Children with typical hearing and vision learn to communicate by watching and listening to others. But children who are deafblind have limited access to learning this way. They need knowledgeable educators who understand how deafblindness impacts learning--who know how to assess a child's communication and plan for and engage in meaningful…

Social competency is a set of skills that provide children with the tools and abilities to successfully navigate the world around them. "Developing Social Competency in Young Children" looks at each of the seven Cs of social competence--communication, community building, coping, confidence, conflict resolution, control, and curiosity.…

This article focuses on why and how speech-language pathologists and other professionals can encourage the involvement of parents in teaching social communication skills to their young children. Four main topics are explored: (1) the evidence that many of the children with special needs served by speech-language pathologists and other…

This communicative intent curriculum attempts to demonstrate expressive communication skill acquisition training for students with severe/profound mental impairments at a developmental level of birth to 10 months, and outlines an expressive communication sequence for people who have a "no understandable speech" prognosis. The curriculum…

Described are strategies for teaching social communication skills to 8- to 10-year-old students with mild handicaps. The instructional model involves determining behaviors to be taught; assessing social communication skills; teaching skills through motivating student performance, modeling, and practicing; and maintaining and transferring skills. A…

Three autistic children (ages 9-11) received spontaneous communication training using a time delay, modeling, and food reinforcement procedure. Results showed gains in 2 spontaneous responses ("please" and "thank you") and 1 verbally prompted response ("you're welcome"). Gains were validated socially with 10 adults. (Author/JDD)

Improving human relations through better interpersonal communications is the focus of this training module. It guides trainers through the activities and lessons necessary to teach the skills which lead to effective interpersonal communication. Eight activities are described and materials, including 14 transparency masters and 7 handouts, are…

This guide to teaching speechreading skills to deaf elementary grade children offers an experiential, synthetic (rather than analytic) approach to acquisition of receptive spoken language through realistic and meaningful activities. Introductory material considers the importance of practice in speech reading, ways to individualize the activities…

This training manual presents concepts and skills that students can be taught to successfully address social, economic, and ethical issues both inside and outside of school. The manual is intended as a comprehensive guide for effective service learning and peer helper programs; the concepts and skills provided here are designed to apply human…

Twenty-one students with autism, ages 6-20, were taught to use facilitated communication to unlock their ideas and communicate through typing. Facilitated communication involves physical and emotional support for typing or pointing at letters, helping students maintain focus, and fading physical support. Subjects revealed unexpected literacy and…

Group effectiveness skills, including interpersonal communication, negotiation, and teamwork, are essential in today's diverse classroom and workplace. Various ways have been identified to prepare learners to be effective in group situations and to aid teachers to prepare themselves to be skillful group facilitators. The following are some…

The study examined whether variation in mothers' use of information-seeking and confirmation questions predicted variation in auxiliary and copula development in five specific-language-disordered (SLD) preschool children. Mothers of SLD children who used proportionally more information-seeking questions were found to have children who showed…

This paper presents a group exercise which focuses on each individual's interpersonal skills--the activity was designed to simulate a real-world group experience, such as students might encounter in the business world. The paper gives four instructional objectives, lists material required (a video camera), gives required reading for preparation,…

Discusses the use of clinician-designed thematic role-play scenarios during auditory training to enhance the conversational skills of preschool and elementary children with hearing impairments. Transcripts of two sample scenarios are provided with data analysis. (DB)

In an Israeli elementary school program to stimulate students' development of oral English skills, students write dialogs and conversation themes in areas of interest, then practice and conduct the conversations with amateur radio operators around the world. Challenges and successes are detailed. (MSE)