The nature of word-finding deficits among children with learning disabilities is analyzed; research on the relationship between word-finding ability and reading is reviewed; and classroom implications regarding teacher language, student verbal fluency and flexibility, and student social perception are noted. (CL)

The article reviews the development of action words in the language of young children, provides a rationale and basis for the choice of action forms to include in an early vocabulary, and suggests strategies for facilitating action-word development in language impaired and normal children. (DB)

This review considers aspects of normal mental storage and retrieval, storage and retrieval in disordered word finding, possible causes of word finding disorders, and clinical implications in both storage and retrieval components. Implications call for attention to increasing word knowledge, storage strength, naming accuracy and speed, retrieval…

The literature on oral narrative comprehension, memory, and production abilities of language-learning-disabled students is reviewed. The relationship of these abilities to academic success is noted. (Author/DB)

This review of research examines investigations that have focused on the effect of reinforcer specificity on the acquisition of both language comprehension and production skills by learners with severe handicaps. Issues regarding the use of intervention strategies that employ reinforcer specificity are discussed. (Author/JW)

Four specific perspectives on narrative structure are briefly reviewed, and a case study is used to illustrate how these perspectives can provide useful insights into the language behavior of a language-disordered child. (Author/SW)

Review of literature on indicators of the effectiveness of language intervention programs for autistic children showed that mitigation in echolalia was a critical characteristic, as it implied that the prerequisites for language were accessible through speech. Children whose speech ranged from mutism to unmitigated echolalia had a more negative…

The article examines the child's ability to produce complex sentences with sections on a structural framework for complex language (clausal and nonclausal complexity), a developmental perspective (coordination of clauses, subordination of nominal, adverbial, and relative clauses), and applied considerations (evaluating and teaching complex…

Two approaches to intervention geared to autistic children's characteristics are presented: one stressing speech and the other sign and speech. Some findings relevant to implementation of simultaneous sign and speech are discussed, and due to observed variability in processing and responsiveness to intervention, the need for individual programing…

This review looks at the impact of word finding deficits, psycholinguistic considerations in naming (including relevant intrinsic and extrinsic variables), behaviors indicative of word finding difficulty, screening for word finding disorders in the classroom, direct assessment (both formal and informal), individual differences, and word retrieval…

Word finding in relation to brain injury is discussed for children and adolescents with unilateral congenital malformations of the brain, early hydrocephalus, childhood-acquired left hemisphere stroke, and acquired traumatic head injury. Studies examining the recovery of word-finding deficits after brain injury are discussed, along with…

Discusses the assessment of children's early language comprehension by the use of (1) parent reports; (2) preferential-looking models; and (3) event-related brain potentials. Examines recent findings on dissociations between language comprehension and production in normal, late-talking, and brain-injured children and considers the implications of…

An adaptation of the Fluency in Controlled Association subtest of the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination was administered to language-disordered (N=123) and non-disabled (N=286) kindergarten through ninth-grade students. Lack of significant differences on this task suggests that it may not be an appropriate screening device for identifying…

This review focuses on methods used to identify language impairment in 72 published research studies from 1983-88. Test data were most frequently used, and expressive and receptive language were routinely assessed. Research problems included the lack of clarity regarding the specific number and identity of tests used and use of incomplete tests.…

A portrait is presented of the toddler with slow expressive language development (SELD), based on research examining the health history; cognitive, communicative, and adaptive skills; behavior; and phonology of 30 toddlers with SELD and 30 nondisabled toddlers. The paper offers a review of research on the outcomes of SELD, and explores…