Syntactic delay and pragmatic deviance in the language of fragile X males

Abstract

The expressive language of 19 fragile X [fra(X)] males with chronological ages between 5 and 36 years and Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scores between 21 and 79 was examined for syntactic as well as pragmatic proficiency. The production of deviant repetitive language was observed with this group, corroborating the results of an earlier study with a smaller sample of fra(X) males. In contrast, when 2 syntax scores, mean length of utterance (MLU), and Index of Productive Syntax (IPSyn) were derived from naturalistic language observations, the relation of complexity to length was observed to be very similar to the known relationship of these 2 facets of syntactic ability in normal preschoolers. These results, and the absence of correlations between syntactic scores and proportions of deviant repetitive language are consistent with the notion that the syntactic development of fra(X) males is typically delayed rather than deviant. For effective assessment and remediation of communicative problems associated with the syndrome to be developed, it is argued, language must be considered as a combination of competencies rather than as a unitary skill.

Growth of Expressive Syntax in Children With Fragile X Syndrome

“…The age ranges and sample sizes for these studies are provided in Table 1. Sudhalter, Scarborough, and Cohen (1991) found similar performance on mean length of utterance (MLU; Brown, 1973) and the Index of Productive Syntax (IPSyn; Scarborough, 1990) between their group of boys with FXS and Scarborough's (1990) TD children. Similar findings were reported in a subsequent study (Sudhalter, Maranion, & Brooks, 1992) with boys with FXS who did not differ in the number of syntactic errors made during a sentence completion task, compared with a sample of developmentally matched TD children.…”

“…Both indices have been widely used in analyses of language samples to measure morphological and syntactic complexity in TD and clinical populations (Brown, 1973;Hewitt, Hammer, Yont, & Tomblin, 2005;Price et al, 2008;Rescorla & Turner, 2015;Rice et al, 2010;Roberts et al, 2007;Sudhalter et al, 1991).…”

Screening for Fragile X Syndrome: Information Needs for Health Planners

“…51 52 For example, some studies have found that although problems of language and communication are common to both disorders, males with fragile X syndrome seem to have a greater understanding of conversation than autistic males." 53 …”

Expressive semantic deficit in the productive language of males with fragile X syndrome

“…, head movements, gestures) to express and understand the intended message [Bloom and Lahey, 1978; Sudhalter et al, 1991 for further explanation].…”