Early communication development in children with Rett syndrome.
This retrospective pilot study investigated the course of pre-linguistic and linguistic communication development in children with Rett syndrome (RS) from birth to 24 months of age. Parents of 17 children with RS completed a questionnaire based on the Clinical Linguistic Auditory Milestone Scale. No child exceeded single word use and most children had begun to regress. Pre-regression delay was in evidence along with limited intentional gestural communication as a precursor to single word use. Limited use of communicative gestures is suggested as a possible early predictor of RS pending further investigation.
Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
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Tams-Little
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Holdgrafer
D002675:Child, Preschool; D003142:Communication; D005868:Gestures; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007804:Language Development; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015518:Rett Syndrome / Q000523:psychology*; D013060:Speech