The paper outlines an educational scheme whereby teachers of severely mentally retarded and multiply-handicapped children (including deaf/blind children) can assess the prelanguage levels of children on a hierarchical language schedule, which culminates in the acquisition of natural gesture. (Author)

The Bliss symbol nonverbal communication system, based on a logical visual language, is described; the use of Blissymbolics to provide functional communication for nonverbal cerebral-palsied children is explained; and areas for future application and development of the system are suggested. (Author/IM)

The value of visual literacy, the ability to recognize and interpret natural and manmade symbols, to a student of foreign language is stressed. Three groups of nonverbal signs--kinesic elements, environmental elements, and objects invested with a special meaning--are discussed, and methods for teaching visual literacy described. (RM)

A major component of student difficulty with algebra is the inability to make sense of the algebra symbol system as a language. Accordingly, remedies should be sought by considering algebra in a linguistic sense. (PK)

Proposes that the teacher-as-liminal-servant (stripped of usual status and authority) within a critical pedagogy is guided by compassion and commitment to teach as a social and moral agent in the service of social transformation. Asserts that educational rituals must create classroom conditions that spawn liminal dimensions of learning. (MM)

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…

Maintains that the study of signs is divided between those scholars who use the Saussurian binary sign (semiology) and those who prefer the Peirce tripartite sign (semiotics). Concludes that neither the Saussurian nor Peircian analysis methods can produce a semiotic interpretation based on a hierarchy of the text's various components. (CFR)

Explores how visual (pictorial) and verbal (linguistic) systems work together and influence each other as young children create symbol systems. Finds that, for young children, color plays a key role in communicating messages. Shows how art and writing (especially color and light) influence each other in children's literacy development. (SR)

The purpose of this study was to measure how well business and professional people from various cultures interpret symbols commonly used in international business presentations. Questionnaires contained 15 black and white symbols, selected from the clip art collection of Harvard Graphics business graphics software. Respondents from the United…

It may be argued that what is considered to be knowledge is intimately related to the manner in which such knowledge is communicated. Thus some social scientists and scientists argue that science itself is a form of communication, and the scientific method it closely bound to the method of interpretation. An important vein of thinking in the…

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…

This manual is intended to accompany a videotape entitled "Tangible Symbol Systems." The manual summarizes techniques shown in the videotape, gives additional background and technical information, and supplies recordkeeping forms. It is aimed at teachers, parents, and others who work with individuals who have severe/multiple sensory…

The paper describes the Makaton Vocabulary as an alternative communication mode for children and adults with communication and language difficulties. The language program comprises the following components: a core vocabulary based on concepts/items needed to express essential needs and experiences; the use of signs and/or symbols always associated…