Psycholinguistic profile of young adults with Down syndrome.

López-Riobóo et al. (2019) tested 30 young adults with Down syndrome. They matched each one to a peer with intellectual disability but no DS. The team gave both groups the same battery of language tests. Half the tests used pictures and printed words. The other half used spoken words and sounds. Everyone took the tests in a quiet room at a local center.

The DS group scored lower on every task. The gap was biggest on auditory jobs like repeating made-up words. Visual tasks showed a smaller yet clear deficit. In short, ears gave them more trouble than eyes, but both channels were weak.

Eisenhower et al. (2006) showed one nine-year-old with DS plus autism started talking more once teachers waited for a spoken request. Their positive result might look opposite to Elena’s negative profile, but the difference is age and goal. Elena mapped weak skills; A showed that ABA can still grow those weak skills if you target them directly.

Ortiz et al. (2014) found auditory and visual timing problems in preschoolers at risk for dyslexia. The pattern matches Elena’s DS data, hinting that timing glitches could sit beneath both disorders.

McGonigle et al. (2014) warn that hearing and vision loss pile up in adults with DS. Elena’s data now say those sensory hits land on top of already-shaky language processing, so routine hearing and vision checks are vital.

Before you write goals, test both listening and looking tasks. If the learner fails to follow a spoken direction, it may be a hearing problem, a language problem, or both. Pair auditory targets with clear visual cues, and keep glasses and hearing aids in working order. This double-check saves you months of guessing why progress is slow.