It seems unlikely that a child with Down syndrome will have age-appropriate reading skills yet show significant delay on measures of verbal and non-verbal mental age yet this is the pattern reported by Margriet Groen and colleagues in a detailed case study of KS aged 8 years. The paper reports three studies exploring different facets of the reading skills shown by KS.
Most children and adults with Down syndrome experience significant difficulty with speech and language skills. Few achieve clear and fluent speech and few can express what they wish to communicate effectively because of delays in learning all the vocabulary and the grammar that they need. In recent years, there has been a large research effort exploring all aspects of speech and language development, from birth to adolescent years in particular.
The literature reporting on behavioural issues and adjustment in brothers and sisters of a child with Down syndrome provides conflicting findings – some studies reporting no effects and some reporting negative effects. Difference in measures
and design may explain some of the contradictory findings.
The role of Trisomy 21 in causing specific speech and language development is discussed by Paoloni-Giacobino and colleagues in a recent report of the development of a 14 year old girl with mosaic Down syndrome.