RECOGNITION OF THE FAMILIAR WORDS OF NURSERY RHYMES BY HANDICAPPED AND NON-HANDICAPPED INFANTS

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Abstract
Nine infants with Down''s syndrome (mean MA [mental age], 9.1 mo.), 7 non-handicapped infants (mean MA, 9.6 mo.) and 1 severely handicapped infant (MA, 9.5 mo.) were given the choice of listening to familiar nursery rhymes or to the same rhymes with each word reversed such that the rhythms, intonation and stress patterns were kept intact but the words were nonsense. Six infants with Down''s syndrome, 5 non-handicapped infants and the severely handicapped infant had significant preferences for the familiar rhymes, and the strength of this preference increased with increasing mental age. Apparently both handicapped and non-handicapped infants are beginning to recognize familiar words of nursery rhymes at this age. The relevance of the results for early intervention procedures is discussed.