A longitudinal study of mothers' speech to preverbal Down's Syndrome infants

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Abstract
Ten mothers were videotaped at home while playing with their Down's Syndrome infant and a standard set of toys. The visits commenced when the infants were 12 months and they were at approximately six-weekly intervals until the infants were 24 months old. As well as analysing maternal speech, records were also made of the infants' vocalizations and play actions. It was found that the mothers' speech changed over the year even though the children's vocalizations remained constant. Changes in the children's play actions appeared to influence mothers' speech. These findings illustrate the need to examine mother-child interactions within a broad framework, embracing nonverbal as well as verbal behaviours. The implications for intervention strategies are also discussed.