This article considers how information regarding processing limitations in children with specific language impairment (SLI) might be extended to assist in early identification of toddlers at risk for language disorder. Preliminary findings from an investigation of early lexical processing of 15 late talking toddlers and 15 controls are presented.…

This article uses a developmental model of language (Situational- Discourse-Semantics or SDS), along with a constellation or neuro-network model, to describe the developmental emergence of phonemic awareness. Ten sources of phonemic awareness are profiled along with developmental continuum, providing an integrated view of this complex development.…

Reports on a longitudinal study that examines first language vocabulary decline in a child whose native language input effectively ceased after her immersion in a second language environment. The subject was a Russian girl adopted by an American family and brought to the United States, completely isolated from any contact with Russian. (Author/VWL)

This investigation reports average length of communication units (C-units) in words and in morphemes for 95 African-American boys and girls (ages 4-6) from lower-income, urban homes. Mean C-units increased across the age span and syntactic complexity of the children's language samples correlated positively with increases in C-unit length.…

Describes the new teaching methods at Fort Peck, which include the combination of language-immersion and Montessori methods of teaching. The Montessori method, grounded in spiritual traditions, integrates all subjects and includes cultural immersion and parental involvement. (YKH)

Presents evidence for four major design features of serial organization of speech arising from comparison of babbling and early speech with patterns in ten languages. Maintains that no explanation for the design features is available from Universal Grammar; except for intercyclical consonant repetition development, perceptual-motor learning seems…

Examines a song spontaneously created by a 44-month old. Finds that the relationship of the structure and functions of the song demonstrated the variation of egocentric speech connected to the child's thinking. Concludes that observation of form and content of such language use can provide information about language development, sense of self, and…

Reports on research examining whether first language learners do not include regular plural [-s] inflection within compounds, whereas they do include irregulars. Adolescent francophone English-as-Second-Language students and 15 adult native-speaker controls were required to generate novel compounds in English. Results report regular plurals were…

A study of 3 mothers and their 12- to 18-month-old at-risk children found mothers engaged in more physical play, used a directive interaction style, and needed a high number of bids to keep their child's attention. Talk and play improved when mothers used pictures in books to talk to children. (Author/CR)

Reviews interventions to help children who are deaf-blind to acquire and use communication skills. Focuses on children whose hearing and vision loss preclude traditional methods of communication training. Considers approaches from initial motor-based contacts with the outside environment to learning formal signs or the use of assistive technology.…

Discusses verbal strategies used by young children to express and construct a sense of togetherness. Presents the case study of one child, 3-5 years old, in his interactions with other children and teachers. Describes three general mechanisms for expressing togetherness: expression of common ground, of cooperation, and of care. (JPB)

Elementary and middle school children in California who speak Vietnamese as a first language reported high levels of oral competence in Vietnamese and a desire to maintain Vietnamese language and culture. There was no evidence that the development of the first language was a barrier to second language acquisition. (Author/VWL)

The present study investigated the effects of positive and negative GABA[subscript A] modulators under three different baselines of repeated acquisition in squirrel monkeys in which the monkeys acquired a three-response sequence on three keys under a second-order fixed-ratio (FR) schedule of food reinforcement. In two of these baselines, the…

This study investigated the effects of teaching mothers of low socioeconomic status (SES) to use decontextualized language during storybook reading with their preschool-age children. A multiple baseline design across behaviors and participants evaluated the effects of the intervention for five dyads. Mothers' and children's use of decontextualized…

This study investigated the contributions of four variables (children's expressive language scores at 30 months of age, mother's facilitation of child language, mother's education, and group assignment) to the prediction of IQ at age 3, verbal IQ at ages 5 and 8, and reading at age 8 for 571 children of low-birthweight. Four separate multiple…