WHAT:
Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed a test to evaluate the expressive language skills of people with Down syndrome, a condition resulting from an extra copy or piece of chromosome 21. Expressive language is the use of words to convey meaning to others. Language delays are common in people with Down syndrome, and the study authors believe their test provides a more effective way to evaluate prospective language interventions, compared to current evaluation methods.
The study was conducted by Angela Thurman, Ph.D., of the University of California, Davis, and appears in the
Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders. Funding was provided by NIH's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.