Recognition and reproduction of words by Down's syndrome and non-Down's syndrome retarded children.

Children with Down's syndrome were compared with other severely retarded children on tests of recognition and reproduction of real and nonsense words after 0-, 15-, and 30-seconds delay. The results indicated that Down's syndrome children performed better on the recognition task, but worse on the reproduction task after delay, as compared with the other retarded children. It was hypothesized that the articulatory deficit in the Down's syndrome group is part of a general motor disability due to a difficulty in preprogramming sequences of movements.