Two methods (signs presented with or without accompanying verbal label) of training autistic children to use manual signs were compared. The efficacy of training in both treatment conditions was demonstrated but no clear differences in acquisition speed across conditions were apparent. (Author/CL)

The study compared effects of oral speech with total communication (speech plus sign language) training on the ability of mild mentally retarded children (four-eight years old) to repeat four-word sentences. Results pointed to the superiority of the total communication approach in facilitating sentence repetition. (Author)

Five children with severe educational retardation, aged 5-12, were involved in sign training in which the spoken words corresponding to signs were receptively known to participants. Whether signs were taught concurrently or in a serial fashion, signs taught by total communication were acquired faster than those taught by sign-alone training.…