Patterns of early lexical and gestural development in children with Williams syndrome.

Becerra, Angela M.

doi:10.18297/etd/2407

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…Although the social drive of individuals with WS has been well-documented (Klein-Tasman & Mervis, 2003; Ng, Järvinen, & Bellugi, 2014; Zitzer-Comfort, Doyle, Masataka, Korenberg, & Bellugi, 2007), difficulties with a variety of aspects of social communication have nevertheless been described. Comprehension and production of communicative gestures such as pointing or showing are delayed (Becerra, 2016; Laing et al, 2002; Mervis & Becerra, 2007 Mervis & Bertrand, 1993, 1997), with onset of referential pointing even more delayed than onset of expressive language. Difficulties with triadic joint attention and social referencing are common (John, Dobson, Thompson, & Mervis, 2012; John & Mervis, 2010a; John, Rowe, & Mervis, 2009; Laing et al, 2002; Mervis & Becerra, 2007; Thurman & Mervis, 2013) as are atypical patterns of eye gaze in communicative settings (Jones et al, 2000; Mervis et al, 2003).…”

Section: Socio-communicative Difficulties Repetitive Behaviors and mentioning

confidence: 99%

Autism Spectrum Symptomatology in Children with Williams Syndrome Who Have Phrase Speech or Fluent Language

Klein-Tasman

Fluit

Mervis

2018

J Autism Dev Disord

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To characterize autism spectrum-related symptomatology in children with Williams syndrome (WS) with phrase speech or fluent language, the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule Module 2 or 3 was administered. The cutoff for autism spectrum was met by 35% (14/40) who completed Module 2 and 30% (18/60) who completed Module 3. Similarities and differences in socio-communicative strengths and weaknesses as a function of language ability were identified. Symptom severity was negatively associated with IQ for participants with phrase speech but not for those with fluent language. The findings suggest an elevated risk of ASD for individuals with WS relative to the general population and contribute to a more nuanced sense of the socio-communicative functioning of children with WS.

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Section: Socio-communicative Difficulties Repetitive Behaviors and mentioning

confidence: 99%

Autism Spectrum Symptomatology in Children with Williams Syndrome Who Have Phrase Speech or Fluent Language

Klein-Tasman

Fluit

Mervis

2018

J Autism Dev Disord

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“…None of the participants in the present study were included in Mervis and Bertrand (1997). Although 32 of the 18-month-olds in Becerra (2016) were included in the present sample, the analyses described herein are independent of those reported in Becerra (2016). Our first aim was to document the relations between age of acquisition of declarative show and declarative point and age of onset of referential expressive language.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…The onsets of both expressive language and communicative gestures have consistently been reported to be delayed for children with WS (see Mervis and Becerra, 2007; Mervis and John, 2012 for reviews). Most recently, Becerra (2016) found that of a sample of 49 18-month-olds with WS, 37 (76%) scored at or below the 5th percentile on the expressive vocabulary norms for the CDI: Words and Sentences (CDI-W&S; Fenson et al, 2007). Similarly, 41(83%) of the children scored at or below the 5th percentile on the norms for the Early Gestures Scale of the CDI: Words and Gestures (CDI-W&G; Fenson et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the relation between the onset of referential show – which would be expected to be acquired prior to the onset of referential point – and the onset of referential expressive language was not considered. Furthermore, although prior studies (e.g., Mervis and Robinson, 2000; Mervis and John, 2012; Becerra, 2016) have documented wide variation in expressive vocabulary size for young children with WS of a given age, neither the relation between age at onset of referential pointing gestures and expressive vocabulary size at a particular age nor the relation between expressive vocabulary size at one specific age and expressive vocabulary size at a later specific age has been addressed. The purpose of the present study was to address these topics based on a considerably larger sample of children with WS.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Age at Onset of Declarative Gestures and 24-Month Expressive Vocabulary Predict Later Language and Intellectual Abilities in Young Children With Williams Syndrome

Becerra

Mervis

2019

Front. Psychol.

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Background: One of the most consistent findings in the early language acquisition literature regarding children in the general population is that the onset of declarative pointing gestures precedes the onset of expressive referential language. Furthermore, frequency of early use of declarative gestures is a stronger predictor of later lexical development than early vocabulary size. These findings suggest that early declarative gestures may play a critical facilitative role in later language development. To evaluate the universality of these findings, we tested children with Williams syndrome (WS), a genetic disorder associated with both language and communicative gesture delay.Method: Participants were 47 children with classic-length WS deletions. Age of onset of declarative show and point were determined by parental report on the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory (CDI): Words and Gestures. Expressive vocabulary size at onset of these gestures, first referential expressive word, 24 months, and 48 months and grammatical complexity at 48 months were determined by parental report on the CDI: Words and Sentences. Receptive and expressive vocabulary and overall intellectual ability at 48 months were measured using standardized assessments.Results: In contrast to previous findings for children in the general population, most children with WS began to produce referential language several months before they produced declarative point. A series of multiple regressions indicated that both age at onset of declarative point and expressive vocabulary size at 24 months made significant independent contributions to individual differences in lexical, grammatical, and overall intellectual ability at 48 months. Similarly to the findings for typically developing children and children with other developmental disabilities, individual differences in the declarative gesture measure accounted for considerably more variance in 48-month lexical ability than early expressive vocabulary size.Discussion: The transition from prelinguistic communication to initial referential language does not depend on the onset of the ability to use declarative point. Nevertheless, the length of time that a child has been producing declarative point was a better predictor than early expressive vocabulary of later lexical abilities. Thus, despite the earlier divergence in their path to language development from the typical one, the path for children with WS re-converges with that for typically developing children and children with other developmental disabilities.

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Patterns of early lexical and gestural development in children with Williams syndrome.

Cited by 2 publications

References 65 publications

Autism Spectrum Symptomatology in Children with Williams Syndrome Who Have Phrase Speech or Fluent Language

Autism Spectrum Symptomatology in Children with Williams Syndrome Who Have Phrase Speech or Fluent Language

Age at Onset of Declarative Gestures and 24-Month Expressive Vocabulary Predict Later Language and Intellectual Abilities in Young Children With Williams Syndrome

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