Additive Bilingualism (Armenian-Farsi) in Three Children With Down Syndrome (DS): A Model for Intervention in Two Languages Alice Hovsepian Department of Speech-Language Pathology University of Toronto The Incentive to Develop a Model A Speech-Language Pathologist from the Armenian community in Iran with additive bilingualism; L1: Armenian, L2: Farsi. Faced with parental concerns over receiving recommendations on omitting L1 input to their children with DS. These recommendations seemed impractical and even threatening. Guiding Questions What is the communicative environment, and what are the communicative needs of children with DS? Onset of Intervention in L1 at Around Age 2;6 Limited nonverbal communication Limited comprehension Inattention to verbal stimuli Inability to imitate verbal stimuli Threshold Level in L1 Attained at Around Age 5 Spontaneous use of verbal communication for communicative acts Constant label-referent relationship Use of 2-, or 3-word utterances Use of subordinate and superordinate terms Use of words for color, size, basic shapes, spatial relationships, kinship, number, and Wh-questions L1 Had Its Use and Value Communicating in L1 with family and community members Development in L1 continued On attaining threshold level in L1, intervention in L2 started Onset of Intervention in L2 at Around Age 5 The same intervention plan was used for L1 All three cases showed rapid progress in L2 They passed school readiness test in L2 at age 6 One case needed a two-year follow-up intervention in L2 One case entered ordinary school after one year in special school L2 Had Its Use and Value Literacy in L2 Communicating in L2 at school Development in L2 continued A Model for Intervention in Two Languages (L1: Armenian, L2: Farsi) Developmental interdependence between L1 and L2 The Theoretical Bases of the Model 1. Common Underlying Proficiency (CUP) (Cummins, 1984). The two linguistic capacities share a common underlying base rather than competing for limited resources. 2. Interdependence Hypothesis (Cummins, 1981; 1994). Proficiency in L1 can be transferred to L2. 3.Threshold Hypothesis (Cummins, 1979; 2000). A threshold level of proficiency in L1 required for the positive effects of bilingualism to occur. Research Findings Simultaneous development and appropriate use of British Sign Language and English in monozygotic twins with DS raised by deaf parents (Woll & Grove, 1996). A case study of a trilingual 23-year-old woman with DS. Higher verbal than nonverbal cognitive scores, and good phonological awareness skills reported (Vallar & Papagno,1993). Similar profiles of language abilities in monolingual and bilingual children with DS (Kay-Raining Bird, et al., 2005). My Hypotheses 1. Children with DS can learn two languages, both to the level that their CUP permits. 2. Proficiency in Armenian can be transferred to Farsi, helping the latter develop faster. Intervention Considerations The child’s communicative environment and needs Implementing additive bilingualism Starting with home language Supporting the parents Involving the parents Conclusion: The three children with DS learned both languages, the threshold level obtained in L1 helped them learn L2 faster. Acknowledgement: To children with Down Syndrome who learn and help us learn, and to their parents who believe in their children.