We evaluated the long-term effects of a supplemental, small-group kindergarten vocabulary intervention in fall and spring of first grade and winter of second grade. Participants included students from two studies, an initial efficacy study and a subsequent replication study, identified as at risk for language and learning difficulties, who were…

Purpose: We examined the effects of a text-processing reading comprehension intervention emphasizing listening comprehension and expressive language practices with middle school students with reading difficulties. Method: A total of 134 struggling readers in grades 6-8 were randomly assigned to treatment (n = 83) and control conditions (n = 51)…

This study investigated the response to class-wide phonological awareness and oral language teaching for 40 children who entered school with speech and language difficulties. A stepped wedge research design was adopted to compare the immediate impact of the 10-week teacher-led instruction. The progress of the children with speech and language…

The article describes an approach to aphasia description and intervention based on analysis of speech pauses and hesitations. The concepts of pause, planning, and paraphasia (a language production error involving substitution or replacement) are distinguished. Three case studies illustrate application of the technique. (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…

Associations among expressive phonological development, metaphonological skills, and spelling performance are examined. Suggestions are offered for analyzing and remediating phonological deficiencies of children with phonologically based spelling problems. A case study of a third grader with spelling problems exemplifies assessment and…

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…

Twenty-eight adults with Down's syndrome and 28 adults with retardation of unknown origin responded to a language elicitation test. The adults with Down's syndrome exhibited an almost universal failure in mastering individual elements of the auxiliary verb system. The nature and source of biological constraints on language learning and…

This article on oral narratives in school-age children focuses on the changing demands from home to school use of narratives, developmental changes expected in school-age children, differences between narratives of children with and without language disorders, difficulties inherent in current assessment methods, and alternative assessment and…

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…

This discussion first reviews efficacy studies and models for word finding remediation in children and adolescents, and then offers principles and objectives of a threefold intervention model which addresses word finding remediation, self-advocacy instruction, and compensatory programing. (DB)

The impact of a disordered phonological system (expressive or receptive) on language development is examined. Research results and guidelines are presented for identification of critical intelligibility and phonological awareness deficiencies and for intervention. Options for expediting intelligibility gains and research findings on enhancing…

This article reviews the developmental literature in spoken persuasion and discusses implications for assessment and intervention with students with language-learning disorders, in terms of persuading others, analyzing persuasive appeals, and responding to persuasive appeals. (JDD)

After describing the principles of culturally compatible education, the characteristics of Native American and mainstream narrative discourse are compared, and teaching the structure, content, and style of mainstream narratives is advocated. A program designed to facilitate Native American elementary school children's abilities to comprehend and…