A review of research on early receptive language development of normal and language-handicapped children uses a functional-analysis perspective to emphasize how developmental changes are effected through the interactions of children with their environments. Lexical acquisition and early morphological/syntactic acquisition are addressed. (Author/CL)

Eighteen language disabled kindergarteners participated in a five-month intervention program emphasizing the development of expressive grammar. Ss made significant gains in expressive syntax, receptive morphology, expressive language, and one aspect of receptive language. Control Ss only made significant gains in one aspect of receptive language.…

A pictorial system allowing receptive communication was implemented with one severely mentally retarded (SMR) and two autistic and SMR children (8.5, 10.4, and 12.8 years old). Although those low functioning children had shown severe problems in learning manual signs, they were successfully taught pictorial representations as communication means.…

Thirty-eight bilingual (Spanish-English) first graders with language delays were compared on rate of receptive acquisition of English prepositions and pronouns. Subjects who received instruction in Spanish prior to instruction in English acquired the English prepositions and pronouns twice as rapidly as subjects who received instruction in English…

Down Syndrome children exhibit language delays, particularly in expressive abilities, more severe than would be anticipated from their cognitive level alone. This research project sought to develop a procedure for introducing total communication into the home environment of prelinguistic Down Syndrome infants and for comparing the relative…

This pamphlet presents an overview of speech and language disorders including a description of symptoms, possible causes, identification, intervention, and current research. Description of the disorders includes examples of symptoms; the four components and the physical tools of speech; and the role of the brain, including its hemispheres,…