Word learning is critical for the development of reading and language comprehension skills. Although previous studies have indicated that word learning is compromised in children with reading disability (RD) or developmental language disorder (DLD), it is less clear how word learning difficulties manifest in children with comorbid RD and DLD.…

Language and literacy skills are critical for academic success. Shared book reading is an evidence-based practice for improving a range of language and literacy skills in young children, including those with or at risk for learning disabilities. This article describes how teachers and speech-language pathologists (SLP) can collaborate to support…

Despite young children's increasing access to electronic books (e-books) and the evidence indicating their effectiveness for promoting language and literacy, no study has yet explored the e-book's effect in this area among students with intellectual disability (ID). Motivated by this challenge, the current study sought to investigate the effect of…

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effectiveness of e-book activity for vocabulary acquisition and story comprehension among kindergarteners at risk for learning disabilities (LD) as opposed to typically developing (TD) children. Participants included 136 children aged between five and seven (M = 71.2; SD = 5.64, in months),…

"School-Age Language Intervention: Evidence-based Practices" explains how to teach the language and literacy skills, strategies, and underlying processes needed for educational success. This book brings together an array of experts to provide the latest practical and evidence-based guidance to school speech-language pathologists.…

This pilot research project examined the use of sign language as a communication bridge for non-Deaf children between the ages of 0-6 years who had been diagnosed with, or whose communication difficulties suggested, the presence of such disorders as Autism, Down Syndrome, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), and/or learning disabilities.…

The study compared the language development of 72 learning disabled (LD) and 72 normal students at intermediate and secondary age levels (9-12 and 12-15 years of age). Ss were asked to respond to questions after viewing two films, and oral language samples were tape recorded and analyzed to examine syntactic and vocabulary development. Results…

Four age levels of 80 learning disabled (LD) students (7.5-8.11, 9.0-10.5, 10.6-11.11, and 12.0-13.5 years) participated in an examination of syntactic maturity and vocabulary richness in their oral language. Ss were shown two films without the sound turned on, and were then tape recorded as they told the story of the film in their own words.…

Eighty learning disabled (LD) students at four age levels (ranging from 7 to 14) were studied to compare their vocabulary and syntactic maturity with normal children and to describe the developmental trends (using several instruments). (PHR)

A program was developed to increase the receptive and expressive language skills of 24 secondary learning-disabled students. Program units covered word sorting, sight-word vocabulary, key-word reading, reading rate, reading comprehension, listening, and writing. (Author/SW)

Subjects 9 to 15 years old were divided into four age levels by 18-month increments to compare learning disabled and normal students on indexes of both oral and written language. Four questions guided the inquiry: (1) Does the syntactic development of oral language differ at the age levels measured? (2) What is the trend of syntactic development…

Purpose: There is a substantial minority of children for whom lexical retrieval problems impede the normal pattern of language development and use. These problems include accurately producing the correct word even when the word's meaning is understood. Such problems are often referred to as "word-finding difficulties" (WFDs). This article examines…

A curricular and instructional framework for increasing the vocabulary skills of diverse learners is described. Areas of convergence in research literature on vocabulary learning and diverse learners are noted, and two recommendations based on these areas of convergence are offered: interventions to address the vocabulary delays of diverse…

Recent research on vocabulary development is reviewed, highlighting issues related to diverse learners. The review included studies of students who are low performers; learning or reading disabled; remedial readers; high achievers; and students who are culturally disadvantaged, language delayed, and linguistically diverse. Areas of convergence in…

A collection of essays on first and second language proficiency from the fields of psychology and linguistics includes the following: "Modeling and Assessing Language Proficiency" (John H. A. L. de Jong, Ludo Verhoeven); "The Construct of Grammar in Early Language Development" (Folkert Kuiken); "Dimensions in Grammatical Proficiency" (Wim H. J.…