Yuko is a PhD student in the Centre for Language, Discourse & Communication at King's College London. She holds an MSc in Developmental Linguistics from University of Edinburgh and a BA in English and Linguistics from Sophia University, Tokyo. Her backgrounds include teaching languages to students with diverse backgrounds such as students who recently migrated to the country and students with special needs.

She is funded jointly by the LISS DTP and the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO).

Thesis title: Exploring the impact of heritage language exposure on language abilities of children with Down Syndrome

Abstract: Children with Down Syndrome are known to face challenges with language development; however, the existing studies have typically targeted monolingual children despite the growing population of bilingual children across nations. Some recent studies have explored the effect of bilingualism on the language development of children with Down Syndrome, however, these studies took place in specific areas where bilingualism is supported at the societal level, such as Wales and Quebec. We still do not know the language experience and development of bilingual children with Down Syndrome in a context where children are exposed to the heritage language and the societal language, like England. The current study aims to fill in the gap by measuring the receptive and expressive language skills of children with Down Syndrome in England who are from minority language families. It also explores the experience of minority language families who have children with Down Syndrome using questionnaires and interviews.

Principal supervisor: Eloi Puig-Mayenco

Secondary supervisor: Jill Hohenstein