Journal on Developmental Disabilities
Le journal sur les handicaps du développement

Language and Communication in Adults with Down Syndrome and Dementia of the Alzheimer Type: A Review

J. B. Orange and Michelle V. Zanon

Abstract

Language problems are one of several key diagnostic clinical features of dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT). There is a large empirically derived literature describing the changes in language and communication in individuals with DAT over the course of its relentless progression. Relatively less is known, however, about the language and communication changes associated with the onset and evolution of DAT among individuals with Down syndrome (DS). The purpose of this brief review is to present what is known currently about the language and communication of adults with DS and DAT. The review concludes with the call for additional experimental research and multi-perspective observational studies of the unique changes in language and communication in individuals with DS and DAT.

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