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Effect of congenital heart defects on language development in toddlers with D own syndrome
Author(s) -
Visootsak J.,
Hess B.,
Bakeman R.,
Adamson L. B.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of intellectual disability research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.941
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1365-2788
pISSN - 0964-2633
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2788.2012.01619.x
Subject(s) - down syndrome , language development , medicine , intellectual disability , pediatrics , developmental psychology , language delay , language acquisition , variation (astronomy) , psychology , psychiatry , mathematics education , astrophysics , physics
Background D own syndrome ( DS , OMIM #190685) is the most commonly identified genetic form of intellectual disability with congenital heart defect ( CHD ) occurring in 50% of cases. With advances in surgical techniques and an increasing lifespan, this has necessitated a greater understanding of the neurodevelopmental consequences of CHD s. Herein, we explore the impact of CHD on language development in children with DS . Methods Twenty‐nine children with DS were observed systematically in parent–child interactions using the C ommunication P lay P rotocol to evaluate their language use; they also completed the M ullen S cales of E arly L earning and M ac A rthur C ommunication D evelopment I nventory. Mean ages were 31.2 months for children with DS and CHD ( DS + CHD , n = 12) and 32.1 months for children with DS and a structurally normal heart ( DS − CHD , n = 17). Results Compared with the DS − CHD controls, the DS + CHD group revealed lower scores in multiple areas, including fine motor skills and expressive and receptive vocabulary. Whereas most differences were not statistically significant, the C ommunication D evelopment I nventory word count and symbol‐infused joint engagement differed significantly ( P < 0.01) and marginally ( P = 0.09) between groups. Conclusions Finding that CHD s may account for part of the variation in language delay allows us to consider the specific mechanisms underlying the impact of CHD s on language acquisition in children with DS . Conclusions from this first study on early language outcomes of children with DS + CHD may be useful for clinicians in providing developmental surveillance and early intervention programmes with specific emphasis on language therapy as part of long‐term follow‐up for children with DS + CHD .