Language skills in 5-8-year-old children with 22q11 deletion syndrome.

Background: Language impairment and delayed language onset have been described, although not investigated in detail, in children with 22q11 deletion syndrome.Aims: To investigate different areas of language: the ability to retell a narrative, phonology, syntax and receptive vocabulary in a group of 5–8‐year‐old children with 22q11 deletion syndrome regardless of whether or not they had a history of speech and language difficulties. Gender differences were also investigated.Methods & Procedures: Nineteen consecutively referred children with 22q11 deletion syndrome, ten girls and nine boys, between the ages of 5 and 8 years, participated in the study. The mean full‐scale IQ of the group was 78. Six children had an autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or a combination of these. Three different language tests were used: (1) the Bus Story — a test of narrative speech and language; (2) an articulation test including all Swedish phonemes in different positions; and (3) the Peabody ...