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Pointing and interaction initiation: the behaviour of young children with Down's syndrome when looking at books*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 February 2009

Anthony J. Wootton
Anthony J. Wootton*
Affiliation:
University of York
*
Department of Sociology, University of York, York, YO1 5DD, UK.
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Abstract

Data are derived from videotapes made in the homes of six Down's syndrome children with developmental ages varying between 1;1 and 2;1. The analysis concerns those sequences in which parent and child look at a book together, and more specifically those exchanges where the child initiates communication on a new target on the page. The design of these initiations is examined with respect to their various verbal and non-verbal components. The analysis of pointing, and in particular of point duration, reveals a possible developmental progression from a stage at which point and exchange duration are linked together to one in which the organization of pointing becomes more detached from the exchange as a unit of interaction.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 17 , Issue 3 , October 1990 , pp. 565 - 589
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

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Footnotes

*

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual Developmental Section meeting of the British Psychological Society in September 1988. The research was financially supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (grant C00232296). I am grateful to Dr J. Local for his advice and assistance with certain aspects of this paper.

References

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