The relation of maternal style and the language development of children with Down syndrome

The purpose of this study was to explore the association between five aspects of maternal style and children's language development. Joint attention, topic control, maternal responding, references to objects, and directives were examined to determine if the same maternal behaviors that are positively associated with the language development of typically developing children are similarly associated with the language development of children with Down syndrome. Of particular interest was whether mothers use language in similar ways during play, and whether mothers use similar strategies for maintaining children's attention to toys.;The sample included 28 children with Down syndrome and 17 typically developing children and their mothers. Participating children were at the holophrastic stage of language development. Language was assessed on the Reynell Developmental Language Scales at time of recruitment and at follow-up thirteen months later.;The results of this study indicated that mothers of children with Down syndrome maintained more attention to toys, and they spent more time in joint attention than mothers of typically developing children. However, mothers in both groups used similar strategies for labeling objects, responding to children's vocalizations, and for using directives. Thus, the notion that mothers of children with Down syndrome are more directive than mothers of typically developing children was not supported by the data.;Questions inside joint attention, maintaining attention to toys, and contingent responding were positively associated with the language development of children with Down syndrome. For typically developing children, maternal language inside joint attention tended to be positively associated with language gains, while maternal language outside joint attention tended to be negatively associated with language gains. Overall, the language development of typically developing children appeared to be more sensitive to maternal language relative to joint attention than the language development of children with Down syndrome.