Assessing the Language and Reading Abilities of Students with Mosaic Down Syndrome

Authors

Emma G. Conradi, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

First Advisor

Susan Loveall

Second Advisor

Judy Harvey

Committee Members

Pamela Bazis

Date of this Version

12-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Citation

A thesis presented to the faculty of the Graduate College at the University of Nebraska in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science

Major: Speech Language Pathology and Audiology

Under the supervision of Professors Susan Loveall and Judy Harvey

Lincoln, Nebraska, December 2025

Comments

Copyright 2025, Emma G. Conradi. Used by permission

Abstract

Language and reading are important skills for academic and social success, yet individuals with Down syndrome often face significant challenges developing these skills (Abbeduto et al., 2007; Martin et al., 2009). However, almost all the available research on the language and reading abilities of individuals with Down syndrome comes from research focused on individuals with Full Trisomy 21. To date, there has been virtually no research specifically examining the language and reading skills of individuals with mosaic Down syndrome (Buckley & Bird, 2002), a rare karyotype of Down syndrome. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to describe the language and reading abilities of individuals with mosaic Down syndrome and compare their performance to peers with Full Trisomy 21 Down syndrome of similar chronological ages and typical development of similar nonverbal cognitive ability levels.

Advisors: Susan Loveall and Judy Harvey