Predictors of Spelling Ability in Children With Down Syndrome

Abstract

This study examined whether there are processing differences between children with Down syndrome (DS; n = 22; 7 years 8 months to 13 years 10 months) and typically developing children (TD; n = 22; 6 years 6 months to 10 years 10 months), matched for receptive vocabulary. The TD children performed better on tests of nonverbal intelligence (matrices), phonological awareness (sound deletion), and phonological short-term memory (digit span), as well as spelling accuracy (30 single words). Separate regression analyses revealed that nonverbal intelligence and phonological awareness were the best predictors of spelling accuracy for TD children, whereas receptive vocabulary and phonological short-term memory were the best predictors for children with DS. An examination of spelling errors suggested that although children with DS do use some phonological awareness during spelling, deficits in short-term memory appear to limit success. The implications of these results for intervention studies are briefly discussed.

Notes

¹ Our sample size is comparable with studies that have used regression analysis to examine literacy in children with DS. In their study of reading ability, Cupples and Iacono (2000) conducted a multiple regression analysis using five predictors with 19 children with DS. More generally, our sample size compares favorably with recent studies of literacy in DS reported in the disability literature (e.g., Cologan et al., 2011, conducted a reading intervention study with seven children with DS; Tsao, Fartoukh & Barbier, 2011, investigated handwriting in 11 adults with DS).