Reports on the continuing work in the development of a computerized writing system for American Sign Language (ASL) called Signfont. Inventories for handshapes and nonmanual markers are presented and discussed extensively. A proposed inventory of phonetic handshapes in ASL are appended. (Author/LMO)

Fourteen strategies a hard-of-hearing mother uses while reading a book with her hard-of-hearing preschool son are observed. These strategies are grouped in four large categories: (1) confirmation of child's understanding; (2) focusing attention on the book and its content; (3) specific language input; (4) concept development. (Author/LMO)

Describes how four teachers use reading as an integral part of their writing instruction. (SRT)

Spanish-speaking children of Mexican descent living in California were tested on the acquisition of 18 Spanish consonants. The 120 subjects (aged 3 to 5:7 years) were equally divided into eight age groups, and the median ages (50%) and upper age limits (90%) of customary production of each consonant were determined. (Author/JDD)

Research literature on childrens' causal understanding in oral and written settings is reviewed. Results show that maturation and task complexity both influence childrens' causal understanding. However, the findings are contradictory, and no generalizations could be made about which factors influence causal understanding and at which ages they are…

Reviews history and research of sensorimotor and language development in handicapped children, two research studies on the relationship between sensorimotor development and communication status in nonverbal severely mentally retarded subjects, problems using standardized sensorimotor scales, and an alternative approach involving direct measurement…

Explains the relationship between understanding a temporal or causal event and the ability to articulate and comprehend sentences about the event. The subjects of the research were 60 children from an Italian elementary school, 20 each from the first, third, and fifth grades. (CFM)

Many severely disabled individuals who rely on augmentative and alternative communication systems experience difficulties using newly acquired communication skills in settings different from those introduced in the instructional context and with different conversational partners. Methods of promoting functional communication skills are addressed,…

This paper is concerned with the issues surrounding the mathematical education of traditionally oriented Aboriginal children. A wide-ranging review of the relevant literature is presented and discussed with a view to developing more effective educational procedures. The discussion is intended to be relevant to other culture-conflict educational…

Parents of 31 developmentally delayed children (ages 1-27 months) received training to assess their children's developmental status. No initial differences existed between parent and professional scores in the motor, social, or language domains. Differences in the self-help domain disappeared after 4 months and in the cognitive domain after 12…

The Test of Auditory Comprehension of Language was used to evaluate language comprehension of Chicano and Anglo kindergarten children in rural Wyoming. Children were tested upon entering kindergarten and after 20 weeks of regular instruction. Both groups made significant gains; Anglo children did significantly better than Chicanos on both tests.…

Describes recent research findings in the area of neurobiology and its relationship to learning and memory. The article provides definitions of associative and nonassociative learning, identifies essential memory trace circuits of the mammalian brain, and discusses some neural mechanisms of learning. (TW)

Correlates high incidence of chronic middle ear infection in American Indian children aged 3-16 years with problems of language development, acquisition, and use. (LFL)

Shares the experiences of a teacher educator who, upon teaching language arts every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon for a year, observed numerous reading and writing language experiences. (HOD)

Discusses materials in the ERIC system that deal with the concept of scaffolding, building on children's natural language, and ways teachers have translated the concept into instructional strategies. (HTH)