Proposes that the confluence of stimulus appraisal and social cognition that is effected by the neural system in the brain has important implications for language and learning theories. Describes the anatomy and functions of this neural system and discusses how it may operate in motivation for second language acquisition and how in conjunction…

Assessed word-learning skills of 19 deaf/hard-of-hearing preschoolers either with novel mapping strategy to learn new words, or after minimal exposure when reference was explicitly established. Found that 11 children were able to learn words in both contexts, 5 only in the second, and 2 in neither. The latter 7 children eventually were able to…

This study, with 53 Mexican-American infants, found that five predictors accounted for approximately 35 percent of the variance in receptive language at 12 and 22 months with average parental generation from Mexico (acculturation) and infant visual recognition memory accounting for 14 and 15 percent of the variance, respectively. No predictors…

This article presents a conceptual model of the cognitive social bases of language derived from the philosophical view of constructionism and theoretical perspectives of speech act theory and relevance theory. The centrality of intent, modality and core issues of language, lack of construct validity in assessment, and heterogeneity are discussed.…

Examines arguments that language comes from innate, abstract knowledge of universal grammar that signers use to create new grammatical features. (12 references) (CK)

A cluster analytic study was conducted to derive behaviorally homogeneous subtypes of pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) based on a range of behavioral symptoms that characterize autism. Analysis of data on 34 children with PDD, 27 of whom met criteria for autism, indicated 4 distinct groups differing on independent measures of social,…

Acquisition of the location aspect of American Sign Language signs was examined in nine young hearing infants and toddlers of deaf parents. Sign locations, overall, were produced with 83.5% accuracy. Highly contrasting locations were acquired first. Location played a central role in young children's early sign language acquisition. (Author/DB)

Monolingual Spanish-speaking children between the ages of 2 and 4 were given two structured tasks that assessed the contrastive use of "se" for coding these functions. Results suggest there is a differential order of acquisition of the clitic "se," whereby children initially contrast regular and reflexive with nonreflexive…

A study compared 11 preschool children with developmental delays and 15 with autism to evaluate early vocal behaviors in young children with autism. Results indicated that children with autism did not have difficulty with the expression of well-formed syllables, however they did display significant impairments in vocal quality. (Contains…

A study involving 82 children with low vision evaluated the new developmental age levels and psychometric properties for the Reynell-Zinkin scales. The usefulness of age levels of the Reynell-Zinkin scales is discussed in relation to the aim of the scales, which is to have guidelines for assessment and developmental advice. (Contains references.)…

Discusses 16 well-reviewed software products designed for elementary grade students--those products that make explicit claims about developing students' lexical knowledge and those that do not. Also examines the potential of technology to enhance vocabulary learning. (Author/VWL)

This article discusses research findings in increasing language skills in children with autism, assessing and teaching precursors relating to positive outcome, the importance of family involvement in intervention, best practices for communicative interventions, interrelationships between language and other autistic behaviors, and the social and…

This article argues that the use of developmental apraxia of speech (DAS) as a label for infants and toddlers who are prelinguistic may prematurely label a young child. Diagnostic indicators are reviewed and suggestions for diagnostic therapy to pursue appropriate differential diagnoses in the infant-toddler population are proposed. (Contains…

The performance of 26 children (ages three through four) who were born before 32 weeks gestation was compared with the performance of 26 full-term children on a range of short-term memory and language measures. Preterm children scored more poorly across the full range of measures. One-third of the preterm children were identified as being "at…

Presents information on the normal sequence of speech and language development in young children. Describes how a teacher or family member can recognize a potential problem or delay in a child's language skills. Offers suggestions for enhancing early speech and language development, such as talking during routines. Lists favorite books for…