Maternal input to 24-month-old children with sex chromosome trisomies.
Paola ZanchiGaia Giulia Angela SaccoGaia SilibelloPaola Francesca AjmoneMaria Antonella CostantinoPaola Giovanna VizzielloLaura ZampiniPublished in: International journal of language & communication disorders (2024)
What is already known on the subject Studies in the literature demonstrated how mothers can generally adapt their input to their child's characteristics. To our knowledge, only two recent studies analysed the maternal input addressed to children with SCT at 8 months of age, highlighting significant differences. What this paper adds to existing knowledge The maternal input addressed to children with SCT at 24 months of age is not different from that addressed to TD children. At 24 months of age, the mothers adapt their input to the verbal competence shown by their child (weak lexical ability versus typically-talking), while belonging to the clinical group does not show an influence. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? All the participants of the present study received prenatal diagnosis disclosure by an expert team of professionals, and they were all involved in a longitudinal study aimed at monitoring the children's development and supporting their parents. These results show that giving clear and complete information about possible development paths to parents of children with SCTs during diagnosis disclosure is crucial. Moreover, supporting the parents during the communication process and later during their child's development is fundamental, leading them to observe their children's manifested skills rather than looking for possible predicted difficulties.