Many children with autism do not imitate adult vocalizations, an important skill in learning to talk. Pairing adult vocalizations with preferred stimuli has been shown to increase free-operant vocalizations but effects are temporary; thus, direct reinforcement may be necessary to establish durable vocal behaviors. In Experiment 1, directly…

A recent forum in "JFD" (28/3, 2003) evaluated the status of evidence-based practice in fluency disorders, and offered recommendations for improvement. This article re-evaluates the level of support available for some popular approaches to stuttering therapy and questions the relative value placed on some types of programs endorsed by the forum.…

The relationship between adaptive functioning ("ability") and autism symptomatology ("disability") remains unclear, especially for higher functioning individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study investigates "ability" and "disability" using the "Vineland" and "Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule" (ADOS), respectively, in two…

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who work with adults with cognitive-linguistic impairments, including aphasia, have long needed an assessment tool that predicts ability to function in the real world. In this article, it is argued that virtual reality (VR)-supported approaches can address this need. Using models of disability such as the…

Background: Few studies have looked at the very long-term outcome of individuals with autism who were diagnosed in childhood. Methods: A longitudinal, prospective, community-based follow-up study of adults who had received the diagnosis of autism (classic and atypical) in childhood (n = 105) was conducted. A structured interview (the Diagnostic…

Humans, infants and adults alike, automatically mimic a variety of behaviors. Such mimicry facilitates social functioning, including establishment of interpersonal rapport and understanding of other minds. This fundamental social process may thus be impaired in disorders such as autism characterized by socio-emotional and communicative deficits.…

People with communication disabilities experience problems in accessing the justice system. In this article we describe the development of a multimedia package designed to train legal personnel to identify and reduce communication barriers to their services. The training package is being developed collaboratively by a diverse team that included…

Research on facilitated communication (FC) is discussed, along with flaws in previous validation studies and suggestions for improving validation studies, including: testing first whether the person can do the task required under quiet, relaxed conditions; allowing the person to practice the skill until it can be used during the validation test;…

This study examined the role of empathy in the choice of syntactic form and the degree of independence of pragmatic and syntactic abilities in a range of aphasic patients. Study 1 involved 9 English-speaking and 9 Japanese-speaking aphasic subjects with 10 English-speaking and 4 Japanese normal controls. Study 2 involved 14 English- and 6…

The document contains six research papers on language and communication disorders. Entries include the following titles and authors: "A Method of Pragmatic Analysis for a Down's Syndrome Child" (P. Halfond and P. Tamari); "Follow the Leader--Why a Language Disordered Child Can't Be 'It'" (C. Grossfeld and E. Geller); "Communication Patterns of an…

Described are two studies which used art therapy to improve cognitive and language abilities in a total of 45 children with learning difficulties or communication disorders. The art procedures focused on the development of three types of concepts: the concept of a class or group of objects, concepts of space, and concepts of sequential order. A…

Procedures used during a 5-week assessment phase of a simultaneous communication program for five severely dysfunctional nonverbal children (5-9 years old) are described, and techniques for assessing autistic children are discussed. Indications from measuring the gestural communication of 5 dysfunctional Ss following communication training include…

The document delineates competencies for certification in the state of Washington for a Communication Disorders Specialist, who provides diagnostic (evaluative), therapeutic (habilitative), and consultative services for individuals handicapped by disorders of language, speech, and/or hearing. The guidelines and standards establish a framework for…

Professionals involved in the development of communication systems for clients with severe communication disorders should not be influenced excessively by the tendency to view either the augmentative communication or the natural speech approach as the sole solution. A balanced intervention approach best serves clients' individual needs and…

The study evaluated the intelligibility of three different types of speech synthesizers (Echo II+, Votrax Personal Speech System, and DECtalk) with children at two different age groups and adults. Results are reported in terms of their educational application with communication disordered persons. (Author/DB)