|
Researchers |
Professor
Jennifer Wishart (Educational
Studies, School of Education), Dr
Tom Pitcairn (Psychology), Dr Katie Cebula (Education & Society,
School of Education), University of Edinburgh, and Ms Diane Willis
(Educational Studies/Nursing), University of Edinburgh/Napier University.
For
other related projects, see Professor Wishart's website at www.education.ed.ac.uk/es/jw |
|
Abstract |
The
stereotype of DS is that affected individuals, despite their cognitive
disability, are relatively socially competent. Exploratory work,
however, has revealed a specific deficit in facial processing of
emotion and a very poor grasp of the rules underlying social interaction,
a possible product of a lack of associative or top-down learning.
These features are consistent with current knowledge of the neuropathology
of DS. It was hypothesised that these deficits in social understanding
constrain cognitive development and may contribute to the well-known
decline in DS developmental rate. A series of studies investigated:
i) the understanding of expressions of emotion (a key component in
interpersonal communication in children and adolescents with DS.
ii) how these are interpreted when they carry meaning in social contexts,
iii) the ways in which social knowledge supports or disrupts interpersonal
functioning and the process of learning from others. Findings were
of direct relevance to educational practice and to the development
of theories of typical/atypical development. They also contributed
to scientific/public understanding of the nature of the specific
difficulties experienced by children with DS in everyday contexts. |
|
Publications |
Wishart,
J.G. (1999). Learning and development in children with Down's syndrome.
In Slater, A. & Muir, D. (Eds), Blackwell Reader in Developmental
Psychology (pp493-508). Oxford: Blackwell
Pitcairn, T.K.& Wishart, J.G. (2000). Face processing in children
with Down syndrome. In Weeks, D., Chua, R., and Elliott, D. (Eds), Perceptual-Motor
Development in Down Syndrome. (pp. 123-147), Champaign, Ill.: Human Kinetics
Wishart, J.G. & Pitcairn, T.K. (2000). The recognition of identity
and expression in faces by children with Down syndrome. American Journal
on Mental Retardation, 105, 466-479
Wishart, J.G. (2001). Motivation and learning styles in young children
with Down syndrome. Down Syndrome: Research & Practice, 7 (2), 51-55.
Wishart, J.G. (2002). Learning in young children with Down's syndrome:
public perceptions, empirical evidence. In Cuskelly, M., Jobling, A. & Buckley,
S. (Eds), Down Syndrome Across the Lifespan (pp.18-27). London: Whurr.
Wishart, J.G. (2004 in press) Learning in children with Down's syndrome.
In Lewis, A & Norwich, B. (Eds), Special Teaching for Special Children:
A Pedagogy for Inclusion? Maidenhead, England: McGraw Hill/Open University
Press.
Williams, K.R., Pitcairn, T.K., Wishart, J.G., & Willis, D.S. (2004)
Emotion recognition in children with Down's syndrome: investigation of
a specific impairment. In revision for American Journal on Mental Retardation. |
