Communication repair behaviors of 10 children with mental retardation (ages 11-13) and 10 mental age-matched children without mental retardation were examined. The children with mental retardation did not respond as often and rarely used details to expand their utterances. Results have implications for the development of conversational skills in…

Humor, a communicative tactic used to engender support, is often used, but rarely understood. The literature in the field of humor has attempted to define situations where humor could be beneficial, although few definitive answers exist relating humor to effective leadership communicative behavior. This paper presents current research findings…

Past research on the effectiveness of laboratory training (the use of small group methods of experienced-based learning to produce personal change in attitudes and behaviors) has been deficient both in experimental design and in the concept of change. College students (N=128) participated in a study which used a series of 11 measurements to assess…

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…

Two three-year olds, one verbal and one nonverbal, with moderate to severe developmental delays were taught target communication objectives using milieu language teaching. The children generalized their target objectives spontaneously and in probe situations that also required them to display listener preparatory behaviors. (Author/DB)

Results of a study with four autistic students (ages five-nine) showed that a picture training procedure was effective in teaching a generalized response to questions for which the relevant cue was visible, whereas specific generalization programing was required for situations in which the relevant cue was not visible. (Author/DB)

A young man with severe to profound retardation was taught to use two different augmentative/alternative communication (AAC) aids. Although the participant learned to correctly request with both AAC devices, he later showed a strong preference for one device over the other. The value of multimodality and consideration of client preferences is…

This study found that naturalistic conversation training improved the spontaneous speech production of two children (ages three and four) with speech production disabilities. (Author/DB)

This study assessed the effectiveness of clique analysis methodologies in detecting changes in integration levels for a worker with severe mental retardation in a supported employment setting. The analysis suggested that communication instruction resulted in the worker becoming more integrated during break or lunch times. (Author/DB)

Social incompetence is a significant cause of postsecondary maladjustment for the learning disabled. The literature is reviewed on factors critical to occupational success; social development of the learning disabled; major social incompetencies (specifically, social perception and problem solving, task-related social behaviors, and social…