The discussion leader's guide to a parent education course in the mental stimulation of handicapped young children is organized by the topics of the 12 sessions: orientation, responsive program, toys as learning tools, creativity, self concept, behavior modification, discipline, language, sensory/motor development I and II, and open session.…

In this paper early and later development of knowledge of syntactic structures and this development in language-disordered children are reviewed. Theories that have been presented to account for syntactic development (cognitive, cognitive-semantic and social-environmental) are discussed. Early developmental data indicate that there is not a…

This project was designed to develop a vocational language program for secondary trainable mentally retarded students based on an analysis of the concepts needed for entry and continuation in vocational training programs and related jobs. Twenty-five students from the Ebensburg State School in Pennsylvania participated in the project. The three…

This paper is concerned with the Aristotelian notion of "universal" as applied to phonological phenomena. It is claimed that speech production in children and adults, in normal and deviant speakers, and in a variety of languages, can all be described according to the same universal phonological rules which constitute the universal process of…

Examines the role of "routines" and grammatical patterns in first and second language acquisition by children and adults, specifically with regard to syntactic structures. (Author/AM)

Theorizes that most or all varieties of the Tubatulabal language are currently undergoing enough grammatical degeneration to conclude that it is a dying language. The article states that de-acquisition research has been neglected and will have great relevance in future studies of degenerating grammars. (NCR)

Concludes that both able and less able eighth grade readers who read text versions in which key concepts and the relations between them had been explained thoroughly learned significantly more word meanings than did students who read any of the other versions. (FL)

Discusses the progress in the number of innovations and neutralizations in the pronominal system of Warlpiri, an aboriginal language spoken in central Australia. The changes are analyzed by age-group usage, and patterns of the changes are suggested. Part of a sample interview in presented. (Author/LMO)

Evaluation of a half-day French immersion kindergarten program assessed the English and French language development of participating students and found that pupils who spent half their academic time in foreign language classrooms progressed just as well in English as did matching controls who spent all day in English language classrooms.…

Decisions based on the Fluharty Preschool Screening Tests and the Northwestern Syntax Screening Test (and their subtests) were compared to a validity criterion of passing or failing the Sequenced Inventory of Communication Development for 182 children aged 36-47 months. Validity differences were found that depended on test and subtest content.…

Examines telephone discourse of twenty children between two and five years of age for answerer rules, turn-taking, constructional units, conversational acts, closing sequence, and ability to take messages. Shows developmental differences, although mastery of discourse skills appeared only in response categories, and primarily at four and five…

Summarizes five theories explaining the relationship between word knowledge and comprehension of text in native language acquisition and explores possible implications for second language researchers and practitioners. (Author/CB)

Suggestions for narrowing the discrepancy between the knowledge base of early communication development and the implementation of effective communication interventions for severely handicapped infants and young children are offered including strategies for facilitating emerging language development, increasing positive interactions with infants,…

Hyperlexic children have superior word recognition skills accompanied by delayed development of cognitive and language abilities. Assessment of four hyperlexic children (ages 5-9) confirmed their superior abilities to retain sound/symbol associations. Written prompts were then effectively used to increase functional speech in one of the subjects.…

Details events from the experiences of two young children as they learned written language. Concludes that children need to have a say in why and what they are reading. (FL)