Action word and object word productions of 12 language-normal and language-impaired young children were examined. Results revealed that percentage of consonants produced correctly within the spontaneous speech of both groups was higher for object words. The production advantage for object words was maintained even when certain input factors were…

Fourteen mothers of language delayed two- to five-year-old children provided shorter utterances, fewer questions, more directions, and fewer acceptance utterances than 14 mothers of nondelayed children in free play and structured situations. (CL)

The stressing patterns of five preschool language-impaired children were investigated. Analysis of two-word utterances in language samples found that three subjects tended to stress words based on their position in the utterance; one child stressed words based on informativeness; and one of the subjects' preferences was unclear. (JDD)

Results were that the children's mean length of utterance scores were better for the home sample, although there was no difference between their developmental sentence scores for the home sample and the clinic sample. (Author/SBH)

A study examined the manner in which 10 specifically language-impaired children and their linguistically normal chronological age-matched peers repaired overlapping speech. Conversational samples from each student were elicited by an adult examiner. (26 references) (Author/CB)

The study compared the deviant, repetitive language of 33 males (9 with Down syndrome, 12 with fragile X syndrome, and 12 with autism). Results indicated that males with fragile X syndrome manifest deviant, repetitive language that is distinct from males with either Down syndrome or autism. (DB)

The study was designed to determine if there was an identifiable pattern of language deficit in 10 children (6 to 12 years old) undergoing treatment in a hospital inpatient psychiatry ward for behavioral and emotional problems. Ss were administered the standard hearing and speech clinic test battery which included the Binet Memory for Sentences,…

The study identified communicative patterns of preschool children (N=11) with handicaps (Down's Syndrome, specific language impairments, and autism). Down's Syndrome children were like normal children of the same language stage on all parameters whereas autistic children scored outside the normal range on all but one parameter. (Author/DB)

Eight preschool children with specific language impairment (SLI) and 30 nonimpaired children were selected on the basis of specified mean length of utterance (MLU) ranges and compared on word class production. The high-MLU and low-MLU groups of SLI children could not be empirically differentiated based on their word class profiles, whereas the…

Trade-off effects among linguistic components were compared in 30 elementary school children with deficits in both oral and written language, deficits only in written language, or normal language development. Analysis of syntax, phonology, and fluency indicated group effects, with trade-offs between some linguistic measures and positive…

This study of 80 autistic (ages 6-18), mentally handicapped, and normal children found that more autistic subjects used neologisms and idiosyncratic language than age- and language-skill-matched control groups. More autistic children used words inappropriately that were neither phonologically nor conceptually related to intended English words than…

A study investigated language patterning, as an indication of synthetic mental activity, in comparison groups of normal pre-middle-aged adults (30-42 years), normal elderly adults (75-93), and elderly adults (71-91) with Alzheimer's dementia. Semiotic theory was used as the conceptual context. Linguistic measures included the Token Test, the…

Reports a study that compared the spelling performance of a 17-year-old developmental dysgraphic of normal intelligence to that of an acquired dysgraphic. Findings indicate that both make phonologically valid errors and spell regular words better than irregular words. These performances reflect a phonological routine corresponding to that used by…

This study of 15 Hebrew-speaking preschool children with specific language impairment and 2 comparison groups tentatively supported the notion that grammatical morphemes were less difficult for subjects if they take the form of stressed and/or lengthened syllables and if they appear in a language in which nouns, verbs, and adjectives must be…

Mongoloid children appear to be useful candidates for studying difficult methodological problems found in developmental research. They represent a subpopulation in which general development is markedly slower than in the normal child and in which language development appears to be more dependent on age than general intellectual development. This…