title: Linguistic profile of individuals with Down syndrome: comparing the linguistic performance of three developmental disorders.
abstract: An increasing number of studies, addressing the linguistic abilities of individuals with Down syndrome (DS) suggest that they exhibit strengths and weaknesses within the linguistic domain. This article critically reviews the literature on the linguistic profile of individuals with DS, with particular emphasis on the expression and reception of vocabulary and grammar, including nonverbal linguistic expression during infant development. In doing so, attention is given to recent comparative studies of the linguistic abilities of individuals with DS, Specific Language Impairment (SLI), and Williams syndrome (WS). The possibility that deficits in one cognitive system may have consequences in another cognitive system, and that these consequences may define the nature of the impairment in each clinical syndrome is further discussed with suggestions for future research.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Motor Control and Learning, Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ypsilanti
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Grouios
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007806:Language Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008037:Linguistics; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014825:Vocabulary