title: Mean length utterance in Brazilian children: a comparative study between Down syndrome, specific language impairment, and typical language development.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the linguistic performance of Brazilian Portuguese-speaking children with Down syndrome by analyzing their Mean Length Utterance; to compare their performance to that of children with Specific Language Impairment and Typical Development; and to verify whether children with Down syndrome present developmental language delay or disorder.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were 25 children with Down syndrome (Research Group), matched by mental age to a Control Group of typically developing children, and to a Control Group of children with Specific Language Impairment. Participants were divided into subgroups, according to age range (three, four and five years). Speech samples were collected for the Research Group, and the Mean Length Utterance was analyzed for morphemes and words.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Differences were observed between the performance of the Research Group and both Control Groups, and the former presented inferior Mean Length Utterance values for all age ranges, characterizing a delay in grammar and general language development.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The description of the linguistic abilities of Brazilian Portuguese-speaking children with Down syndrome indicated important grammatical deficits, especially regarding the use of functional words.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Angela Maria de Amorim
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Carvalho
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Debora Maria
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Befi-Lopes
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Suelly Cecília Olivan
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Limongi
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002663:Child Language; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D007807:Language Tests; D013068:Speech Production Measurement