EVALUATING SPEECH DIFFICULTIES IN DOWN SYNDROME CHILDREN: SPEECH ASSESSMENT TOOLS FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY CLINICAL PRACTICE

Down syndrome (DS), resulting from the trisomy of chromosome 21, represents one of the most common genetic causes of intellectual disability, occurring in approximately 1 in 700 live births worldwide. Children with Down syndrome exhibit a distinctive profile of developmental challenges, with speech and language impairments constituting particularly prominent and persistent features of their phenotype. The communication difficulties experienced by these children are characterized by a striking discrepancy between receptive and expressive language abilities, with expressive language typically more severely affected and following an atypical developmental trajectory compared to neurotypical peers.