In recent decades, a growing number of children have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a condition characterized by social interaction deficits and language impairment. Yet the precise nature of the disorder's impact on language development is not well understood, in part because of the language variability among children across…

The authors review research on attempts to promote speech acquisition in severely handicapped students. Studies on verbal imitation, syntactic forms, and semantics are summarized. Implications for instruction are noted, including careful selection of responses likely to occur in the child's normal environment and which have intrinsic reinforcing…

Examines word families, words grouped together by common meaning, orthography, form, and spelling. Discusses ways to encourage children's language acquisition and understanding of how words work in specific contexts. (HTH)

Fast mapping of novel words for objects was compared in 48 children/adolescents with Down syndrome and 48 mental-age matched children. The groups did not differ in their ability to infer a connection between the novel word and referent, comprehend the novel word after a single exposure, and produce the novel word correctly. (Author/JDD)

This sourcebook contains a series of lesson plans for remediating pragmatic problems for students in preschool through grade six. Introductory material describes the concept and development of pragmatics (the ability to use language as a tool), provides an observation checklist for clinicians to use in identifying specific types of pragmatic…

This paper discusses five language roots of reading: phonology, syntax, semantics, short-term and long-term memory, and auditory segmenting. Teachers are urged to focus early school experiences toward development of these five skills to reduce the incidence of reading difficulties. Specific teaching suggestions are offered. (Author/DB)

This report examines the importance of an individual's linguistic capability and its impact on academic achievement. Main areas of examination include an historical perspective on linguistics, descriptions of formal linguistics and psycholinguistics and their role in understanding academic achievement, and the educational implications of…

This book is intended to serve as a reference and guide for professionals developing Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and planning lessons for children with communication disorders. The guide has nine sections related to areas of communicative difficulty. Each section is organized into 2 to 19 yearly objectives, under which are lists of…