Interruptions in Conversational Speech: A Comparison of Children with Williams Syndrome and Their Typically Developing Peers

Presenter Information

Julie Nelson, Minnesota State University, Mankato
Katie Kendhammer, Minnesota State University, Mankato
Cristen Schnabel, Minnesota State University, Mankato
Martha Winch, Minnesota State University, Mankato
Bethany Holbeck, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Location

CSU 253

Start Date

25-4-2005 1:15 PM

End Date

25-4-2005 3:15 PM

Student's Major

Speech, Hearing, and Rehabilitation Services

Student's College

Allied Health and Nursing

Mentor's Name

Patricia Hargrove

Mentor's Department

Speech, Hearing, and Rehabilitation Services

Mentor's College

Allied Health and Nursing

Description

Researchers have shown an interest in children with Williams syndrome because of their unique communication characteristics. Briefly, some aspects of their language skills have been described as superior to their intellectual or cognitive skills, a pattern not expected in most theoretical models. One area of reported strength is their social use of language. In this study, we explored the rate of interruptions in conversational speech by children with Williams syndrome and their gender and age matched peers. Spontaneous speech samples of six adolescents with Williams syndrome and six typically developing peers were analyzed. The rate of interruptions was calculated for each participant. For the participants with Williams syndrome, the mean percentage of their utterances that were interruptions was 0.86. For the typically developing peers, the mean was 2.97. The difference between the two groups was not statistically significant. The results suggest that adolescents with Williams syndrome resemble their age peers in this aspect of conversational speech. This has ramifications for clinical issues as well as the understanding of the relationship between language and cognition.