PURPOSE: this study aims at assessing the performance of individuals with Down's Syndrome when phonological awareness is stimulated with illustrations or not. METHODS: the study involved 40 subjects with Down's Syndrome, of both genders, and still in one of the phases of written language acquisition, separated in two random groups, with similar numbers starting from the same phases. A group of twenty subjects did nine tests of the syllable level CONFIAS test for phonological awareness. The second group of twenty did the version of the same test with the adaptation of illustrations. RESULTS: the results revealed that the total average score of the 20 subjects who did the adapted test was significantly higher than the performance of the other 20 who did the test without illustrations. The use of such visual elements as a support in the assessment of phonological awareness led us to conclude that the results show individual's real ability without the interference of a possible short-term hearing memory deficit. CONCLUSION: the results allow us to state that there is a 95% probability of benefit to individuals with Down's Syndrome when illustrations are used in the tests of phonological awareness.
Down Syndrome; Memory Short-Term Language; Employee Performance Appraisal
