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PeoplewithDownsyndromearethereforeoftendefinedbytheirlanguagelimitationsratherthantheirlanguagepotential.

InthetaskthatIhavedevelopedindividualsareshownshortanimationonatablet,atthesametimetheyhearasentenceandtheymustdecidewhetherthesentencematchestheanimation.Todate,Ihavecompletedthetaskwithsomechildrenwhodon’thaveanylanguagedifficultiestomakesureitworkseffectively.Ifoundthatchildrenperformedbetteronmytaskthananothertaskusingamoretraditionalapproach

Why do I need your help?

ThetaskisnowreadytobeusedwiththosewhohaveDownsyndrome,toseewhattheyfindeasyandmoredifficult.Itishopedthatthetaskwillshowthetrue

My name is Pauline Frizelle and I am aresearcher and Speech and LanguageTherapist working at University CollegeCork. I have been developing a newcomputerized task (using animation) tostudypeople’sunderstandingofdifferenttypes of sentences called complexsentences.Untilrecently,therehasbeennotaskavailableintheworldthatlooksatafullrangeof complex sentences, in detail. As aresultwehaveaverypoorknowledgeofwhat types of sentences those withlanguage difficulties (in particular thosewithDownsyndrome)canunderstand.

INFORMATION FOR PARENT/CAREGIVER OF PARTICIPANTS WITH DOWN SYNDROME

The people being invited:

§ HaveadiagnosisofDownsyndrome§ Havetheabilitytounderstandsimplesentences§ Canspeakin3wordcombinations§ HaveEnglishasafirstlanguageandthe

languageofthehome

DrPaulineFrizelle,DepartmentofSpeechandHearingSciences,UniversityCollegeCorkTel:+252(21)4901649mail:p.frizelle@ucc.ie

Investigating the understanding of complex sentences by those with Down syndrome, intellectual disability of unknown origin and typical development

Confidentiality

Acodenumberwouldidentifyeachparticipant..AlldatawillbeanonymousWewouldnotwritenamesonanyforms.AllformswouldbestoredinalockedfilingcabinetinthedepartmentofSpeechandHearingSciences,UniversityCollegeCork.Thefinalscoreswillbedepositedontheopenscienceframeworkforstatisticalreanalysis.

language potential of individuals with Downsyndrome and therefore help teachers andtherapistsmaximisetheirlearningability.

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Can you change your mind?

Participation in this project is completelyvoluntary. You can withdraw from theprojectatanytimeifyouwish.

Can you talk to me before you decide?

Iwouldbemorethanhappytoansweranyquestionsthatyoumighthave.Youcanphonemeat0878057394oremailmeatp.frizelle@ucc.ie

Thisprojecthasbeenreviewedby,andreceivedethicsclearancethrough,theUniversityCollegeCorkClinicalResearchEthicsCommittee.Thankyouforyourtime.

Pauline

What will your son / daughter have to do?

Yourson/daughterwouldattendtwo/three30minutelongsessions,dependingonwhethertheygettired.

Session 1

Your son / daughter would complete alanguage task, which is a short sentencerepetition task/ narrative task. This would beaudio-recorded to allow me write down thesentences accurately. The recordingswill thenbe destroyed. The purpose of this task is toassess children’s understanding of sentences.Yourchildwouldalsocompleteashorthearing-screeningtest,tomakesurethattheycanhearthe sentences. It doesn't matter if they arealreadywearingahearingaid.Finallyyourchildwould be asked to point to different patternsandpickouttheonethatismissing.

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Taking part

If you would like to help me with thisproject, please sign the consent formattached and give it to your son /daughter’sclassteacherorkeyworker.

INFORMATION FOR PARENT/CAREGIVER

Where and when?

Iwould go to your son/daughter’s schoolor centre at a time that is convenient tothe staff and fits with the school/ centretimetable. I would arrange this with thestaff directly. There will also be anotheradultintheroomatalltimes.

Session 2

Your son/ daughter would listen to anumberofsentenceswhile lookingatsomeshortanimationsandwouldhave todecideifthesentencetheyhear isthecorrectonethatgoeswiththeanimationshown.