The article for parents and teachers of nonverbal children describes information sources identified by the Center for Special Education Technology including general print information as well as information on school and community services, technology use with specific disabilities, software and hardware, assistive devices, and funding sources. (DB)

Normally developing kindergarten children (n=45) were shown written words under 4 conditions representing various size and position relationships between line drawings and orthography. Results showed superior performance for word-only and enhanced-word conditions, over those conditions pairing small or large drawings with written words. Results…

The impact of a disordered phonological system (expressive or receptive) on language development is examined. Research results and guidelines are presented for identification of critical intelligibility and phonological awareness deficiencies and for intervention. Options for expediting intelligibility gains and research findings on enhancing…

This article on language assessment differentiates between linguistic competence and communicative competence as a theoretical framework. Descriptive assessment is discussed as it relates to the role of context, language sampling, and play-based assessments. Finally, the impact of descriptive assessment on the future of speech and language…

A naturalistic probe of early language content was administered to 31 normally developing preschool children. The productivity of 3 different strategies for eliciting 27 content categories was tested and the efficiency of the probe technique compared with analysis of language samples. Results suggest this nonstandardized, criterion-referenced…

Because of the diversity of clients served by speech-language pathologists and audiologists, available commercial software may not meet all needs. Authoring programs allow the clinician to design software that can be customized for individual clients. This article describes an authoring program called HyperCard and its use in preparing hypermedia…

This study surveyed parents of youth with severe disabilities using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems and siblings without disabilities to examine leisure participation patterns. Statistically significant differences existed between groups relative to diversity of leisure participation, related social communication,…

This review examines the research on literacy expectations and priorities for students using augmentative and alternative communication systems as well as for students without disabilities. It discusses implications of research findings for education and clinical practice, such as integrating literacy instruction with other activities, fostering…

Two studies are reported in which the following theory is tested: the agrammatic sentence form that is observed in the spontaneous speech of Broca's aphasics is attributable to the selection of elliptical syntactic structures in which the slots for many of the closed-class words that appear in complete sentences are lacking. (54 references)…

This study examined changes in communication predispositions of 2 clinical populations--13 adult stutterers and 15 foreign dialect students--over 3.5 months of therapy. Results indicated that both groups reduced levels of communication apprehension and increased levels of communication competence. Each group also demonstrated improvements in…

A critical shortage of qualified personnel hampers the ability of rural schools to provide speech, language, and hearing services to handicapped minority group children. Four curriculum approaches are suggested to incorporate multicultural and rural concerns into professional preservice training programs. Alternative service delivery systems for…

Effects of printed factual information and three augmentative communication techniques on attitudes of nondisabled adults toward nonspeaking adults with physical disabilities were studied. Additional information about the nonspeaking individual and increasing sophistication of the augmentative communication techniques were both found to improve…

Describes the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales, a standardized assessment for infants, toddlers and preschool children. It is designed to identify children at risk of developing a communication impairment and to establish a profile of functioning in the areas of communicative, social-affective, and symbolic abilities. (CR)

This article summarizes issues in recruitment and retention in graduate school programs in general and in speech-language pathology programs specifically. These include campus and program climate, admissions criteria, national trends in cultural diversity, and the lack of research on diversity in speech-language pathology programs. It notes that…

This study surveyed routine language screening practices for infants and toddlers of 41 physicians in an urban and surrounding rural area. Findings indicated that all physician offices screened for language development with some using the Denver Developmental Scale and others using informal tools. Findings are discussed in the context of the…