal and referential communication skills was found, in which the nonverbal skills contributed to variations in referential performance, especially among the children with DS. Furthermore, the children with DS showed better performance in the "talking" than the "listener" condition. Within the listener condition, a significant correlation emerged between adequate and inadequate messages. CONCLUSION: Referential communication skills are influenced by several verbal and nonverbal factors.

Probable alteracion en la transmision neuromuscular en un caso de saturnismo. / Probable change in the neuromuscular transmission in a case of saturnism

Se examino a un nino de cuatro anos y medio de edad quien habia vivido desde su nacimiento en un ambiente contaminado con plomo. Dos meses antes de su admision hospitalaria el menor presento una crisis que sugeria ataque al sistema nervioso central y que fue seguido de una manifestacion de neuropatia periferica (marcha en "estepaje"). En examenes especificos de laboratorio, radiograficos y electrofisiologicos se observaron alteraciones compatibles con un cuadro grave de saturnismo infantil que cursaba con trastornos bilaterales de la funcion neuromuscular en la region del nervio ciatico popliteo externo. Tres semanas despues de iniciado el tratamiento a base de EDTA calcico disodico, se observo notable mejoria en la dorsiflexion de ambos pies; se observo tambien mejoria concurrente en los resultados de los examenes electrofisiologicos y de laboratorio que son especificos para el saturnismo. Los resultados sugieren que la transmision neuromuscular en el hombre puede verse afectada de manera reversible por el plomo