Home literacy environments, interest in reading and emergent literacy skills of children with Down syndrome versus typical children

• Published in: Journal of intellectual disability research Vol. 55; no. 6; pp. 596 - 609
• Main Author: Ricci, L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-06-2011; Wiley-Blackwell; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Achievement; Adolescent; Alphabets; Aptitude Tests; Biological and medical sciences; California; Child; Child clinical studies; Child, Preschool; Childhood Interests; Children; Chromosome aberrations; Cognitive Ability; Comprehension; Conventions; Developmental disorders; Down Syndrome; Down Syndrome - diagnosis; Down Syndrome - psychology; Down Syndrome - rehabilitation; Down's syndrome; Early Intervention (Education); Early Reading; Education of Intellectually Disabled; Educational Status; Emergent Literacy; Family Environment; Female; home literacy environment; Humans; Intellectual deficiency; intellectual disability; Intervention; Knowledge; Language Skills; Literacy; Literacy skills; Male; Medical genetics; Medical sciences; Mental Age; Parents; Parents & parenting; Preschool children; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Reading; Reading comprehension; Receptive Language; Reference Values; Social Environment; Vocabulary; California; Chromosomal aberration; Social environment; Human; Preschool age; Handicap; Trisomy; Aneuploidy; Developmental disorder; Down syndrome; Stimulating environment; Literacy; Mental retardation; Reading; School age; home literacy environment; Language; Intellectual deficiency; Family environment; Child; intellectual disability
• ISSN: 0964-2633; 1365-2788
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2788.2011.01415.x

Background  The present study examined home literacy environments, children's interest in reading and emergent literacy skills of pre‐school‐aged children with Down syndrome (DS; n = 20), school‐aged children with DS (n = 17) and typically developing children (n = 18) matched on chronological age with the younger DS group and mental age (MA) with the older DS group.
Method  Parents filled out questionnaires on their home literacy environments and their children's interest in reading. School‐aged children with DS and typical children were assessed on cognitive functioning, receptive vocabulary, alphabet knowledge, familiarity with print conventions and comprehension of meaning.
Results  School‐aged children with DS and typical children – as opposed to pre‐school‐aged children with DS – were exposed to more literacy‐rich home environments and had greater interest in reading. School‐aged children with DS also outperformed the MA‐matched typical group on letter and sight word knowledge and familiarity with print conventions.
Conclusions  Parents of children with DS tailor home literacy environments to their children's developmental levels. Confirming earlier studies, children with DS achieved some higher literacy skills than what was expected for their MA, emphasising the importance of early reading interventions for this population.