Exploring Oral Narrative Abilities of Chilean School-Age Children With Down Syndrome: A Preliminary Study

Abstract Narrative abilities are essential for school achievement and quality of life, yet children with Down syndrome (DS) often struggle with these skills. This work explores the oral narrative abilities of school-age Chilean children with DS. The participants were 11 children with DS aged between 7;2 and 12;1 (years; months). All participated in a retelling task using a wordless picture book. Microstructural and macrostructural performance were analyzed and compared with data from a reference database of typically developing Spanish-speaking children, matched by chronological age or linguistic abilities. Children with DS showed proficiency in identifying introductory story elements but faced difficulties with cohesion. Restricted microstructural performance and task completion time were observed. Ethical-methodological challenges and recommendations for practice and research are discussed.