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SUMMARY The conversational skills of 18 individuals with fragile‐X syndrome (FXS) were compared with those of two other matched groups with autism and Down syndrome. The FXS group used more eliciting forms in conversation than those with Down syndrome, and also used partial self‐repetition more often than the other two groups. The Down syndrome group had more speech dysfluencies than those with autism, but not more than those with FXS. The autistic group used more inappropriate phrases. Qualitative analysis of behavioral phenotype may reveal differences in communicative organization among subgroups whose retardation is based on different genotypes. In addition, analysis of verbal strategies during conversation suggests important differences between individuals with FXS and autism. RÉSUMÉ Capacité de conversation chez des sujets présentant un syndrome de l'X fragile: comparaison avec l'autisme et le syndrome de Down Les capacités de conversation de 18 patients présentant un syndrome d'X fragile (FXS) ont été comparées avec celles de deux groupes de patients présentant un autisme ou un syndrome de Down. Les patients avec FXZ utilisaient davantage de formes significatives dans la conversation que ceux atteints du syndrome de Down, et utilisaient également des auto‐répétitions partielles plus souvent que les deux autres groupes. Les patients avec syndrome de Down présentaient plus de ruptures de rythmes du langage que les autistiques mais pas plus que les patients avec FXS. Les patients autistiques utilisaient davantage de phrases inappropriées. L'analyse qualitative des phénotypes comportementaux peut révéler des différences dans l'organisation de la communication parmi des sous‐groupes dont le retard est liéà des génotypes différents. de plus, l'analyse des stratégies verbales durant la conversation sugge des différences importantes entre les sujets avec FXS et les autistiques. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Die Fählgkeiten, sich zu unterhalten, bei Patienten mit fragilem X‐Syndrom 18 Patienten mit fragilem X‐Syndrom (FXS) wurden hinsichtlich ihrer Fähigkeiten, sich zu unterhalten, mit Patienten mit Autismus und Down Syndrom verglichen. Die Patienten mit FXS benutzten komplexere Formen der Unterhaltung als die mit Down Syndrom und außerdem wiederholten sie sich häufger als die beiden anderen Gruppen. Patienten mit Down Syndrom unterbrachen sich häufiger als die mit Autismus, aber nicht häufiger als die mit FXS. Die autistischen Patienten benutzten mehr unpassende Phrasen. Die qualitative Analyse der Verhaltensform kann Unterschiede in der Kommunikation bei Untergruppen aufzeigen, deren Retardierung durch verschiedene Genotypen bedingt ist. Außerdem zeigt die Analyse des verbalen Vorgehens bei der Unterhaltung wichtige Unterschiede zwischen Patienten mit FXS und mit Ausitmus. RESUMEN Habilidades conversacionales en individuos con sindrome del cromosoma X frágil: comparación con el autismo y el sindrome de Down Se compararon las habilidades conversacionales de 18 pacientes con síndrome de cromosome X frágil (SFX), con las de dos...

The linguistic and cognitive development of 26 premature and 27 full-term infants was studied longitudinally over the first 3 years of life. Infants in the premature population included 12 who were below 1500 g in birthweight and an even larger number with “at risk” signs. Language samples were collected in the home approximately every other month, the children were given experimenter-designed tests periodically, and mothers were asked to keep diaries of their children’s lexical development. The children were given standardized tests as they exited the study. Cognitive development was also measured periodically. The patterns of lexical and cognitive development of the prematures did not differ markedly from those of full-term infants. There were no significant differences between the prematures as a whole and the full-term infants on standard language test measures as they exited from the study. There were significant differences between the very low birthweight and full-term infants on two of the exit measures. However, the performance of the very low birthweight infants was well within the range of normal on these two measures. The nature of the study and the factors that might have led to lack of differences between the two groups are discussed.

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The Whitaker database is a collection of 19 275 isolated-word utterances spoken by six persons whose speech spans a broad spectrum of dysarthria due to cerebral palsy. The database additionally contains utterances by a normal speaker which can be used for reference. The vocabulary is divided into two sets---one of 46 words (the "TI-46" vocabulary consisting of the alphabet, digits, and 10 control words), the other of of 35 words (the "Grandfather" set consisting of phonetically diverse words). The database is available through the electronic mail network for use in studies of recognition, perception, articulation, and other aspects of speech disorders.