In typical development, gestures precede and predict language development. This study examines the developmental sequence of expressive communication and relations between specific gestural and language milestones in toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), who demonstrate marked difficulty with gesture production and language. Communication…

Functional communication training (FCT) is a common function-based intervention for young children with or at risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to teach an alternative communicative response to replace problem behavior. While FCT is effective in decreasing problem behavior, often the communicative behavior that is taught occurs at a higher…

The Objective Structured Clinical Exam (OSCE) is a widely used method of assessment in medical education. Rater cognition has become an important area of inquiry in the medical education assessment literature generally, and in the OSCE literature specifically, because of concerns about potential compromises of validity. In this study, a novel…

Although service learning provides unparalleled real world experiential student learning opportunities and benefits to four major constituencies--student, faculty, community and institution, it takes place in an uncontrolled environment introducing uncertainty into the instructional process. Faculty might avoid this valuable approach to…

This case study of the Department of Communication at the University of Maryland demonstrates the need to consider course sequencing in the communication curriculum. The investigation assessed whether the order in which undergraduates took courses predicted grade performance. Students' (N = 6,166) grade data from earlier courses were used to…

The intent of this booklet is to provide a general structure for sequential instruction in the oral communication skills of listening, speaking, and responding. The skills are presented in five grade level categories: preschool, kindergarten through grade three, grades four through six, grades seven through nine, and grades ten through twelve. The…

This study of 82 hearing-impaired children (ages 6 to 36 months) sought to provide normative data concerning their communication efforts and to document the course of development of these earliest communication efforts. The study found that certain cognitive abilities and strategies are prerequisite to the development of certain language…

The activities included in this book are based on current theory on effective oral communication and are intended to increase students' repertoire and use of effective oral communication behaviors. Specifically, the book's activities are designed to (1) appeal to students of all ability levels; (2) provide for student interaction and involvement;…

This guide provides a sequence for studying the communication arts in grades one through six. Prepared by the Lancaster (Pennsylvania) school district, the guide organizes communication skills within and across grade levels. The skills are listed in two ways so that teachers may use whichever list best accommodates their individual teaching…

Examines the ability of 30 normal and 30 learning disabled children across a three-year period to understand a sequence of instructions, communicate the steps in a sequence to others, and rephrase their verbal messages through a referential communication task. (HOD)

The Progressive Tactile Timetable was developed to enable pupils with visual impairments and severe learning difficulties to progress from use of concrete symbols (objects of reference) to the abstract tactile Moon code (a simplified raised line version of the Roman print alphabet). A case study illustrates its application with an adolescent with…

Developed to assist teachers of communication arts in the high school PREP (Preparation for Raising Educational Performance) summer classes, the 30 75-minute lessons in this first of two handbooks are designed to help ninth graders operating with below grade level reading skills (around the 5th-7th grade level) improve their reading comprehension.…

Developed to assist teachers of communication arts in the high school PREP (Preparation for Raising Education Performance) summer classes, the 30 75-minute lessons in this second of two handbooks are designed to help ninth graders operating with below grade level reading skills (around the 3rd-5th grade level) improve their reading comprehension.…

The manual presents sequences of skills designed for use as guides to teaching/learning objectives and as a basis for evaluating and recording special education students' progress. It is explained that the goal of the first level of objectives (sequenced in this document) is to enable the student to function at a motor/psychomotor state of…

The second of three skill sequence manuals for special education students considers the development of language arts. Objectives are listed sequentially for the following major areas (sample subcategories in parentheses): classification (listening/speaking, sorting, grouping); comprehension (affective, factual recall, following directions,…