Caregiver-child interactions are commonly used to examine children’s language learning environment. However, few studies consider interaction configurations beyond dyadic interactions or explore the conceptual complexity of caregiver talk. Thus, we examined if the complexity of a caregiver’s opportunities to respond (OTR) varied when sampled across three interaction configurations. Our study included twelve preschool-aged children with Down syndrome and both of their biological parents. Our preliminary findings suggest no differences in mothers’ and fathers’ frequency of OTRs across complexity levels during dyadic interactions. However, caregivers produced fewer OTRs across complexity levels during family choice than dyadic interactions.

Young children with Down syndrome (DS) have language delays beginning early in life. Book reading with parents provides a context for capitalizing on language learning opportunities. This study evaluated the quantity and quality of language input among mothers and fathers of young children with DS during book reading interactions and investigated associations with child language. Findings revealed that mothers were more talkative and used more descriptive language, whereas fathers spent more time reading the book text. Moreover, maternal and paternal input were correlated with different measures of child language, suggesting that mothers and fathers may use divergent approaches to support language development.

Maternal input influences language development in children with Down syndrome (DS) and typical development (TD). Telegraphic input, or simplified input violating English grammatical rules, is controversial in speech–language pathology, yet no research to date has investigated whether mothers of children with DS use telegraphic input. This study investigated the quality of linguistic input to children with DS compared to age-matched children with TD, and the relationship between maternal input and child language abilities. Mothers of children with DS simplified their input in multiple ways, by using a lower lexical diversity, shorter utterances, and more telegraphic input compared to mothers of children with TD. Telegraphic input was not significantly correlated with other aspects of maternal input or child language abilities. Since children with DS demonstrate specific deficits in grammatical compared to lexical abilities, future work should investigate the long-term influence of maternal telegraphic input on language development in children with DS.

This study compared the receptive and expressive language profiles of verbally expressive children and adolescents with Down Syndrome (DS) and those with Fragile X syndrome (FXS) and examined the extent to which these profiles reliably differentiate the diagnostic groups. A total of twenty-four verbal participants with DS (mean age: 12 years), twenty-two verbal participants with FXS (mean age: 12 years), and twenty-seven participants with typical development (TD; mean age = 4 years) completed standardized measures of receptive and expressive vocabulary and grammar, as well as a conversational language sample. Study results indicate that there are distinct DS and FXS language profiles, which are characterized by differences in grammatical ability. The diagnostic groups were not differentiated based on vocabulary performance. This study supports the existence of unique language profiles associated with DS and FXS.