This study analyzed the quality and quantity of intentional communication in four toddlers with Down Syndrome (DS) and eight subjects matched for either chronological or developmental age. Analysis of Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scale scores indicated that DS subjects expressed different communicative functions and used different…

This case study examined prosodic use in a normally developing child between the ages of 20 and 46 months. Conversational repairs were elicited to examine prosodic stress. Fundamental frequency, intensity, and duration of syllables were measured. Although the subject could repair stress errors, a clear pattern of the development of acoustic cues…

In this study, 12 approaches used in analyzing developmental progress of participants in early intervention services were classified into one of five categories and 10 of these approaches were examined by using data from one early intervention program. The comparison concludes that the Wolery (1983) approach is most appropriate. (Author/CR)

This study examined phonological changes in the conversational speech of children between the ages of 2 and 3 years. Phonological analysis of conversational samples obtained from the same children at three-month intervals showed significant differences among children in rates of final consonant deletion, cluster reduction, vowelization, and…

In this study, six percent of a 2-year-old child's spontaneous utterances in six 3-hour samples were identified as one of three expressive metalinguistic utterance types: interrogatives, hypothesis tests, and evocative utterances. Evocative utterances were used most frequently. The subject used the strategies to seek nouns 78 percent of the time.…

Information is presented about the auditory development of infants and toddlers with hearing impairments, the goals of amplification, and how amplification is selected and assessed. Practical points to enhance hearing aid use and adjustment are offered. (Author/DB)

The language development of 12 premature and 12 full-term Mexican American infants was compared at age 22 months. The Sequenced Inventory of Communication Development-Revised revealed that premature infants may acquire language at a slower rate than full-term infants, with expressive language more affected than receptive language skills.…

Four children (ages 1-2) with language delays were evaluated to assess the benefits of a play-based model for providing an accurate analysis of a child's language capabilities. The play-based assessment model provided a broader picture of the children's emerging skills, which was helpful in planning interventions. (Author/CR)

Four toddlers with Down syndrome (ages 10-30 months) were presented with six nonreactive and reactive toys for 90 sessions of free play. When the toys were nonreactive, the subjects vocalized to express their disappointment or to seek assistance from the adults in the room. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

This study developed a test battery to assess the cognitive skills in children with physical limitations. A preliminary battery of 83 items was administered to 26 children, aged 26 to 36 months, with severe physical impairments. Rasch analysis yielded a final battery of 35 items with high internal consistency, interrater reliability, and…

This preliminary study assessed differences in symbolic play behavior among 20 verbal and nonverbal children with autism, ages 2.5 to 3.6 years. Results indicated significant differences in symbolic play behavior with the verbal group demonstrating a higher order level of performance. Results underscore the importance of not considering all young…

This study compared the language skills of low-birth-weight premature infants (N=11), higher birth-weight premature infants (N=14), and full-term infants (N=12) at 22 months corrected chronological age. Results suggest that low-birth-weight premature infants are at greater risk than higher birth-weight premature infants for speech and language…

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…

This study explored effects of training six mothers to use focused stimulation to teach specific target words to their toddlers with Down syndrome. Following treatment, trained mothers used the focused stimulation technique more often than mothers in the control group. Concomitantly, their children used target words more often, as reported by…

This study assessed the influence of a 10-week parent-child intervention group on the vocabulary development of 10 late-talking toddlers. Results demonstrated the efficacy of the focused stimulation approach in increasing overall and target vocabulary acquisition. Parents reported satisfaction with the program in terms of the child's vocabulary…