Young children with Down syndrome (DS) have language delays beginning early in life. Book reading with parents provides a context for capitalizing on language learning opportunities. This study evaluated the quantity and quality of language input among mothers and fathers of young children with DS during book reading interactions and investigated associations with child language. Findings revealed that mothers were more talkative and used more descriptive language, whereas fathers spent more time reading the book text. Moreover, maternal and paternal input were correlated with different measures of child language, suggesting that mothers and fathers may use divergent approaches to support language development.

患有唐氏综合症 (DS) 的幼儿在生命早期就出现语言发育迟缓。与父母一起读书为利用语言学习机会提供了一个环境。这项研究评估了患有 DS 的幼儿的父母在书籍阅读互动过程中语言输入的数量和质量，并调查了与儿童语言的关联。调查结果显示，母亲更健谈，使用更多描述性语言，而父亲则花更多时间阅读书籍文字。此外，母亲和父亲的输入与儿童语言的不同测量相关，这表明母亲和父亲可能使用不同的方法来支持语言发展。