Down Syndrome and Sign Language

Down Syndrome and the use of Sign Language Chelsea Mueller Rider University

Down Syndrome and Sign Language History of Down Syndrome Down syndrome is a result of the trisomy of chromosome 21. This is a genetic disorder that causes an intellectual disability. To this day, no one is sure about what the actual molecular factors are that cause this phenotypic components of this chromosomal disorder (Patterson 137). Over the past thirty years that has been a lot of progress in understanding Down syndrome. In

the late 1800s Down syndrome was seen as a racial retrogression caused by instances of degeneracy arising from tuberculosis in the parents which was stated by a man named Down (Patterson 137). It was not until the 1960s that Down syndrome was recognized to be a chromosomal disorder. Also, now there are prenatal tests that can be performed in order to see if your child has this disorder. Previously, the median age of death for a person with Down syndrome was 1 year. Now, the life expectancy has increased to 60 years and is still increasing. (Patterson 137). The rate in thirty years has increased rapidly and this shows a more positive turn in Down syndrome. In the past if a child had a disorder like Down syndrome they would be institutionalized. It was believed that they would never reach all of the developmental milestones like most children. Parents did not have the resources that there are today to take care of their child on their own. Since there were little to no resources parents would leave their children at institutions and sometimes never see them again. They would do this in hopes that their child would get better care in this institution than they would at home. Today, most of the students with Down syndrome live at home with their parents and attend school. (Patterson 137). These children attend all different kinds of schools. They can go to an elementary school with an inclusion setting or a semi-inclusive setting.

Down Syndrome and Sign Language Speech Impairment in Down Syndrome There are four main areas to look at when talking about speech impairment in children with

Down syndrome they are voice, speech sounds, fluency and prosody, and intelligibility. These four areas have increased in children with Down syndrome over the last decade (Kent 178). With voice, the level and vocal quality is looked at. Children with Down syndrome typically have a low vocal pitch and a hoarse voice. This is especially seen when babies with Down syndrome cry. Their cries are lower pitched than other babies. Speech sound articulation and timing of syllables is often seen to be affected in children with Down syndrome. In some studies it was found that this may be due to their mid- and lower-face skeleton, an average sized tongue and a palate that is high. This causes their mouth characteristics to not be well established. Therefore, this causes a fluctuating dental asymmetry which can disrupt articulation. Fluency and prosody are larger units, such as syllables or syllable string. Children with Down syndrome often have disfluency which means that they stutter and/or clutter. Even though disfluency is highly likely to occur in Down syndrome it is not a universal characteristic. Intelligibility has to do with word identification. Also, this measures comprehension, listener comprehension, and participation. The reasons for this a deficit in intelligence have not been fully explored, but it is well documented and seen in Down syndrome.

History of Sign Language The use of sign language has been around for centuries. Sign language is a way of communication used by visual gestures and signs. Signs can be anything from a simply hand gesture, body movement, to a facial expression. It is typically used amongst two groups of people. The first group is people who do not have auditory and/or oral language, like the deaf. The second group is who do

Down Syndrome and Sign Language have auditory and oral language but they use signs for certain circumstances (Ruben 464). An example of a circumstance is during a vow of silence. Another example is to emphasize the meaning of verbal cues. People have been using sign language since at least the 4th century BC (Ruben 464). This is known because of different statements of Socrates. These statements mentioned a few times that the deaf and dumb use signs to communicate. Another example of early sign language was the use of fingers to represent roman numerals on roman coins. In the 16th and 17th centuries it was believed that

the deaf were unable to learn. On the contrary, in the 17th century there was a man named De Len who taught sign language to two deaf brothers. He used signs for daily life and emotional states. All of his methods were recorded but then were lost or destroyed (Ruben 465). In 1771 the first free school for the deaf was opened. A man named Lpe published and established syntax for sign language (Ruben 465). In the 19th century more educational opportunities opened up for the deaf who needed to learn sign language. Today, although there are implants that can be used to help the deaf sign language is still taught. It is believed that using signs in combination with vocalization can help strengthen communication.

Teaching Sign Language Teaching sign language can be done visually and orally. When learning sign language parents and teachers may use visuals such as picture representations and the actual objects, and then use the appropriate signage. If the children can see and actually touch the object, and then hear the word and see the sign that goes along with it, it will strengthen the relationship to the object and the sign. Sign language seems to be learned faster when there is also speaking involved (Kurt 1438). The signs should be used whenever the word is said in order for the child to make connections.

Down Syndrome and Sign Language Trends and Connecting Sign Language to Down Syndrome It is often seen that students with speech deficits use forms of augmentative, alternative, and assistive technology. These forms of communication involve spending high amounts of money in order to provide the student with the devices. By using sign language it will allow the families and schools to spend less money. Also, using sign language and verbal cues can benefit a child with Down syndrome. Children with this disorder can learn to speak even if they are just saying the first consonant of a word. By learning the signs and cues this will help the child associate the two and allow them to practice speaking. Also, using sign language is considered an independent task for a child with Down syndrome (Kurt 1662). It is important for students to do tasks independently in order for them to feel confident. When the child is praised for using the correct signage it will help the child understand that they are doing the right sign. Once the child is capable of understanding signs it will allow them to feel comfortable and confident in their surroundings, and hopefully allow them eventually use verbal communication.

Case Study There was a study done of children with developmental disorders, such as Down syndrome, to compare speed of acquisition and preference between using speech generated devices and uses sign language. In this study four children were involved between the ages of five and ten. They were taught to request preferred items by using an iPod device, which was the speech generated device, and by manual signage. These students were all in the same classroom at a public primary school, along with fourteen other students, two teachers, and six teaching assistants. In order to conduct this study the four students went into a small room connected to the main classroom during morning snack and a leisure activity. The study was done one at a time in a one to one environment. The people in the environment included the participant and the trainer. In order to ensure that the students would

Down Syndrome and Sign Language request preferred items, they were all placed in the room prior to the child entering. These items were picked out by the child choosing that object multiple times when they were lined up in a random order.

The top two to four food and toy items were chosen. These students were then trained to request these objects by using the pictures on the iPod. They would press the buttons that said things like, I want or I need, and then press the object. They were also taught to manually sign for each object they preferred. They were also taught to sign the words play and snack. These one on one sessions were conducted three to four times a week for five and ten trials. The students were prompted throughout the process with verbal cues such as, What would you like for snack? After the student responded correctly they would immediately get the item they requested. The conclusion of this study was that there is no better way for children to communicate. The way the child is able to communicate all depends on the childs needs and preferences (Kurt 1436-1444). It was found though that it is much faster to communicate using sign language compared to the technology when sign language becomes fluent to the child.

Conclusion In conclusion, using sign language can benefit people with Down syndrome. Down syndrome is an intellectual disability that is caused by a trisomy of chromosome 21. People who have Down syndrome often have a speech impairment because of the different effects it has on their physical being. Sign language is used along with verbal commands in order to strengthen communication. Manual signs are taught through practice and repetition of picture cues along with the words and sign. When sign language used as a communication method for people with Down syndrome it can be very beneficial.

Down Syndrome and Sign Language

References Costa, Alberto C.S. & Patterson, David. (2005). Down Syndrome and Genetics- A Case of Linked Histories. Nature Pub. Group, 6(2), 137-147. Kent, R., Vorperian, H., Kreiman, J., & Maassen, B. M. (2013). Speech Impairment in Down Syndrome: A Review. Journal Of Speech, Language & Hearing Research, 56(1), 178-210. Kurt, O. (2011). A Comparison of Discrete Trial Teaching with and without Gestures/Signs in Teaching Receptive Language Skills to Children with Autism. Educational Sciences: Theory And Practice, 11(3), 1436-1444. Larah van der, M., Debora, K., Donna, A., Mark F., O., Giulio E., L., Dean, S., & Jeff, S. (n.d). Speechgenerating devices versus manual signing for children with developmental disabilities. Research In Developmental Disabilities, 331658-1669. Ruben, R. (2005). Sign language: Its history and contribution to the understanding of the biological nature of language. Acta Oto-Laryngologica, 125(5), 464-467.