This work examines the textual coherence from the rewriting of the tale of Rapunzel. It is based on a psychogenetic approach of written language. Nine students participated in this study, six with Down syndrome (Group I) and the other three without disabilities (Group II). They were enrolled between 2nd and 8th years of Primary Education in regular schools. The procedure of textual production consisted in an individual meeting, whose request for written production was preceded by the reading of the story by the researcher. The data indicated the presence of textual coherence in the two groups, although more frequent in productions of group II, which showed greater competence with the elements of textual coherence. Group II presented powerful strategies to mobilize the cognitive resources that enabled to articulate previous knowledge and to focus them in the production and articulation of their ideas in the text. The group I, in its majority experienced difficulty in drawing up an endpoint in close relationship with the parties that comprised the text. They did not, however, difficult to define and maintain the main character throughout the story written, even when the story was incoherent if we consider other indicators. Qualitatively, the texts of the students with Down syndrome differed from those produced by the group II.
textual production; Down syndrome; textual coherence
