Studies of the written language of students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing addressed, among other topics, level of reading skills, development of language skills after age 12, and evidence of a critical age for language learning. Data collection methods, research outcomes, and an overview of other articles in the theme issue are discussed. (CR)

The compositions of 49 students (ages 10-14) with deafness or hearing impairments and 49 typical students were compared to investigate the frequency and proportional distribution of written-language variables. Differences were found between the strategies chosen by the students with deafness or hearing impairments in both syntax and semantics and…

The relationship between play scores and communication skills, measured in two ways, was investigated in 19 young children with Down syndrome. Results found the relationship between observations of children's play skills and their language competence was strongest when play scores were compared to mothers' reports of communicative competence.…

A study assessed whether two children (ages 4-6) with autism could be taught a child-initiated query as a pivotal response to facilitate the use of grammatical morphemes. Children learned the strategy and acquired and generalized the targeted morpheme. Children also showed increases in mean length of utterance and verb acquisition. (Contains…

Maintains that Tabors' edited work is the most comprehensive and practical book on the topic available and an essential part of the knowledge base for early care and education professionals. Highlights the book's practical suggestions, concrete examples to illustrate language principles, and recommendations for teachers. Asserts that the content…

Lexical diversity of 53 children with specific language impairment (SLI) (ages 3-7) was compared to 91 typical peers and younger children matched for mean length of utterance in words (MLUw). Older subgroups showed higher lexical diversity. At lower MLUw levels, children with SLI showed higher diversity than the younger children. (Contains…

A study examined how 44 bilingual (Spanish-English) children (ages 4-7) used taxonomic versus slot-filler strategies in a category-generation task presented in both languages. Younger bilingual children generated approximately equal numbers of items in both conditions, however, older bilingual children were beginning to demonstrate a taxonomic…

This study compared the receptive language of adolescents and young adults with either Down syndrome (n=25), fragile X syndrome (n=19), or mental age matched typically developing children (n=24). Individuals with the syndromes differed in relative achievements across the domains of receptive vocabulary, receptive syntax, nonverbal cognition, and…

Evaluation of the ability of 77 students who are moderately to profoundly deaf to solve arithmetic word problems found that students who are deaf experienced delays in successful work problem performance. Results support the idea that the delayed language acquisition of this population affects their capacity to solve arithmetic word problems.…

This article introduces the concept of a multi-component working memory. Emphasis is placed on the phonological loop component, its fractionation into a storage and processing component, and implications for native and second language learning. An overview of the visual spatial sketchpad and its possible role in language is provided. (Contains…

This study examined the prevalence of otitis media with effusion (OME) in 14 children (ages 8-66 months) with developmental disabilities attending center-based childcare. Although younger children had more OME than older children, children with Down syndrome had the highest incidence of OME regardless of age. Implications of OME for fluctuating…

Explored relation between infants' early spontaneous imitation of novel and familiar words and subsequent lexicons in longitudinal sample between 13 and 21 months. Found marked contrasts in quantity and proportions of nouns between reported and observed lexicons. When earlier vocabulary levels were controlled, infants' early replication of novel…

A study considered the validity of portions of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories (MCDI) for 50 pediatric cochlear implant users (ages 1-6) who exceeded the age ranges for which these inventories were normed. Results indicate MCDI scores plus age could be used to obtain Reynell Developmental Language Scales scores. (Contains…

Describes the transition from single to multiple word utterances in one child. The development illustrates the initial dissociation and later coordination of the temporal chaining of elements and meaning relatedness between elements and also the importance of repetition for the change from single-word utterances to meaning-related, multiword…

Input language addressed to language-learning children was analyzed to assess the quality of the semantic-syntactic correspondence posited by the semantic bootstrapping hypothesis. This correspondence was strong--objects were labeled with nouns, actions with verbs, attributes with adjectives--and may serve to make children's construction of…