Investigation of two- to four-year-olds' (N=20) understanding of temporal terms indicated that children were more likely to understand sentences using simple tasks, materials, and commands than more complicated sentences used in previous research. (Author/CB)

A diary study, in which observers recorded occurrences of vocal communications of a severely developmentally-delayed six-year-old, provided a scheme for categorizing and analyzing the vocalizations (into such areas as semantic, communicative, and phonological usage) and establishing a pattern of word development and possible interventions. (CB)

The study examined the performance of 19 pairs of autistic and nonautistic (but with a language delay of at least six months) children on the Test for Auditory Comprehension of Language. Results indicated no significant differences between groups or between sexes within groups in receptive language skills. (Author/DB)

Sixty minimally verbal autistic children (mean age five years) were exposed to one of four language training conditions: speech alone, sign alone, or simultaneous or alternate presentation of speech and sign. Regardless of training condition, pretreatment verbal imitation ability positively predicted the size of child-initiated spoken vocabulary…

Addresses two questions: (1) When do children who are bilingual from birth become aware that they speak two languages? and (2) What are the factors that lead to this awareness? The subjects in the study described here were Italian/German bilingual children living in the Italian region of Alto Adige. (CFM)

Argues that kindergarten reading programs should do the following: (1) be structured but not formal; (2) be developmentally appropriate; (3) focus upon broadening each child's experiential base; (4) foster each child's desire to become literate; and (5) provide an environment rich in printed materials and opportunities to use them. (FL)

The subject of this case report is a two-year, seven-month-old girl with de Lange syndrome, normal intelligence, and age-appropriate language skills. She demonstrated initial delays in gross motor skills and in receptive and expressive language but responded well to intensive speech and language intervention, as well as to physical therapy.…

Considered article and noun position as syntactic cues indicating the focus of sentential negation in 7- and 10-year-olds and adults. Noun position and article independently influenced the focus of negation. Developmental differences in the uses of articles were related to the acquisition of mastery of the article system. (SKC)

In two studies involving seven developmentally disabled children aged 7-14, phonetic sounds and syntactic structures representing different levels of normal development were taught. Results showed that the children's sequence of learning language forms followed the normal developmental model (e.g., earlier emerging forms were acquired in fewer…

The acquisition of spatial terms in the language development of young children is examined. Two primary theories of word meaning and concept acquisition are reviewed, followed by a summary of current developmental research on spatial terms and factors influencing acquisition. Finally, guidelines for the assessment and teaching of spatial terms are…

The article examines the child's ability to produce complex sentences with sections on a structural framework for complex language (clausal and nonclausal complexity), a developmental perspective (coordination of clauses, subordination of nominal, adverbial, and relative clauses), and applied considerations (evaluating and teaching complex…

The article proposes a six-stage model of the development of communication forms and functions during the prelinguistic period. Applications to the clinical treatment of severely developmentally disabled persons concern expanded targets and procedures for assessment and treatments which are socially interactive and responsive. (DB)

Videotapes of four mother-child dyads and diaries kept by the mothers, showed that there was a strong relationship between the children's initial use of words and the most frequently occurring use of these words by the mothers. It was also found that, although the majority of children's first words were context-bound, a significant number were…

A modeling experiment, conducted to determine if children benefit from observing speech not addressed to them in discovering the use of first and second pronouns, suggested that children even less than two years of age can attend to and learn from speech not addressed to them. (Author/CB)

Reviews recent studies concerning the acquisition of gender systems of different languages and the development of the mass/count distinction in English, focusing on evaluation of the early formal learning approach. (CB)