A pragmatic language study of pronoun comprehension of Down Syndrome and normal children with mental ages two and one-half through six years

The purpose of this study was to compare the pronominalization patterns of Down Syndrome (nondisjunction type) and mentally matched normal children when context and stress were systematically manipulated.

Eighteen sentences were devised using three nouns (lion, tiger, bear) and three verbs (hit, pushed, kicked). Each sentence contained one or two deictic pronouns in a subordinate clause. Stress or emphasis was differentially applied to the pronoun in either the subject or object position of the sentence.

Ten normal children (MAs between 2-11 to 5-9) were matched (within ±3 months) to the Down Syndrome (DS) children according to MAs calculated by the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test Revised (PPVT-R). All Ss passed a hearing screening and tympanometry and the normals additionally scored at or above the 25th percentile on the Revised Northwestern Syntax Screening Test.

In the experimental procedure the Ss were first measured on their understanding of all 17 pronouns tested in the Vocabulary Comprehension Scale (VCS). Then the Ss demonstrated their understanding of differ entially stressed deictic pronoun sentences by physical manipulation of three toy animals.

Data were the percentages of responses to the VCS and the eighteen deictic pronoun sentences. Data were evaluated to determine (1) differences between DS and normal children in the percentage of pronouns identified on the VCS, (2) differences between DS and normal children's pattern of pronominal reference when presented with an unstressed or stressed deictic pronoun in either the subject or object position of a subordinate clause of a sentence.

It was determined that DS and normal children displayed no significant differences in the number of pronouns correctly identified on the VCS when mentally matched according to the PPVT-R.

It was determined that depending on the context DS and normal children differ in their interpretation of stress when presented with a deictic pronoun in both the subject or object position of a subordinate clause.