Eight children in a special preschool for children with language delay learned 57 two, three, and four-word syntactic forms. Forty-two of the forms generalized to Subjects' spontaneous language in free play. There was a relationship between the complexity and potential functions of the treated forms and their generalization to free play. (CL)

Analysis of spontaneous language samples of eight children (4-11 years old) diagnosed with developmental verbal apraxia (motor speech disorder) revealed that at least some of the errors could not be attributed to motor speech and/or phonologic limitations but rather indicated concomitant syntactic disorders. (Author/CL)

Effects of phonological and syntactic structure on the sentence productions of 10 language disordered school children (mean age 6.2 years) were investigated. Some of the results indicated that the syllabic complexity of target sentences as well as clause embedding significantly contributed to sentence inaccuracy (omission, substitution, addition,…

The discussion of older language disordered children's syntactic development focuses on an increase in T-units (minimal terminal units) and an expansion of types of cohesion (ways in which children tie their utterance structures together). Implications for assessment and treatment are drawn. (CL)

Results of syntactic and semantic comparisons of 10 retarded children (mean age nine years), 10 normal, and 10 language impaired children matched for MA indicated that retarded children's language abilities were essentially comparable to the normal children without the same linguistic deficiencies as the language impaired children. (Author/CL)

The paper focuses on the modal auxiliary system in English as it pertains to language development in language-impaired and normal children. The syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic functions of modals are described. Assessment and intervention guidelines are offered. (Author/DB)

Past studies of autistic children's memory for linguistic materials have shown that autistics have a special linguistic coding difficulty. Because the autistic deficit stems from a failure to use semantic and syntactic knowledge or from a failure to acquire such forms, future research should explore the mechanics underlying this deficit. (PJM)

Six autistic children and seven children with relatively specific language impairment were asked to act out a series of sentences. Both groups made little use of a semantically based probable event strategy but were more likely to use a syntactically based word order strategy, similar to normals matched for receptive language age. (Author/DB)

The article looks at syntactic deficiencies involving simple clause structures and grammatical morphology in young children. A framework for understanding the development of simple clause structures is presented followed by a discussion of the correlates of early syntactic development. Procedures to assess and remediate syntactic deficiencies are…

Two language-delayed children (three-four years old) received comprehension instruction on preposition-object phrases using a miniature linguistic system format to structure generalization. Results indicated generalization not only to untreated two-word combinations but also to comprehension of four-word phrases. In addition, there was some…

The article suggests that comparability, representativeness, and typicality must be considered along with length when collecting language samples. A framework is offered for selecting or devising tasks, and one successful battery is described which has been field tested on language-disordered children with syntax problems. (CL)

Describes experiments involving responses of language disordered children to sentences that can carry directive import. Results indicate that language disordered children are qualitatively like normal children with regard to early response behavior. These children do have more difficulty in generating informing responses and utilizing information…

The article proposes a reeducation program for conduction aphasics with reproductive difficulties. Program characteristics include analysis and manipulation of visual stimuli (written words and syllables), suppression of the compensation effect of the spared lexical-semantic system; and progressive increase in length and complexity of phonological…

Investigated the hypotheses that language-impaired children produce fewer logical propositions per utterance and evidence less control of formal syntactic markers. Matched for mean length of utterance, language samples from 10 language-impaired children approximately five years of age and 10 normal children about three years of age were analyzed.…

Examines the similarities between British Sign Language and West Indian Creole, both in their social development and structural similarity. Pertinent educational implications are discussed. (EKN)