The Effectiveness of Linguistic Games on the Reading Performance of Students with Down Syndrome

Subject Areas : Adolescent health

parvin dabiryan ¹ , پرویز شریفی درآمدی ^{2 *} , محمد عسگری ³ , Mohammadparsa Azizi ⁴ , majid ebrahim pour ⁵

1 -
2 - دانشیار گروه روانشناسی و آموزش کودکان استثنایی دانشگاه علامه طباطبایی
3 - عضو هیئت علمی دانشگاه همدان
4 - Assistant Professor, Department of Exceptional Child Psychology, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran
5 - Faculty member, Azad University, Science and Research Branch

Received: 2025-06-28 Accepted : 2025-07-15 Published : 2025-07-11

Keywords: Linguistic games, reading performance, Down syndrome,

Abstract :

Introduction: Reading is a key skill in the cognitive and academic development of children, often presenting significant challenges for those with Down syndrome. This study aimed to determine the impact of linguistic games on the reading performance and social skills of students with Down syndrome.Research Method: The statistical population included all male and female students with Down syndrome in grades 2 to 4 at special schools in Tehran during the 2023–2024 academic year (N=120). Using purposive sampling, 40 students were selected and randomly assigned to experimental (n=20) and control (n=20) groups. Data were collected using the Reading and Dyslexia Questionnaire (NAMA). The experimental group participated in 15 sessions of linguistic games, while the control group received no intervention. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS software and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA).Findings: Statistical analysis revealed a significant difference in reading performance scores between the two groups in the post-test phase (p < 0.05), with linguistic games explaining approximately 31% of the variance in reading performance.Conclusion: The findings indicate that linguistic games, by activating phonological processes, working memory, and language skills, significantly enhance the reading performance of students with Down syndrome. Therefore, the design and implementation of such games in educational and rehabilitation centers for children with special needs can be recommended as part of effective clinical interventions.

References:

1) Mai CT, Isenburg JL, Canfield MA, Meyer RE, Correa A, Alverson CJ, et al. National population-based estimates for major birth defects, 2010–2014. Birth Defects Res. 2019;111(18):1420–1435. doi: 10.1002/bdr2.1589.
2) Chapman RS, Schwartz SE, Bird EK. Language skills of children and adolescents with Down syndrome: I. Comprehension. J Speech Hear Res. 1991;34(5):1106–20. doi:10.1044/jshr.3405.1106.
3) Seager E, Sampson S, Sin J, Pagnamenta E, Stojanovik V. A systematic review of speech, language and communication interventions for children with Down syndrome from 0 to 6 years. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders. 2022;57(2):441–463. doi: 10.1111/1460-6984.12699.
4) Hayes, D. Encyclopedia of primary education, London & New York: Routledge; 2010. doi:10.4324/9780203864609.
5) Kucer SB. Dimensions of literacy: a conceptual base for teaching reading and writing in school settings. 4th ed. New York: Routledge; 2014. doi:10.4324/9780203428405.
6) McWeeny S, Choi S, Choe J, LaTourrette A, Roberts MY, Norton ES. Rapid automatized naming (RAN) as a kindergarten predictor of future reading in English: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Reading Research Quarterly. 2022;57(4):1187–1211. doi: 10.1002/rrq.446.
7) Kirk SA. Educating exceptional children. Boston: Houghton Mifflin; 1962.
8) Chacko D, Vidhukumar K. The prevalence of specific learning disorder among school going children in Ernakulam district, Kerala, India: Ernakulam Learning Disorder (ELD) Study. Indian J Psychol Med. 2020;42(3):250 255. doi: 10.4103/IJPSYM.IJPSYM_266_19.
9) Arjmandnia AA, Seif Naraghi M. The effect of rehearsal strategy on working memory performance in students with dyslexia. Journal of Behavioral Sciences. 2009;3(9):173–178. (In Persian)
10) Senses Dinc G, Cop E, Tos T, Sari E, Senel S. Mothers of 0–3-year-old children with Down syndrome: Effects on quality of life. Pediatr Int. 2019;61(9):865–871. doi: 10.1111/ped.13936.
11) Jahng KE. South Korean mothers’ childhood abuse experience and their abuse of their children with intellectual and developmental disabilities: Moderating effect of parenting self-efficacy. Child Abuse Negl. 2020;101:104341. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.104341.
12) Van Witteloostuijn M, Boersma P, Wijnen F, Rispens J. Visual artificial grammar learning in dyslexia: A meta-analysis. Res Dev Disabil. 2017;70:126–137. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2017.09.010.
13) Broadley I, MacDonald J, Buckley S, Laws G. Training rehearsal strategies improves verbal short-term memory in individuals with Down syndrome. Down Syndrome Res Pract. 1995;3(2):56–62.
14) Pinter JD, Eliez S, Schmitt JE, Capone GT, Reiss AL. Neuroanatomy of Down’s syndrome: a high-resolution MRI study. Am J Psychiatry. 2001;158(10):1659–1665. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.158.10.1659.
15) Hallahan DP, Kauffman JM, Pullen PC. Exceptional learners: An introduction to special education. 14th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon; 2018.
16) Cuskelly M, Hauser M, van Kraayenoord CE. Literacy instruction for children with Down syndrome: A review of research-based practice. J Policy Pract Intellect Disabil. 2022;19(2):107–117. doi: 10.1111/jppi.12392.
17) Alquraini T, Alshahrani M, Alshammari R. Effectiveness of individualized language instruction on the expressive and receptive language development of children with Down syndrome. Educ Res Int. 2021;2021:1–9. doi: 10.1155/2021/8860204.
18) Fidler DJ, Most DE, Philofsky A. The Down syndrome behavioural phenotype: Taking a developmental approach. Down Syndr Res Pract. 2009;12(3):105–15. doi:10.3104/reviews/2069.
19) Kaduson HG, Cangelosi D, Schaefer CE. Prescriptive play therapy: Tailoring interventions for specific childhood problems. New York: Guilford Press; 2020.
20) Gitlin-Weiner K. Clinical perspectives on play. In: Fromberg DP, Bergen D, editors. Play from birth to twelve: Contexts, perspectives, and meanings. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge; 2006. p. 353–367.
21) Yoder PJ, Woynaroski TG, Fey ME, Warren SF. Effects of a communication intervention on the development of play in toddlers with Down syndrome. J Autism Dev Disord. 2021;51(5):1459–1472. doi: 10.1007/s10803‑020‑04598‑6.
22) Wong V, Cheung K, Lee A. Enhancing vocabulary learning through DSL+ among children with Down syndrome. Int J Disabil Dev Educ. 2021;68(4):529–545. doi: 10.1080/1034912X.2019.1701032.
23) Karagianni G, Drigas A. The impact of cognitive training games on children with learning disabilities. Int J Online Biomed Eng. 2022;18(3):50–64. doi: 10.3991/ijoe.v18i03.28033.
24) Asgharinekah S M. Designing a structured linguistic play therapy program for reading disorder: Basics and Strategies. J Except Educ 2022; 2 (168) :69-82. (In Persian)
25) Gharekhani A, Hassanzadeh S, Afrooz G. Developing an Applied Reading Program and Evaluation of its Effectiveness on Reading Performance on daily Life Situations in Children with Down syndrome. MEJDS 2019; 9 :91-91.(In Persian).
26) Vygotsky LS. Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; 1978.
27) Karami-Nouri R, Moradi AR. Developing and norming a reading and dyslexia assessment battery (NAMA). Journal of Psychology. 2005;9(1):64–84. (In Persian)
28) Sabeghi M, et al. Effectiveness of neuropsychological intervention on reading performance and executive functions in dyslexic children. Health Nexus. 2023;1(2):28–36. (In Persian)
29) Aboud FE, Barata MC. The effect of phonemic awareness instruction on reading outcomes for children with Down syndrome. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2021;62(3):245-252. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.13341
30) Alvarez M, Espinel G, Salazar A, Sandoval B. Virtual reality serious game based on music therapy applied to the improvement of learning in children with ADHD. In: New Perspectives in Software Engineering. Studies in Computational Intelligence. Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland; 2024. p 201–18. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-50590-4_13.
31) Wang X, Young GW, Plechatá A, McGuckin C, Makransky G. Utilizing virtual reality to assist social competence education and social support for children from under-represented backgrounds. Comput Educ. 2023;201:104810. doi: 10.1016/j.compedu.2023.104810.
32) Whitehouse AJ, Granich J, Alvares GA. Play-based intervention and autism spectrum disorder: effectiveness and predictors. Autism Res. 2021;14(5):851–860. doi: 10.1002/aur.2456.
33) Samadi SA. Autism spectrum conditions: cognitive and language performance in high-functioning vs classical autism. Iran J Psychiatry. 2014;9(3):157–163. (In Persian).
34) Goswami U. Phonological skills, auditory processing and learning to read. In: Snowling MJ, Hulme C, editors. The science of reading. 2nd ed. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell; 2022. p. 140–162.
35) Bishop DV. Language development and literacy in children with developmental language disorder. Child Dev Perspect. 2022;16(1):22–28. doi: 10.1111/cdep.12445.
36) Gathercole SE, Alloway TP. Working memory and learning: a practical guide for teachers. London: SAGE Publications; 2008.
37) Snow CE. Understanding reading development and difficulties. New York: Guilford Press; 2023.
38) Nation K. Children’s reading comprehension difficulties. In: Cain K, editor. Reading comprehension: challenges for cognitive processing. London: Routledge; 2022.
39) Perfetti CA, Stafura J, Adlof SM. Reading comprehension and vocabulary: what we know. In: Wagner RK, editor. Vocabulary development and instruction. New York: Springer; 2021. p. 79–97.
40) Dollaghan CA. The emergence of word retrieval skills in preschool children. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2021;64(2):478–486. doi: 10.1044/2020_JSLHR‑20‑00248.
41) Kiran S. Language intervention for aphasia: theoretical foundations and clinical practice. New York: Plural Publishing; 2022.