The present study investigated mother-child interactions in children with Down Syndrome and with normal development, considering the communicative aspects. In this study, two groups participated: six dyads mother-child with Down Syndrome, age between 18 and 24 months and six dyads mother-child with normal development, age between 12 and 14 months. The dyads were videotaped in their homes. The results indicated that the mothers of the children with Down Syndrome used more physical contact to help the children accomplish their activities, than the mothers of children with normal development. The children with Down Syndrome answered less to the mothers' verbal solicitations than the children with normal development. The results are discussed considering the implications for the mother-child interactive context and for language acquisition.
Interaction; Down Syndrome; Language
