Mothers’ and Fathers’ Recode Use with Young Children with Down Syndrome

Purpose: Parental recodes, a form of responsivity, help facilitate language development in children with Down syndrome (DS). However, little is known about the complexity and referents of recodes or differences between mothers and fathers and how this relates to child language.Method: This study included 15 children with DS (M age in months = 39.67, range = 24–61) and their mothers and fathers. Mother–child and father–child play interactions were recorded in the home.Results: We found no differences between mothers’ and fathers’ use of recodes. A moderate positive association existed between child receptive language and total combined recodes from mothers and fathers. A weak positive association was found for expressive language and mothers’ recodes. Conclusions: Our preliminary findings highlight the need for further research into how mothers and fathers recode their children’s communicative acts in ways that support later language development. We discuss the clinical implications of incorporating recodes into parent-mediated communication interventions for young children with DS.