Children with Down syndrome (DS) and cerebral palsy (CP) are at risk of remaining pre-symbolic in their communication and play for prolonged periods. The aim of this study was to explore the early communication and play of children with DS and with CP who communicated at the pre-symbolic stage, and to determine the association between these…

Purpose: This study compared the language performance of young children with developmental delays who were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 parent-coached language interventions. Differences in performance on augmented and spoken word size and use, vocabulary size, and communication interaction skills were examined. Method: Sixty-eight toddlers with…

Use of logographic symbol systems with severely communication-disordered children led to a comparison of the relative ease of learning logographs from the Bliss and Rebus symbol systems with 32 normal preschoolers. Results indicated that Rebus symbols were recalled with significantly greater accuracy than Bliss symbols. (Author/DB)

Describes the spontaneous development of 13 symbolic gestures in a normal infant from 12 to 17 months. Sixteen additional symbolic gestures were purposefully taught. Vocal development was advanced, indicating that gesturing is not necessarily related to poor vocal skills. Data support the hypothesis that sensorimotor behaviors are natural…

A national survey to determine current lanaguage methods and instructional philosophies indicated that many educators of hearing-impaired children combine various language approaches rather than adhering closely to any one method. Opinions as to the type of symbol system to use and when and how to use them varied greatly. (Author/CL)

Study 1 explored associations between multiple measures of language and symbolic gesture development across ages 3 and 4; Study 2 measured more finely which aspects of language relate to the symbolic representation of actions with objects, and explored associations between symbolic gesture and general intellectual ability. Results showed…

The study contrasted the learning of the Rebus and Bliss symbol systems by language-delayed preschoolers. Subjects included 26 black preschool children, aged 4-6. Results showed that Rebus pre-test and post-test scores were significantly higher than Bliss pre-test and post-test scores. Results also showed a 35% improvement in identification of…

Used descriptive analysis and a forced choice task to investigate childrens' and adults' production, interpretation, and judgment of notation. Results showed that young children may not impose the same symbol-meaning structure at decoding that was proposed at encoding. Only after this ability develops does a preference for one form-one function…

Eighty unimpaired adults took the iconic-symbolic (I-S) subtest of the Muma Assessment Program under traditional protocols and revised instructions like those used in classic studies of classification ability. Only 18 functioned at the symbolic level as defined by the protocols; revised instructions more frequently evoked the expected symbolic…

A study was conducted to examine the interrelationships between drawing, early writing, and the context of talk in which both phenomena occur. Participant observation methodology was used in a self-contained public school kindergarten in order to gather daily data during a 3-month period. Specifically, children freely drew and wrote in an…

Presents observations of three children's styles of symbolic language focusing on how each leaned to different degrees on drawing and talking to create their imaginary worlds and thus faced different challenges in rendering those worlds in print. (SRT)

Infants were exposed to symbolic gestures from their parents beginning at 11 months of age. In bimonthly interviews, mothers reported their infants' use of gestures and words. Results indicated a smaller but reliable difference between the onset of infants' use of symbolic gesture and the onset of their use of words than earlier research…

Twenty-four 12- to 19-month-old children were studied to examine the cognitive basis for the emergence of verbs. Substantial increases in verb comprehension across contexts, abstract cognition, and the ability to engage in symbolic action were observed, suggesting a relationship between underlying cognitive development and increased verb…

The study compared play among five groups of children (ages 3-7 years): normal children (N=41); those diagnosed with language delays (N=241), those with autism but normal intelligence (N=71), those with autism and mental retardation (N=97), and those with nonautistic mental deficiency (N=86). Each child was evaluated using a 25 minute structured…

Examines, through a longitudinal study, the temporal correspondences of 4 Japanese children, aged 7 to 11, in the attainment of specific milestones in play and language. All children proceeded through the same sequence of stages, but the rate of development was different depending on their environment. (34 references) (GLR)