Phonological awareness and writing development in Down syndrome: a longitudinal case study
Consciência fonológica e desenvolvimento da escrita na síndrome de down: um estudo de caso longitudinal
Bárbara de Lavra-Pinto; Joice Dickel Segabinazi; Lilian Cristine Hübner
Abstract
The aims of this study were to: verify performance advances in phonological awareness and writing skills in a child with Down syndrome speaking Brazilian Portuguese; identify which phonological awareness skills developed; analyze the influence of working memory skills on performance in phonological awareness tasks; verify the participant’s performance in phonological working memory tasks and verbal and execution intelligence. The child was seven years old at the onset of the study and was receiving mainstream schooling. Phonological awareness and writing skills were assessed at three time points (T1, T2, T3) during a period of 4 years and 8 months. The Phonological Awareness: Sequential Evaluation Instrument (CONFIAS) was used to assess phonological awareness. In T1 and T2, writing skills were also evaluated using the same instrument. At T3 we used the writing subtest of the Child Brief Neuropsychological Assessment Battery (NEUPSILIN-INF). At T1 phonological working memory was evaluated using the word span task and at T3 we used the non-words subtest of the NEUPSILIN-INF. To evaluate verbal and performance intelligence quotient (T3) we used the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI). Progress in writing skills and phonological awareness were identified throughout the study. Some skills in syllabic awareness also improved, but tasks that required handling of the phonemic constituents and rhyming awareness remained difficult for the patient. The participant demonstrated good performance in repeating real words. Word span of real words was superior to pseudowords span. The ability to memorize real words seemed to have improved the patient’s performance on phonological awareness tasks. The general intelligence quotient was considered borderline. It is believed that in this case, linguistic and cognitive abilities, such as verbal vocabulary, phonological working memory and intellectual capacity, influenced the performance on phonological awareness tests and enabled the child to learn written language.
Keywords
Resumo
Os objetivos deste estudo foram: verificar a existência de avanços em habilidades de consciência fonológica e escrita em uma criança com síndrome de Down, falante do português brasileiro, em um intervalo de tempo de quatro anos e oito meses; identificar quais habilidades de consciência fonológica desenvolveram-se e quais continuaram sendo de difícil resolução; verificar o desempenho do participante em testes de memória de trabalho fonológica e de inteligência verbal e de execução. A criança frequenta escola regular e tinha 7 anos de idade cronológica no início do estudo. A consciência fonológica e a escrita foram avaliadas em três momentos (T1, T2, T3) em um período de 4 anos e 8 meses. Para a avaliação da consciência fonológica foi utilizado o teste Consciência fonológica: instrumento de avaliação sequencial (CONFIAS). No T1 e T2, a escrita foi avaliada de acordo com critérios do mesmo instrumento; no T3, foi utilizado o subteste de escrita do Instrumento de Avaliação Neuropsicológica Breve Infantil (NEUPSILIN-INF). No T1, a memória de trabalho fonológica foi avaliada por meio do span de palavras e, no T3, foi utilizado o subteste de pseudopalavras do NEUPSILIN-INF. Para avaliação da inteligência verbal e de execução (T3), utilizou-se a Escala de Inteligência Wechsler Abreviada (WASI). Foram verificados progressos em habilidades de escrita e consciência fonológica ao longo do estudo. Algumas habilidades de consciência silábica aprimoraram-se, já tarefas que exigem manipulação de constituintes fonêmicos e consciência de rima continuaram de difícil acesso. O participante apresentou um bom desempenho no teste de repetição de palavras reais. O span de palavras reais foi superior ao span de pseudopalavras. O quociente de inteligência geral foi considerado limítrofe. Acredita-se que, neste caso, habilidades linguísticas e cognitivas, como o vocabulário verbal, a memória de trabalho fonológica e a capacidade intelectual, influenciaram o desempenho no teste de consciência fonológica e capacitaram a criança para o aprendizado da língua escrita.
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References
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Submitted date:
04/29/2013
Accepted date:
11/04/2013
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