Adults with Down syndrome can experience changes to their cognitive abilities as they become older. To some extent such changes may be a result of the healthy ageing process, but can in other cases emerge as consequence of underlying health conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease.

Cognitive changes associated with ageing tend to affect memory, every day living skills, and executive functions, such as attention, planning and behaviour control. We know that, in the general population, they can also affect speech and language, often giving rise to communication difficulties.

However, relatively little is known about how changes associated with ageing and dementia might affect language and communication skills in people who have Down syndrome. 

Our research aims to gather a better understanding of language strengths and needs in adults and young people with Down syndrome, who are often not the focus of research, and investigate how language skills may change as people get older. 

We hope that this knowledge will allow and encourage work on targeted interventions strategies, with the goal to develop and offer adequate support for individuals at all stages of development. 

We also hope that our research will contribute to improving the early detection of Alzheimer's symptomatology in people with Down syndrome by searching for and identifying clinical language markers of cognitive change.