An Investigation of the Intentional Communication and Symbolic Play Skills of Children With Down Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy in Malaysia

Children with Down syndrome (DS) and cerebral palsy (CP) are at risk of remaining pre-symbolic in their communication and play for prolonged periods. The aim of this study was to explore the early communication and play of children with DS and with CP who communicated at the pre-symbolic stage, and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of early intervention 2014-06, Vol.36 (2), p.71-89
Main Authors: Joginder Singh, Susheel, Iacono, Teresa, Gray, Kylie M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavior
Cerebral Palsy
Child Development
Children & youth
Children with disabilities
Coding
Communication
Communication Skills
Correlation
Disability
Down Syndrome
Eye Movements
Foreign Countries
Human Body
Intention
Interpersonal Communication
Language Acquisition
MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory
Malaysia
Nonverbal Communication
Observation
Parent Child Relationship
Sibling Relationship
Skills
Symbolic Language
Toddlers
Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales
Young Children
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Summary:Children with Down syndrome (DS) and cerebral palsy (CP) are at risk of remaining pre-symbolic in their communication and play for prolonged periods. The aim of this study was to explore the early communication and play of children with DS and with CP who communicated at the pre-symbolic stage, and to determine the association between these skills. This study was conducted in Malaysia. Twelve children with DS and 12 with CP who met the criterion of demonstrating pre-symbolic communication were observed during interaction with their mothers and siblings, and the interactions were coded for the children’s communicative behaviors and play. The children were observed to communicate using pre-symbolic modalities most accessible to them. The children with DS demonstrated more communicative behaviors (intentional communicative acts and pre-intentional communicative acts) compared with children with CP. Participants produced little or no symbolic play, showing a preference for functional play instead. The symbolic play of the children with DS was negatively associated with their pre-symbolic intentional communicative acts, suggesting that both skills need to be targeted in intervention aimed at transitioning them to symbolic communication. The physical limitations of children with CP limited their demonstration of communicative behaviors and play.
ISSN:1053-8151
2154-3992
DOI:10.1177/1053815114562044