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Background: Evidence shows that neurotypical individuals who stutter use fewer gestures than those who do not stutter. Presently, no research exists about the interaction of stuttering and gestures in individuals with Down syndrome. Method: Twenty-nine individuals with Down syndrome (7-19 years) of whom 16 stuttered and 13 spoke fluently and 20 neurotypical children (3-10 years) of whom 8 stuttered and 12 spoke fluently participated in this study. In spontaneous speech transcriptions, stuttering events and gestures were coded. Results: Comparisons of gesture frequency during stuttered and fluent speech inside the Down syndrome and neurotypical group show that the Down syndrome group uses significantly more gestures during stuttered than during fluent speech while no significant difference is seen in the neurotypical group.Conclusions: There is some preliminary evidence that individuals with Down syndrome try to compensate for their stuttering events, however, analyses on word level are necessary to confirm a successful compensation.

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Purpose Key word signing (KWS) entails using manual signs to support the natural speech of individuals with normal hearing and who have communication difficulties. While manual signs from the local sign language may be used for this purpose, some KWS systems have opted for a distinct KWS lexicon. Distinct KWS lexicon typically aims for higher sign iconicity or recognizability to make the lexicon more accessible for individuals with intellectual disabilities. We sought to determine if, in the Belgian Dutch context, signs from such a distinct KWS lexicon (Spreken Met Ondersteuning van Gebaren [Speaking With Support of Signs; SMOG]) were indeed more iconic than their Flemish Sign Language (FSL) counterparts. Method Participants were 224 adults with typical development who had no signing experience. They rated the resemblance between a FSL sign and its meaning. Raw data on the iconicity of SMOG from a previous study were used. Translucency was statistically and qualitatively compared between the SMOG lexicon and their FSL counterparts. Results SMOG had an overall higher translucency than FSL and contained a higher number of iconic signs. Conclusion This finding may support the value of a separate sign lexicon over using sign language signs. Nevertheless, other aspects, such as wide availability and inclusion, need to be considered.