Relationships Between Early Gestures and Later Language in Children With Fragile X Syndrome

Jennifer L. Flenthrope, Nancy C. Brady
2010 American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology  
Purpose-The authors hypothesized that significant positive relationships would exist between early gesture use and later language attainments in children with fragile X syndrome (FXS), as has been reported in studies with other populations. Method-Participants were young children with FXS and limited expressive language (21 boys, 4 girls), divided into 2 subgroups based on the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS; Schopler, Reichler, & Renner, 1988) scores. Data were collected when participants
more » ... ere about 2 years of age and again when they were about 5 years of age. Communication was assessed through the analysis of video samples obtained in the children's homes for both observation periods. Correlational analyses were completed between early prelinguistic communication and later verbal communication scores for all participants and for children with high (>30) versus low (<30) scores on the CARS. Results-Although no significant relationships were found between prelinguistic gesture use and language outcomes for the group of children as a whole, significant negative correlations were found for the group of children who had high CARS scores. Conclusions-These outcomes did not support the authors' initial hypotheses. It was concluded that extensive use of developmentally early gestures by children with FXS who also have many symptoms of autism may not be a positive indicator of later language. Keywords fragile X; gestural communication; autism spectrum disorders Fragile X syndrome (FXS), which is caused by the mutation of a gene on the X chromosome, is the most common known cause of inherited intellectual disability. The level of disability resulting from FXS ranges from learning disabilities to severe mental retardation. FXS is also the most common known single-gene cause of autism. Delays in speech and language development are common symptoms of FXS (National Fragile X Foundation, 2006). Research on the language development of children with FXS is fairly limited and historically has focused primarily on school-age children. The majority of children with FXS are still in the early stages of language development by the time they turn 3 years of age, and some may not be talking at all yet. Roberts, Hatton, and Bailey (2001) reported that a sample of 26 young boys with FXS used their first spoken words at 28 months of age, on average, with a range of 9-88 months, indicating a severe delay in the onset of spoken language among many children with FXS. Roberts, Mirrett, and Burchinal (2001) found that in
doi:10.1044/1058-0360(2009/09-0018) pmid:19948762 pmcid:PMC3663135 fatcat:4b6bfrwnf5gdzflzulobhz4uui