Annick Comblain

Current perspectives on developmental dysphasias

Abstract The paper documents the major difficulties observed in the oral language development of individuals with mental retardation of genetic origin. The extent of inter- and within-syndrome variability is evaluated. More specifically, a comparative analysis of typical language phenotypes in several genetic syndromes is attempted and the possible brain underpinnings of the observed differences are envisaged. Recent cases of favorable language development in individuals with mental retardation are summarized and explanatory variables are discussed.

The fragileX syndrome : What about the deficit innthe pragmatic component of language ?

The language profile of individuals with fragile-X syndrome looks like that of individuals with Down syndrome, except for phonological and pragmatic abilities. Whereas the pragmatic aspect of language is relatively preserved in Down syndrome, it is one of the most impaired language components in fragile-X syndrome. Discourse of persons with fragile X generally contains repetitions, perseverations, and stereotypies. These behaviors are well documented in the literature but we do not know, for now, the reasons for these repetitions and perseverations. Are they the consequence of a real pragmatic disorder or the consequence of motor difficulties? Another aspect of the pragmatic component of language (in this pathology) remains almost unexplored: the common ground management and the organization of the old and the new information in conversation. It is this last point that we explore. We conducted a preliminary study with four boys with fragile-X aged from 6 to 12 years. Pairs of boys worked together on referential communication tasks. We presented traditional experimental situations in a non-eye contact condition between participants. We compared the results of our subjects with those of typically developing children matched for lexical age. Boys with Fragile-X were less efficient than were typically developing children when the message to give or receive contained spatial terms or “ordinal” attributes. They also managed less efficiently with an incomplete message, especially when it was given by an adult.

Aspectos morfosintácticos avanzados del lenguaje de niños y adolescentes con retraso mental leve y moderado

Resumen Se expone el caso de una nina de tres anos de edad que acude a consulta a un centro de psiquiatria y psicologia infantil por ausencia de lenguaje. A traves de las primeras entrevistas y de la exploracion se detectan dificultades tanto a nivel de la expresion oral como en los aspectos de relacion y emocionales. Se inicia un tratamiento que estimule ambas areas conjuntamente. Se describe la evolucion de la paciente durante el primer ano de terapia haciendo especial mencion de como la maduracion psiquica y la capacidad de expresarse a nivel verbal de una forma progresivamente mas adecuada a su entorno, caminan muy relacionadas y de como una y otra son, en este caso, absolutamente interdependientes.