title: Communicative performance of children with Down syndrome in two different situations.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  analysis of the pragmatic aspects of language in children with Down syndrome.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  to verify the influence of environmental and contextual variables in the pragmatic aspects of language of Down syndrome (DS) children when interacting with their caregivers and therapist, and to compare their performance in both situations.
  
  
  METHODS
  participants were 15 children with DS with ages ranging from 4 to 6.11 years. Data were obtained through anamnesis, the protocol of functional communicative profile, and a socioeconomic questionnaire. Data obtained from both interaction situations (with the caregiver and with the therapist) were compared, and submitted to statistical analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Caregiver's socioeconomic and educational levels were the variables that most had an influence on the pragmatic aspects of the child in both interaction situations. Children presented proportional rates of functional communication when compared to the data obtained for their caregivers and the communicative functions more frequently used by them were recognition of others, comment and performative. Comparisons between the interaction situations indicated no statistically significant differences concerning the children's communicative performance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  caregivers' socioeconomic and educational levels might be considered risk factors for the development of the pragmatic aspects of language in children with DS and special attention should be given to these families during the speech-language therapeutic process. Independently of the interlocutor, these children were able to initiate and maintain communication, using communicative means and functions in a similar fashion.
authors.affiliation: Fonoaudióloga, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil. slimongi@usp.br
authors.forename: Eliza
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Porto-Cunha
authors.forename: Suelly Cecilia Olivan
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Limongi
mesh_terms: D017028:Caregivers / Q000592:standards*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003142:Communication; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy; D004522:Educational Status; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D007808:Language Therapy; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric