Mental State Language Development in Children With Down Syndrome Versus Typical Development

Marie Moore Channell, Linnea E. Sandstrom, Danielle Harvey

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This study compared mental state language (talk about emotions, thoughts, intentions, etc.) used by 6- to 11-year-old children with Down syndrome (DS) to a younger typically developing (TD) comparison group matched by nonverbal cognition. We aimed to determine (1) whether mental state language use is delayed in DS relative to developmental expectations, and (2) if there are differences between groups in the association between mental state language and developmental factors (emotion knowledge, expressive language). Rate of mental state language use was significantly lower in the group with DS, but the number of different mental state terms was not significantly different. Nuanced patterns of similarity and difference emerged between groups regarding the association between mental state language and other developmental factors.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)495-510
Number of pages16
JournalAmerican journal on intellectual and developmental disabilities
Volume127
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2022

Keywords

  • Down syndrome
  • language
  • mental state language
  • perspective taking
  • social cognition

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Medicine

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