Language abilities in adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are variable and can be challenging to ascertain with confidence. This study aimed to compare and evaluate different forms of language assessment: standardized language testing, narrative analysis and parent/teacher reports. 14 adolescents with ASD and 14 typically developing…

It has been suggested that difficulties with tense and agreement marking are a core feature of language impairment. Hence, studies are required that analyse the effectiveness of intervention in this area, including consideration of whether changes seen in therapy sessions generalize to spontaneous speech. This study assessed the effectiveness of…

The everyday lives of children with disabilities are not well understood, with few studies exploring how participation in everyday life is conceptualized and given meaning. The overall aims of this study were, first, to explore parental views of their children's participation and, second, to identify barriers and facilitators in relation to…

This exploratory study was conducted to describe how children and young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are currently using iPads® and applications, to explore the role of education professionals on iPad® and application use, and to determine potential research needs regarding iPad® use in children with ASD. Naturalistic observations…

The reading skills of many deaf children lag several years behind those of hearing children, and there is a need for identifying reading difficulties and implementing effective reading support strategies in this population. This study embraces a balanced reading approach, and investigates the efficacy of applying multi-sensory coding strategies…

This paper describes an approach to teaching grammar which has been designed for school-aged children with specific language impairment (SLI). The approach uses shapes, colours and arrows to make the grammatical rules of English explicit. Evidence is presented which supports the use of this approach with older children in the areas of past tense…

The correlation between the communicative intent of parents, in terms of their expectation of a response and the response patterns of young children aged 23-25 months during parent-child interactions, was investigated. An Observational Framework was used to code these parameters in interactions between 36 children and their mothers. The children…