This study investigates a particular behavior in talk-in-interaction that appears to be, at least in its most explicit form, relatively unique to children, that is, the behavior whereby one participant explicitly instructs another participant to say a specific phrase, after which the first participant then supplies a prefashioned response. Rather…

To what extent can teacher-student dyadic interactions modify the hierarchy of student performances within a single class? To answer this insufficiently researched question, the authors conducted two parallel studies involving 33 Grade 5 classes in France (759 students) and 15 Grade 5 classes in Luxembourg (243 students). Interactions were…

This study examined discourse cohesion in young normal (n=8), specifically language-impaired (n=8), or autistic (n=10) children (ages 3-7). Results showed all three groups used the same cohesion strategies with similar patterning. Significant group differences were found in the overall rate of correct use and in the use of individual cohesive…

Comparison of communication between hearing mothers and their deaf or hearing children (n=80) at child-ages 22 months and 3 years found most of the differences in communication by mothers of deaf and hearing children seemed attributable to the deaf children's linguistic delays. Results suggest that intervention efforts should focus on fostering…

This study compared three models of adult prompting to promote communication acts of three toddlers. The responsive interaction model avoids the use of explicit prompts, whereas the milieu and didactic approaches encourage explicit prompts. Higher rates of intentional communication were found for the explicit prompt condition, although the minimal…

Evaluation of the conversational behavior of 36 children (ages 48-59 months) playing in dyads with 3 different materials (modeling dough, a farm set, and animal puppets) found that each toy elicited the same amount of talking, though there were differences in discourse structure attributable to play materials. (DB)

The article describes a high-risk infant program which is designed to facilitate mothers' use of positive communicative interaction strategies. The various components of the Mother-Infant Communication Project model are described, as are the specific communicative strategies targeted by the program, and the intervention techniques utilized.…

This article describes the early intervention program developed at the Scottish Centre for Autism. Intervention aimed at improved social communication and social interaction skills is delivered through 1:1 intensive treatment by trained therapists and parent training. Treatment incorporates a child led approach, use of imitation, language use…

This study examined the effect of various intervention contexts on the ability of young children (ages 3 and 4 years) with language impairments to effectively direct communications to a partner and to vary communicative intentions. The six children in the study were either nonverbal or in the early stages of developing verbal communication and all…

The conversational interactions of 25 mothers and their 4.5-year-old children, who had been born preterm, were evaluated during a social problem-solving task. The subject mothers tended to approach the task as a vocabulary lesson, whereas comparison mothers tended to focus on the social negotiation aspect of the task. Possible explanations for…

This study examined parent-child relationships during intervention with 25 preschoolers having developmental disabilities. Both parent and child performances were analyzed on a series of behavioral attributes reflecting developmentally appropriate child goals, adult strategies, partnership goals, and potential interactive problems. Videotaped…

Analysis of communicative exchanges between 24 children (ages 2-3) with Down syndrome and their mothers found that the quality of children's responses was highly associated with the degree to which the mothers' requests were related to the child's current activity and matched or were below the child's current developmental level. (DB)

This article addresses the critical role of caregiver interaction styles in the language development and treatment of infants/children with developmental disabilities. An approach to measuring and guiding adult interactive styles is proposed and related to research in parent-child development and intervention. The approach examines five…

This study investigated associations between infants' prelinguistic communicative behaviors at 9 months and their communication and language performance at 12 and 18 months. The inclusion of both hearing (N=19) and deaf (N=16) infants in the study allowed identification of effects related to the receptive communication modality (vision versus…

This paper examines issues in establishing an initial social/communicative repertoire with individuals who have severe to profound disabilities, with emphasis on intervention involving the most severely affected. The paper stresses the importance of beginning intervention efforts even before learners show intentional behavior and discrimination of…