DEVELOPMENT OF SCHOOL-AGE CORE URDU VOCABULARY FOR CHILDREN WITH DOWN SYNDROME

Abstract

The need for core vocabularies is paramount and the development of such a tool is a necessity for functional communication. Augmentative alternative communication is heavily dependent on such tools and the need for this list stemmed from an existing gap in the literature for Urdu core vocabulary. These core words have been developed particularly for children with  Down syndrome to be used across a variety of settings with a range of communication partners.    To identify a set of Urdu Core Vocabulary words for school going children with Down syndrome. The study employed a descriptive study method and a sample of 20 children (5-12 years) with Down syndrome from 5 special needs schools and rehabilitation centers of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, through audio and video recordings. These children used Urdu as their primary means of communication. Three factors were addressed a) commonality at minimum 50% b) frequency of grammatical elements c) frequency of words. The study results show a total of   83 nouns, 24 verbs, 3 pronouns, 22 adjectives, 4 prepositions, 5 adverbs and 2 conjunctions. The total word sample consisted of 709 words. A highly frequent list of words led to the selection of 24 core vocabulary words. The present study has been successfully able to generate a set of core vocabulary words in Urdu for school aged children with Down syndrome.  

Key words - Core vocabulary, Augmentative alternative communication, Down syndrome