In the past 30 years, the treatment of communication disorders has evolved into a complex discipline. This article discusses recent developments and changes in language assessment and remediation, specifically in phonological and pragmatic assessment and remediation. (JL)

Gestural cueing may be used successfully with children who do not require exposure to a sign or total communication approach. Emphasizing cueing in both the training and generalization phases of language learning, this article discusses specific learning activities, the effect of motor components on language, and procedures for using gestural…

The Symbolic Play Test was given to 31 socially impaired and 29 sociable elementary grade children retarded in language comprehension, of similar intelligence (profoundly retarded to normal). Play test age and spontaneous pretend play were similar in sociable Ss but, in the socially impaired, spontaneous pretend play was lower than play test age…

The thesis is developed that, despite commonalities, therapy and research are not necessarily the same activity and that clinicians are not necessarily researchers, and requirements of good therapy and good research are often different in critical ways. (Author/CL)

The article discusses the different modes of computer assisted instruction (CAI) and different types of programs available for creating microcomputer-assisted courseware for preservice and inservice education of speech and language pathologists and audiologists. Guidelines for assessing CAI courseware are provided and implications for future uses…

Research conducted at the Waisman Center on Mental Retardation and Human Development over the past 10 years documents the multidimensional nature of language development in retarded and nonretarded populations. Advances in research methodology will allow large-scale indepth studies of the lexical, semantic, syntactic, and pragmatic aspects of…

Two classrooms were studied to describe the forms and patterning of verbal overlaps in sharing-time narratives of 16 students (8-12 years old) with communicative disabilities. Videotape analysis revealed type and frequency of overlaps, type and frequency of the turn relations giving rise to overlap instances, and remedial tactics that appeared to…

A review of the effects of chronic undue or low lead absorption on the speech and language behavior of children concludes that the evidence supports the presence of speech and language problems in some low-lead level children. The severity, duration, and specific nature of the problems, however, are not clear. (Author/CL)

Researchers employing a mirror procedure tested 52 autistic children between 3 and 13 years of age. A total of 36 showed evidence of self-recognition, while 16 gave no clear indications of doing so. Those not recognizing themselves were more likely than those who did to be mute or lacking in communicative speech. (Author/RH)

The author describes his personal experience in the development and use of MINSPEAK, a synthesized voice communication aid which permits users to control pitch of individual phonemes, store sentences under pictures developed by the user, and vary types of sentences to be used. (MC)

Investigated the career outcomes of adult males (N=579) who were diagnosed as dyslexic in adolescence. Results indicated that the subjects established themselves in relatively high-level jobs emphasizing nonacademic competencies and had higher-level jobs than average in the general White male population. (LLL)

The use, by three young language-disordered children, of two devices through which utterances are related to ongoing discourses, focus and substitution operations, was observed. A developmental trend reflecting that of the normally developing children emerged. (Author)

Eleven preschool children with speech and language deficits spoke approximately twice as often during teacher-directed discussions as in child-directed discussions. Utterances classified as report, label, and mimic were used most often in the teacher-directed settings. (CL)

The Iowa Severity Rating Scales for Communication Disabilities provides a means for placing a priority on the needs of students requiring speech-language pathology services. The severity rating scale assists the clinician in case selection and suggests the intensity of the service delivery model. (Author/SW)

The paper presents the basics of the design, function, and construction of communication boards for use with the severely disabled. (Author/SW)