Affect and Attention in Children with Down Syndrome

The association of the affective responsiveness and attention regulation with communication and language skills of children with Down syndrome was examined. Results both replicate and extend previous research on the attentional and affective characteristics of children with Down syndrome. These children tended to look more often to the face of the social partner but less often to nonfocal toys. They also tended to shift affect expressions more frequently but did not differ from MA-matched nonretarded children in overall durations of affect. The association of these variables with communication and language indicated that the more positive affect displayed toward people and the shorter the average looks to the partner's face, the higher the verbal language skills of young children with Down syndrome.