Background: Though the Down syndrome behavioural phenotype has been described as involving relative strengths in visuo-spatial processing and sociability, and relative weaknesses in verbal skills and motor planning, the early emergence of this phenotypic pattern of strengths and weaknesses has not yet been fully explored. Method: In this study, we…

This document consists of three separately published fact sheets (for parents and teachers of children who are deaf-blind) combined here because of the close relationship of their subject matter: (1) "Communication Interactions: It Takes Two," by Kathleen Stremel; (2) "Expressive Communication: How Children Send Their Messages to You," by Kathleen…

This study investigated the relationship between the Developmental Test of Visual Motor Integration-Revised (VMI-R) and written expression skills of 54 students (grades 2 to 7) with learning disabilities. Data analysis compared cognitive ability; visual motor skills; achievement in reading, math, and written language; teacher rating of written…

This case study reports on the language development of a child with severe speech and multiple handicaps resulting from "severe epileptic encephalopathy" who is, however, able to competently read, write, and comprehend two languages (English and Cantonese) but does not initiate conversations. Data were gathered as a result of weekly home visits…

This paper suggests classroom activities to develop awareness of language and the sociolinguistic aspects of language proficiency and to help eliminate language prejudice. The exercises are presented in seven categories: (1) examination of connotative and denotative language, names and nicknames; (2) dialects and slang and the status attached to…

Principles of language assessment and instruction for Spanish speaking preschoolers at St. Mary's Hospital in Tucson, Arizona, are presented. Basic definitions and program model (which looks at the child's communication skills based purely on semantic content contained in spontaneous language samples) are explained. The program's theoretical bases…

The question of whether children's accentuation strategies are determined by the linguistically established context was studied. A second investigation determined whether the difference between distinctive and nondistinctive information is marked by the speaker's accentuation, focusing the listener's attention upon the crucial information. In the…

This pamphlet is the third in a series of ten stemming from the view that language is central to learning, that teachers can gain insights into their work and into learning by examining the language of the classroom, and that current language theory can be the means to such insights. Specifically, the pamphlet presents ideas drawn from a five-year…

This collection of seven significant articles on higher thought processes stresses the important relationship of these processes to the teaching of language skills. The articles are: (1) "Language and the Habit of Credulity" by Russell G. Stauffer. (2) "Research on the Processes of Thinking with Some Applications to Reading " by David H. Russell,…

Communication cannot and should not be studied as the simple, isolated phenomenon known as language, because language occurs in a cultural context and its messages are shaped by nonverbal elements. The basic structure of total communication includes language, paralanguage (vocal-nonverbal communication), and kinesics (communication through…

A language training approach employing a multimodality receptive language program was used with eight retarded preschool children to increase receptive language development and to stimulate verbal (expressive) language behavior. Day activity center teachers worked with the Ss three times weekly for 7 months using the Minnesota Early Language…

Ten authorities in the field of aphasia attended a 2-day workshop to discuss the vocational rehabilitation problems of the aphasic patient and to develop guidelines which could be used by the vocational rehabilitation counselor in planning rehabilitation. Presentations were made by L. Kaplan, D. McGeachy, M. Sarno, S. Ainsworth, R. L. Milisen, J.…

The idioms, rated numerically on frequency of occurrence and prevailing usage, are presented with an illustrative example and English translation. An alphabetical listing of the English translations of the Spanish idioms includes reference to page citation and frequency of usage. Appendixes contain a sample evaluation sheet used in the selection…

Thirteen subjects (aged 5:6 to 6:6) with language disorders were given elicited imitation and spontaneous language tasks, and their performance was compared among and within subjects. The two procedures produced significantly correlated results for some children but not for others. Analysis of specific syntactic forms also produced variable…

A group of language class activities use photographs to encourage students to identify, describe, imagine, recount, and persuade in a variety of ways. (MSE)