INT J LANG COMMUN DISORD, JANUARY –FEBRUARY 2012, VOL. 47, NO. 1, 95–105 Research Report Personal narrative skills of school-aged children with Down syndrome Anne Katherine van Bysterveldt†,¶, Marleen Frederike Westerveld‡, Gail Gillon†,¶ and Susan Foster-Cohen§,¶ †College of Education, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand ‡School of Education at Albany, Massey University, North Shore City, Auckland, New Zealand §The Champion Centre, Burwood Hospital, Christchurch, New Zealand ¶New Zealand Institute of Language, Brain and Behaviour, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand (Received 19 August 2010; accepted 20 July 2011) Abstract Background : Personal narratives are descriptions of past events experienced by the speaker and are one of the most commonly found forms of narration in children. The ability to tell personal narratives is considered critical for socio-emotional wellbeing and academic performance. Aims: This study investigated the personal narrative skills of 25 children with Down syndrome (age 5;11–13;1 years) who attended predominantly mainstream primary schools in New Zealand and were classified as beginning readers. Methods & Procedures: Personal narrative samples were elicited by the children’s speech–language therapists using a standard protocol commonly used with New Zealand children. Children were shown a series of 11 photographs with scripted introductory prompts and were asked if anything like that ever happened to them. Transcribed samples were analysed on measures of mean length of utterance in morphemes (MLU-M), semantics (number of different words; NDW), and personal narrative quality (PNQ). Outcomes & Results: Consistent with previous research, results showed wide variability in performance. Although 92% of the children produced at least 50 utterances in response to the prompts, in general MLU-M was very low (mean = 2.67, SD = 1.04). NDW ranged from 19 to 126 (mean = 61.52, SD = 25.39). Regression analyses showed no significant effect for age on MLU-M (p = 0.094), nor on PNQ. There was a significant effect for age on NDW (p = 0.03), with performance improving with age. Analysis of PNQ revealed that only four children (ages 9;11–12;7) were able to relate a personal narrative containing a high point. Correlational analyses indicated significant correlations between PNQ, MLU-M, NDW and performance on a standardized reading test. Conclusions & Implications: The findings highlight the difficulties children with Down syndrome have in producing personal narratives, despite exposure to a national English curriculum that encourages children to develop and convey ‘personal voice’. Clinical implications of these findings will be presented. Keywords: Down syndrome, personal narrative, children What this paper adds Although children with Down syndrome are known to perform poorly on fictional oral narrative tasks, there is surprisingly little information on the personal narrative abilities of this group of children. This study aims to address this issue by investigating the personal narrative skills of 25 children with Down syndrome who attend primary school in New Zealand. Findings from this study highlight the difficulties children with Down syndrome have in producing personal narratives. Considering the vital importance of the ability to share personal experiences for a child’s socio-emotional development, more attention to these skills is urgently needed. The assessment of personal narratives would form a valuable part of the speech–language therapist’s routine assessment battery for children with Down syndrome. Address correspondence to: Anne Katherine van Bysterveldt, College of Education, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, New Zealand; e-mail: anne.vanbysterveldt@canterbury.ac.nz International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders ISSN 1368-2822 print/ISSN 1460-6984 online c  2011 Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists DOI: 10.1111/j.1460-6984.2011.00085.x