Speech Production Errors in Adults With and Without Down Syndrome Following Verbal, Written, and Pictorial Cues

Adults with Down syndrome and adults with developmental delays not related to Down syndrome were asked to read, repeat, and formulate speech from a picture following the presentation of 2- and 4-word and picture sequences. The speech sequences were produced either immediately after stimulus presentation or following a 5-sec response delay. Overall, participants with Down syndrome produced more memory errors than persons without Down syndrome. Participants with Down syndrome also committed more speech production errors than the other participants, but only when they were required to repeat what they had heard, or to formulate speech from pictures. The speech production performance of the two groups was equivalent in the read condition. These results are discussed with reference to Elliott, Weeks, and Elliott's (1987) model of cerebral specialization, and to verbal short-term memory in persons with Down syndrome.