The Relationship Between Play and Communication Skills in Young Children with Down Syndrome

Abstract

The relationship between play scores and communication skills measured in two ways was investigated in 19 young children with Down syndrome. When play competence, as observed in a play arena, was compared to mothers' perceptions of receptive and expressive communication skills, moderate and significant correlations were found. When play skills were compared to six language production measures, play was moderately and significantly correlated with only one measure, mean length of utterance in morphemes. Implications for these findings and for team assessments are discussed.The move toward transdisciplinary team assessment and intervention models of service for young children with special needs has heightened interest in collaborative models. In some cases, these new models lead to role sharing, role exchange, and role release as staff from one discipline learn about the concerns, techniques, and strategies of other disciplines. The idea of sharing knowledge and responsibilities with others means finding common ground and valuing the contributions unique to each discipline. One area that affords opportunities for staff to explore commonalities is that of children's play. Play is the generalist of development. For example, while a child is playing with a toy cash register, psychologists can learn much about the child's ability to problem solve, and occupational and physical therapists can analyze the child's hand and arm movements.

Play and emotional availability in young children with Down syndrome

“…It included 19 boys and 9 girls, and child and mother chronological ages varied widely. However, children's age range does not differ from other studies in the literature focusing on play in children with DS (Cielinski et al, 1995;Fewell et al, 1997;Libby, (Hollingshead, 1975), indicates a middle-low status in the Italian population.…”

“…There is a consensus that play represents an area that is highly appropriate to assessment with atypically developing children (Fewell & Glick, 1993;Fewell, Ogura, & Notari-Syverson, 1997). The play setting provides a natural and relaxed atmosphere for the child, and represents an assessment context that is supposed to be fun, voluntary, intrinsically motivated, and flexible (Finn & Fewell, 1994;Rogers & Sawyers, 1988).…”

Mothers and Fathers at Play with their Children with Down Syndrome: Influence on Child Exploratory and Symbolic Activity

“…However, children’s age range does not differ from other studies in the literature focusing on young children with DS (Cielinski et al. 1995; Fewell et al. 1997; Libby et al.…”

Imitation performance in toddlers with autism and those with other developmental disorders

“…The scale samples a wide range of both sensorimotor and symbolic play behaviors across infancy and early childhood drawn from the developmental literature and sequenced on the basis of their complexity. Construct validity of this scale has been demonstrated in a series of studies via correlations with standard developmental measures of cognition, language, and social functioning for both typically‐developing and clinical samples of young children, including those with Down syndrome, low birth weight, and multiple disabilities (Fewell & Glick, 1994; Fewell, Ogura, Notari‐Syverson, & Wheeden, 1997; Fewell & Rich, 1987; Folio & Fewell, 1983). Correlations with standardized cognitive, language, and adaptive behavior developmental instruments are in the .80–.92 range and are highly significant.…”