This article presents ideas to encourage speech and language in infants and toddlers with hearing impairments. Ways to embellish interactions in daily life to make speech/language aspects more salient are suggested, with a 2-minute example of such an interaction between a mother and her 13-month-old hearing-impaired daughter. (DB)

Observations of interactions in a day care center serving deaf and hearing children focused on eight children (either deaf or hearing and with either deaf or hearing parents). Although deaf and hearing children interacted with those of other hearing status, there was a stronger tendency to initiate communication with same hearing status peers.…

This study investigated effects of social interactive strategies (such as, contingent imitation, natural reinforcement contingency, and time delay) in promoting early social-communicative skills of a preschool child with developmental disabilities during daily classroom activities. Results indicated that the child's eye contact, joint attention,…

This article addresses the adequacy of instruments for assessing family functioning and the process for introducing family assessment into early intervention services. Use of the Parent/Caregiver Involvement Scale illustrates how observation can be used to assess dyadic family interactions and can be interpreted to tailor intervention to…

This article describes an interaction guidance model in which videotapes are used with families of young children, to help parents understand developmental issues, explore feelings regarding problematic relationships, help change parental representations of maladaptive relationships, and observe differences between fathers and mothers in parenting…

Based on the inaugural Suzanne McConnell Memorial Lecture, this article focuses on the theme of action in complex contexts. The following topics are covered: the author's approach to this theme and the steps needed to progress from analysis of context to new debates and practical action; the changing context of ALBE; and opportunities for action.…

The conversational interactions of 25 mothers and their 4.5-year-old children, who had been born preterm, were evaluated during a social problem-solving task. The subject mothers tended to approach the task as a vocabulary lesson, whereas comparison mothers tended to focus on the social negotiation aspect of the task. Possible explanations for…

Presents a human-computer interaction (HCI) conceptions model designed to help in the understanding of the cognitive processes involved when college students learn to program computers. Examines syntactic and algorithmic HCI operational errors and reviews conceptions based on natural language reasoning, independent computer reasoning, and…

Examines what should be the oral component of a foreign language course. Structural, interactive, generic, and contextual constraints are discussed in terms of their implications for teaching. (32 references) (Author/CK)

Examines interpersonal communication in physician-patient interaction and physician-patient research models; suggests application of these models to librarian-patron interaction. Discusses human characteristics that affect interaction, the need for patient and patron satisfaction and compliance with instructions from interactions, and assumptions…

This study examined communicative expressions used by and interactions between 10 blind infants (less than a year old) and their mothers. The videotaped observations suggested that sighted mothers need special educational and psychological support. The recordings, when replayed to mothers, provided them with useful feedback. (DB)

Six students with developmental delays and low levels of social interaction in preschool settings were followed during kindergarten to assess one-year maintenance effects of a peer-mediated social skills intervention program. Results indicated students continued to interact with peers at higher than baseline levels and were rated as within the…

The design and reliability testing of two instruments--the Macro Argumentation Structure (MARS) and the Coalition forming and Dominance (CODOM)--to assess the deliberation process (argumentation and interaction) during curriculum conferences/decision making are reported. The study was conducted at the Department of Education of the University of…

This article introduces this special issue on natural processes involved in spontaneous interactions between children with language disorders and their caretakers. It describes the use of the Child Language Data Exchange System (CHILDES) to study developmental language disabilities by analyzing phonological, morphosyntactic, lexical,…

A computer-based group decision support system (GDSS) to increase collaborative group productivity and creativity is explained. Various roles for the computer are identified, and implementation of GDSS systems at the University of Mississippi and International Business Machines are described. The GDSS is seen as fostering productivity through…