Task for in-class work on February 11th:
1) Do a five-minute quickwrite about the topic "What do you think/know about language acquisition of children with Down's Syndrome?" Post your comment on this blog.
2) Read the following link (pp. 15-16; from "grammar" through "intelligibility"), and be able to explain what "telegraphic speech" is.
3) Homework: Write a short reaction about the film.
Pay special attention to:
- intelligibility, and the factors by which it is influenced
a) anatomical factors
b) physiological factors
c) neurological factors
d) perceptual speech (what listener hears)
e) articulation
f) resonance
g) voice
h) fluency
i) prosody
j) hearing
k) pragmatics (social conversation)
l) non-verbal factors
m) external factors.
4) The handout about DS I distributed is the new blog text (James Radice has the summary). Please read the article, and post your responses when he has published his blog summary. The responses are due on Wednesday at class time.
5) The handout about autism is the following blog text (Ashley Wetzler has the summary).
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24 comments:
I really don't know too much about children who are mentally challenged or who have down syndrome. I believe they work with therapists who help them with their growth and development when their babies, and then as they get older, they work with speech therapists who help them with the correlation between objects and words. They might also help them with hearing tests and things like that
Children with Down syndrome face significant obstacles. My guess would be that, among other things, memory retention is weak in children with down syndrome. As a result, it is difficult for them to make associations to learn language the way the rest of us do. On top of this, communication skills are weaker. Thus, even though they may know what they are trying to say, they don't know how to say it. This can cause a great deal of frustration.
I don't really know much of anything about the language acquisition skills/issues of people with DS. It is important to know about possible future student's problems though, so if I was going to be teaching elementary or secondary education level classes then I would want to research this issue more.
I really do not know a whole lot about children with Down Syndrome. I would think that the students would have a hard time formulating the sounds of letters or words. Also, I would think that the child's ability to concentrate would be much less than a child with no deficiencies. The children that I have come in contact with often communicate through other sounds of gestures rather than using words.
I have a terribly limited knowledge of any of the effects of Down Syndrome on children, let alone the lingual aspects of the disease. I would imagine that children so affected would need much more time to recognize and retain lingual queues. There may be ways in which these children can learn more effectively though, so I would not be surprised if teaching styles varied wildly for children with Down Syndrome.
I do not really know too much about language acquisition of children with Down's Syndrome. I am vaguely familiar with Down's Syndrome, however I do believe there is a learning disability which may be associated with it. I look forward on acquiring as much information as I can about the language acquisition of children with Down's Syndrome.
I do not know that much about children with down syndrome. I often think of down syndrome and autism as the same thing, which is probably incorrect. I have heard more about children with autism. I assume that children with down syndrome are born with it and I know they are considered mentally challenged and need special kinds of help. I would like to know more on this topic.
I don't know anything about down syndrome. I've never known anyone who had it and I don't know what challenges it presents for trying to teach a child with this affliction.
Downs syndrome is a mental disorder where the child often has problems learning, speech impediments, and will show the same physical features as everyone else with downs syndrome. Like many other disorders downs syndrome has levels of severity and some people with the disease can go to school, get a job, and be just like everyone else. Others however, have more serious problems with the disease and will most likely stay at home with a relative or a group home because they need constant care. This disease is genetically passed the only way it can be prevented is to have both parents tested to see if they carry the genes that make downs syndrome occur.
I do not know very much about Down Syndrome. I think that their language usage probably comes from verbal dialect. What they hear, is what they know. It might also be difficult for them to read and write, so this would encourage verbal learning. (This is just a guess.) I am sure that teaching a child with any disorder or special needs would be a challenge further from that of teaching "at level" students.
I don't know much about children with down syndrome, but from what I have seen in movies I would guess that they have special teachers or tutors that work with them so that they can learn grammar.
I really have not had close relationships with very many people with Down's Syndrome. The few that I do know are not able to speak very well at all. They communicate in other ways than words such as sighs, grunts, and arm movements. I have also seen them respond with facial expressions. I am interested to learn more about the language development of children with Down's Syndrome so that I can better understand the challenges they endure.
I had some classes in high school with a girl who had down syndrome. She was able to communicate relatively well (though I think she could understand better than she could convey her thoughts). She was, however, multiple grade levels behind others her age. So, my guess is that people with down syndrome are able to acquire language slower, but not too much slower, than those without down syndrome but are not able to convey the knowledge they have as well. However, I do not really know if this is a correct way of thinking, it is only a guess.
I really don't know much about language acquisition in children with Down's Syndrome. I know one person with Down’s Syndrome but he has such an advanced case that he does not speak at all. It seems that they would have a difficult time experimenting with language. I think that it would be difficult to make the connections between the words and what they mean. It also seems that the cognitive process that makes language possible would be hindered also.
Bryan Norbut
Two years ago, I observed a special education classroom. These students had severe disabilities, some of them couldn't even move out of their chairs. For students with severe disabilities (like DS) language communication can be quite difficult. One of the teachers showed me several devices that are used for communication and language acquisition. One device was a board with several squares on it. A teacher could place a picture on the square. Furthermore, the teacher could record his/her voice on the machine. so, if a teacher wanted a student to learn the word "boat" the teacher would place a picture of a boat on the square while also recording the word "boat" onto that particular square. This way, a student may press the image and hear what it says. The students were able to learn basic words through visual and audio means. Also, several of the teachers would record certain commands like, "I need to go to the bathroom." for students who had problems speaking clearly, they could press this button to relay to the teacher what was needed.
It is difficult for children with a normal learning capacity to learn their language. I cannot imagine how frustrating it is for a child with down syndrome to learn language or how frustrating it might be for the teacher. I would think that continual and repetitive learning of the rules would be required for the child to learn grammar. Also, extreme patience of both teacher and student would be necessary.
I don't know a whole lot about children with down syndrome. I think that most children are either in a special classroom or have a personal aid. These children might also have speech therapists or therapists to help with their physical and mental development. However, I am interested in learning more about children who face these difficult obstacles.
Children with downs syndrome are indeed at a definite disadvantage when it comes to language aquisition. I would say that unfortunately, there is only so far that most people affected with this disorder can advance. I think that obviously a teacher should be very informed about any disability a student should have. From the extremely minimal amount of knowledge that I have on the subject, i know that it is important that the disorder is recognized early, and a teaching plan is pu in order to most effectively teach the student in a way that suits whatever shortcoming s he might have because of the disorder.
I have limited experience and interaction with children with Down syndrome, but i would imagine it could only make things harder in learning language. I used to be in a sunday school class with an older women with down syndrome and she was sufficient in reading and writing. She just needed more time to accomplish the tasks; I assume that it might be the same way in terms of teaching the language.
When I was on Junior High, I worked with a student who had down syndrome. It was challenging for me since I had not been exposed to it before, but I learned a lot from the experience. At first when I worked with him, I felt bad and mad at myself because I could not understand him, but after working with him for a year I grew to his language and was able to understand him most of the time.
Regina says That children with DS can achieve academically. In my experience they seem to "level off" academically at age 10 or 11. Unless "profoundly" MR these children are equal to other students in the younger grades. Many of these students can read just as good as others up to a point.
When I was younger my babysitter had a son with down syndrome. Until I was six or seven, I didn't understand the difference between him and myself. I remember I started understanding that we were different when he never grew out of pronouncing my name cuazin. I know that Keith forgets things very easily - at least short term things. He is loud and although he is now 30, still plays with wrestling toys he has had since I was a baby.
The only thing that I know about down syndrome is that it is a genetic problem which occurs at birth. It usually results in children having speech and learning defects at an early age. People with DS have a hard time articulating their thoughts. As far as their actual learning process I don't anything about that.
When it comes to Down's Syndrome I don't know a whole lot. However, I am sure that the way in which they learn language is a very long process. They usually do not learn at a normal rate. Every child is different, but most children wit DS have difficulties with learning language and when they do learn language it isn't complete and proper. Many of them have absences of abilities to learn the language properly. When they do speak it is usually broken speech patterns and sometimes they use the wrong words for what they are trying to express. However, I am making this comparison based on only one DS child that I have met. So I am sure that each person with DS learns different from the other and some may learn and do more than others.
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