What Speech and Language Characteristics are Common to Females?
Far less research has been carried out with females who have fragile X syndrome than with males. Females with the full mutation are often reported as having verbal strengths. Their verbal IQs, vocabulary and syntax are all often in the normal range. This leads to good skills in reading and writing. There are some areas of difficulty for girls and women in the area of language. Auditory memory for sequences is seen as an area of weakness. This may lead to difficulty in following multiple directions. Most difficulties are reported in the area of pragmatics. Because of anxiety and shyness, girls and women with fragile X may have difficulty in conversations. Some have run-on, disorganized speaking styles, with frequent tangential comments. Some of these pragmatic disorders may be related to broader nonverbal learning disabilities, which include problems in “executive functioning” (planning and monitoring one’s own actions), visual-spatial processing (which affects handwriting and spelling)
