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Purpose
: Given that children with Down syndrome (DS) have language learning difficulties, concerns have been raised about the capacity of these children to acquire two (or more) languages. This research examines the language profiles of bilingual children with DS and typically developing (TD) children in comparison to monolinguals, with a view tow...
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Context 1
... were assessed on their cognitive and linguistic abilities in one-to-one sessions with the first author which included standardized assessments and experimental tasks. Assessments were completed in a pre-defined order as presented in Table 2. Testing took place in English first for all participants to allow for direct comparison of the English measures between bilingual and monolingual groups. ...Citations
... Research also identifies that parents and professionals still restrict bilingualism for individuals with DS, assuming it impairs further language difficulties (Bird et al. 2005;Edgin et al. 2011). Even though research indicates that bilingualism does not negatively impact language development; rather, it offers various benefits also in DS populations as in TD populations (Bird et al. 2005;Cleave et al. 2014;Feltmate and Bird 2008;Ward and Sanoudaki 2021). The trend of forced monolingualism, where one language is prioritised, can lead to negative social and emotional repercussions (Uljarević et al. 2016). ...
... Sin embargo, hoy en día tenemos evidencia de que individuos con DI ligada a síndromes genéticos como el SD (Kay-Raining Bird et al., 2005), el síndrome de Williams (Barisnikov et al., 1996), el síndrome de X frágil (Jarmendi, 2002) o el SPW (Liceras & Garcia-Alcaraz, 2019), por citar algunos, sí pueden ser bilingües. Igualmente, la bibliografía previa también ha puesto de manifiesto que el hecho de hablar dos lenguas no parece tener un efecto negativo en estos individuos (Cleave et al., 2014;Katsarou & Andreou, 2019;Ward & Sanoudaki, 2021;entre otros). Sin embargo, es importante destacar que la bibliografía con la que contamos en la actualidad es muy limitada y restringida principalmente a la población con SD, el trastorno cromosómico más común que conlleva DI (Roberts et al., 2007). ...
Este estudio investiga las habilidades lingüísticas y metalingüísticas de bilingües de castellano y catalán con discapacidad intelectual ligada a síndromes genéticos. A los participantes se les administraron pruebas estandarizadas y una prueba experimental. Respecto a esta última, adoptando el marco cognitivo metalingüístico de Bialystok y colaboradores, ocho bilingües con síndrome Prader-Willi completaron, tanto en castellano como en catalán, una tarea de juicios de gramaticalidad que manipulaba la gramaticalidad y la plausibilidad semántica de los ítems experimentales. Como resultado, la tarea contenía oraciones que incluían diferentes niveles de conocimiento lingüístico y habilidades de control ejecutivo. Trabajos previos reflejan que los bilingües con desarrollo típico muestran (i) resultados similares en ambas lenguas en aquellas oraciones que requieren una alta exigencia de control ejecutivo pero un bajo conocimiento lingüístico (medida metalingüística) y (ii) mejores resultados en la lengua dominante en aquellas oraciones que requieren un alto conocimiento lingüístico pero una baja exigencia de control ejecutivo (medida lingüística). Los resultados obtenidos reflejan que los bilingües incluidos en este estudio muestran habilidades lingüísticas y metalingüísticas comparables en las dos lenguas.
... Researchers investigating the impact of bilingualism on language development in children with DS specifically report that bilingual children exhibit similar language profiles as monolingual children with DS when appropriate matching paradigms are employed (i.e., considering non-verbal IQ and age; Kay-Raining Bird et al., 2005;Ward & Sanoudaki, 2021b). Earlier case studies also demonstrate that children with DS are capable of acquiring more than one language, including spoken and signed languages (Vallar & Papagno, 1993;Woll & Grove, 1996). ...
... Only the language of testing was used during each respective session, with the Welsh language assessments taking place on a different day to the English language assessments. Children were also administered a Welsh receptive vocabulary assessment and phonological awareness assessments in English and Welsh, but these are not reported on further here as they are not relevant for the present study (see Ward & Sanoudaki, 2021b). All data was stored securely in line with general data protection regulations as both hard copies and electronically. ...
... Using a continuous measure, these findings suggest that the amount of exposure to an additional language has no bearing on key abilities in the majority language. These results extend previous group-design studies which report that children with DS who are categorized as being bilingual do not have any additional difficulties compared to monolinguals with DS (Kay-Raining Bird et al., 2005;Ward & Sanoudaki, 2021b). There are several clinical applications of these findings, for example in relation to advice provided to parents or caregivers regarding bilingualism. ...
Continuous approaches to measuring bilingualism have recently emerged as a means of understanding individual variation in language abilities. To date, limited information is available to assist in understanding the language abilities of bilingual children with Down syndrome (DS), who are specifically known to have a large variation in linguistic outcomes. Group studies in this population report that children exposed to two languages do not differ from their monolingual counterparts after considering age and non-verbal cognitive abilities, although no study to date has examined the relationship between the amount of exposure to one language and the linguistic abilities in the other language within this population. This study sought to identify whether exposure to an additional language, specifically Welsh, predicted linguistic abilities in the majority language, in this case, English. Sixty-five children between the ages of 5;5-16;9 who had varied linguistic experiences completed a range of cognitive and linguistic assessments. Results from hierarchical regression analyses show that the amount of exposure to Welsh had no impact on language abilities in English, after controlling for non-verbal cognitive abilities, short-term memory and socioeconomic status. This demonstrates that exposure to an additional language does not have a negative impact on language development, a finding that has important clinical and educational implications.
... Indeed, many professionals (e.g., physicians, speech-language therapists, psychologists, behavioral specialists, and teachers) discourage bilingualism and encourage families to expose their children with NDDs solely to the majority, or dominant, language of the society (e.g., English in the U.S.) to promote language development and academic success (Ijalba, 2016;Kay-Raining Bird et al., 2012;Uljarević et al., 2016). However, recent studies focused on children with various NDDs show no adverse effects of multilingual exposure (Edgin et al., 2011;Katsarou & Andreou, 2019;Uljarević et al., 2016;Ward & Sanoudaki, 2021). If anything, positive effects on the development of their cognitive skills, as well as on their communication and social functioning, have been observed. ...
... Another study demonstrated that simultaneous bilinguals with Down syndrome (DS) exhibited the same ability to learn novel words as NT bilinguals matched on non-verbal mental age and monolinguals with DS (Cleave et al., 2014). Studies have also shown that bilingual children with DS do not differ in their receptive and productive language skills or their phonological awareness skills from monolingual children with DS (Katsarou & Andreou, 2019;Ward & Sanoudaki, 2021). In addition, bilingualism has been shown to be a powerful cognitive reserve delaying the onset of dementia by approximately 4 years in neurotypical adults (Perani & Abutalebi, 2015), which could have its benefits for individuals with DS as well given their high risk of developing early onset Alzheimer's disease (del Hoyo Soriano et al., 2015;Krinsky-McHale & Silverman, 2013). ...
Objectives
The cognitive and social benefits of bilingualism for children, including those with neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDDs), have been documented. The present study was designed to characterize and compare English and Spanish use in Hispanic families with and without NDDs residing in the U.S. as well as to understand parental perceptions of their child’s bilingualism and of community and professional support.
Methods
We conducted an online survey of 84 Spanish-speaking parents of 4- to 24-year-olds with (n = 44) and without NDDs (n = 40) who were born in and living in the U.S.
Results
We found that bilingualism was a desired goal for 95% of our families. We also found, however, that 17.1% of parents of children with NDDs have raised them as monolinguals English-speakers, as they thought there were reasons for that, while all families from the NT group raised their children in both languages. In addition, nearly 40% of the NDD children only speak English, compared to a 5% in the NT group. Finally, parents of children with NDDs cite a lack of support for bilingualism in the community (47.6% do not feel supported, compared to a 7.9% in the NT group) and recommendation from professionals as major factors for not raising their children as bilingual.
Conclusions
The results suggest a need to educate professionals from many disciplines about the benefits of bilingualism for children with NDDs and for implementation of inclusion policies that provide access to dual-language programs.
This paper explores whether children and young people (CYP) with additional learning needs (ALN) are at a systemic disadvantage regarding Welsh language opportunities. Justification pertaining to why this should be on the radar of educational psychologists (EPs) in Wales is provided. Congruent with critical realism, quantitative and qualitative research is reviewed, examining micro, eco and macrosystems. A systemic lens illuminates the context and process factors that CYP with ALN and their families may encounter regarding Welsh language opportunities. This paper is informed by the bioecological Person Process Context Time (PPCT) model, and the Constructionist Model of Informed and Reasoned Action (COMOIRA). Limitations demarcating interpretation of identified issues are highlighted, without negating their significance. Implications for EPs are offered, contemplating their role in facilitating inclusion through supporting the development of greater cohesion between Welsh Government (WG) legislation (macrosystem), and the systemic realities of CYP with ALN in Wales.
Research shows that a substantial proportion of children with Down syndrome (DS) also meet the clinical criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Children with this dual diagnosis display a linguistic profile that includes significant language delays and language impairments which often differ from the impairments observed in each developmental disability (DD) separately. Given the challenges observed with language acquisition for children with DS-ASD, concerns might be raised regarding the outcomes and suitability of a bilingual environment for children with this dual diagnosis specifically. The aim of this research was to explore the language profiles of four children with DS-ASD. A multiple case-study approach was employed. Four children with a confirmed DS-ASD diagnosis who had received exposure to two languages (English and Welsh) were assessed on a range of cognitive and linguistic measures. Performance was compared to three control groups; bilinguals with DS, English monolinguals with DS and mental age-matched typically developing bilinguals. Assessments comprised of expressive and receptive language, phonological awareness, working memory and non-verbal cognitive abilities. Considerable variability was found in the cognitive and linguistic profiles of the case-study participants. Children with DS-ASD displayed similar language profiles to that of the bilingual and monolingual children with DS in the areas tested, although performance was generally lower than that of the TD bilingual children. Although substantial variability was found, participants were developing bilingual abilities in a similar trajectory to children with DS in line with the degree of exposure to each language. This research highlights the need to assess bilingual children with complex dual diagnoses with an individualistic approach and carefully consider how to appropriately assess and treat bilingual children within speech and language therapy provisions.
