Symbolic Representation in Young Children With Down Syndrome

Study Group - children with Down syndrome that attend speech-language therapy at the Speech Language Pathology Laboratory in Syndromes and Sensorimotor Deficits of the School of Medicine of the University of São Paulo or from the Association of Parents and Friends of Exceptional children of São José dos Campos.

Control Group

- typically developing children followed up in the Pediatrics Ambulatory of the University's Hospital and/or being assisted in the University' Hospital Nursery School.

Inclusion Criteria for Study Group:

• genetic diagnosis of Down Syndrome
• be at the 4th stage of sensorimotor period at the initial assessment
• good health conditions
• good results on audiologic evaluation
• pediatric and ear, nose and throat periodic check ups.

Inclusion Criteria for Control Group:

• good health conditions
• be at the 4th stage of sensorimotor period at the initial assessment
• pediatric and ear, nose and throat periodic check ups.

Exclusion Criteria for all groups:

• submission to long term hospitalizations due to heart diseases and major respiratory airway infections, that may interfere in the child's global development
• presence of visual or auditory important deficits
• historic of prematurely and/or low birth weight