EVOLUTION OF A CASE OF CAT CRY SYNDROME - ORL, COGNITIVE AND LINGUISTIC FEATURES

This article presents the results of the ORL, cognitive and speech exa minations of a boy aged 12 years, 9 months with cat cry syndrome. The laryngeal function has normalized but a small mandibular deficiency pe rsists. The cognitive function corresponds to a mental age of less tha n 3 years with a complete blockade for abstraction but a good adaptati on for concrete: and practical situations. The linguistic examination was performed in two complementary pragmatic contexts: standard testin g and semi-induced play. The referential and expressive functions are relatively good but with a poor adaptation to the interlocutors. The c ognitive-semantic function of J.M. in naming and for space relation ma rkers corresponds to about 4 1/2 years, which is better than what coul d be expected based on his cognitive level on the intelligence scales. Nevertheless, the child's syntactic characteristics are those of a 3- year-old child. Therefore the disparity between the cognitive-semantic , the syntactic and the nonlinguistic cognitive functions is negligibl e. Only the pragmatic function of the child remains much weaker than t hat achieved for the other facets of his language. The linguistic resu lts of this case of cat cry syndrome are compared with those of childr en of the same age and mental level with trisomy 21 or other moderate mental handicaps.