Vocabulary Acquisition by Down Syndrome Children: Challenging Cognitive and Learning Disabilities.

Abstract

This research seeks to investigate the techniques that Down Syndrome children use while acquiring vocabulary and the strategies that professionals use to help them. The aim of the research is to present steps of building the language by children with Down Syndrome. The latter face different mental and physical difficulties that prevent them from acquiring and developing their language easily, these problems include: visual impairment, hearing loss, lack of concentration, lack of vocabulary, lack of confidence and mental retardation. The present research involved various approaches in order to get the proper results and divers methods provide different answers from different perspectives. It is composed of both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The first approach based on the questionnaire which it is designed for speech therapists and educators in order to gather the needed data. The second approach based on the observation which is specified for Down Syndrome children to take notes of their perceiving, acquiring and producing vocabulary. The research study was conducted in two Psycho-Pedagogical Centers, which are: Tiaret and Dahmouni-Algeria, the participants were two speech therapists and forty eight educators and as a samples we have selected forty children with Down Syndrome. The final findings of the research exhibits that the new strategies and therapies, which are: Early intervention and educational therapy, educational therapy, physical and behavioral therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, emotional therapy, they are used by speech therapists and educators to help Down Syndrome children supports their vocabulary acquisition and help them to face all the mental and physical difficulties.