Early communicative skills of children with Klinefelter syndrome

Abstract

Many studies reported the presence of language impairments in children and adolescents with Klinefelter syndrome (KS). However, the first stage of their language development has been scarcely studied. The present study aimed to describe the spontaneous communicative production of 18-month-old children with KS, in comparison with that of typically developing (TD) male peers, aiming to verify the existence of different early communicative skills in both vocal and gestural modality and to identify the presence of possible associations with their later vocabulary size. Children with KS showed a lower competence in both lexical skills and emergent syntactic abilities than TD peers. No significant differences were found in gesture production. Considering the possibility of identifying an association between early communicative skills and later vocabulary size, the vocal production of TD children appeared to be significantly related to their later lexical skills; whereas, the number of gestures produced by children with KS appeared to be related to their later lexical abilities. The early detection of language risk factors will allow early intervention and careful monitoring of these children's communicative development.

Maternal input to children with sex chromosome trisomies

“…Communication delays are evident from the first stages of language development (Samango‐Sprouse 2001, Zampini et al . 2018a, 2018b). For instance, Samango‐Sprouse (2001, Samango‐Sprouse and Law 2001) found the presence of a delayed babbling and phonological development in children with Klinefelter syndrome younger than 12 months.…”

“…2003, Zampini et al . 2018a) and triple X syndrome (Linden et al . 1988), with the emergence of the first lexical items at around 18 months of age.…”

Klinefelter syndrome: a speech-language and neuropsychological assessment

“…The diagnosis is made by clinical examination and karyotype testing. Besides other characteristics, the phenotype includes infertility, hypogonadism, gynecomastia, cognitive disorders, especially in the language domain, besides psychiatric alterations [2][3][4][5][6][7] .…”

“…Patients with KS tend to present difficulties in the regulation of emotions and behavior, affecting the relationship with their peers [2][3][4][5][6][7] . Babinet et al (2017) 8 suggested that disorders in social cognition are part of the phenotypic aspects of KS.…”

“…There is consensus in the literature about the intense difficulty in communication in individuals with KS [2][3][4][5][6] . Important deficits in expressive and receptive language were described, as well as alterations in short-term verbal memory, comprehension and utilization of grammar rules, speech-language processing and the literacy process 4,14,15 . Additionally, there are limitations in written expression and arithmetic, being classified into specific learning disorders as dyslexia and dysorthography.…”