Improving the expressive language skills of teenagers with Down syndrome
This article reports on the effectiveness of an intervention programme designed to improve the morpho-syntax used by teenagers with Down syndrome in their speech. The intervention used reading to teach the language. All but one of the teenagers were using longer, more complex sentences, in their conversation at the end of the year's training. The extent of individual progress was significantly related to speech production ability and comprehension of grammar at the start of the year. Future language intervention programmes should focus on both phonology and grammar.