This longitudinal study looked at how communication developed in seven deaf infants (ages 6-18 months) with either deaf or hearing parents. The children were video- recorded in interactional settings with their parents in their home every second month. A parallel study was conducted with seven blind infants and three severely visually impaired…

This document presents an overview and progress report on the Family Research Project, started in 1974 to (1) study the relationship between family process and individual development of family members, especially children, (2) conceptualize and measure system level variables describing family structure and process, (3) develop microanalytic…

This study compared interactions in 18 families headed by either deaf or hearing parents with an eldest hearing child (aged 7 to 11). Transcripts of parent/child dyadic interactions during a vacation planning activity were analyzed. There were no significant differences between children in the two groups, though deaf parents demonstrated less…

This study collected normative behavioral data from extemporaneous 3-minute conversations of 50 typically developing adolescents. Analysis found the following high frequency behaviors: directing gaze at the partner, nodding and showing neutral and positive facial expressions, using back-channel responses, and giving contingent responses.…

Three matched groups--hearing mother-hearing child, hearing mother-deaf child, and deaf mother-deaf child--were videotaped. Hearing mothers of deaf children were less likely to adapt their interactional strategies to meet their children's communicative needs and achieve intersubjectivity than were the other mothers. Results support Lev S.…

In this study, 23 young children with developmental delays interacted with an adult, who conducted 2 play sessions using 2 interactive styles differing in the adult's use of topic-continuing wh-questions. Use of the questions supported child conversational continuations at all language levels. (DB)

This observational study examined 60 mothers' comments during play with their 4- to 8-month-old infants who had been either full-term, preterm well, or preterm sick. Mothers of sick preterm babies engaged in the most overall talking, mothers of full-term babies made the most negative remarks, and mothers of healthy preterm babies made the fewest…

A longitudinal study (with data collected at 54 and 83 months of age) was conducted of conversational control in 34 dyads of mothers and their children with severe and profound hearing losses. Results indicated that maternal control was negatively related to the children's developmental levels, and declines in control were not commensurate with…

Evaluation of the conversational behavior of 36 children (ages 48-59 months) playing in dyads with 3 different materials (modeling dough, a farm set, and animal puppets) found that each toy elicited the same amount of talking, though there were differences in discourse structure attributable to play materials. (DB)

An exploration of the interpretive potential semiotics offers for study and understanding of meaning production in science classrooms is presented. Some very basic concepts of the theory are introduced, followed by analysis of a single science lesson. The organization of the room, the structure of the lesson, and the behavior and interaction of…

Examination of the effects of adult antecedent utterances on echolalia in seven male children with autism (ages five and six) during free play found that most immediate echoes followed high constraint utterances and were used as responsives, organizational devices, and cognitives. Most delayed echoes followed low constraint utterances and were…

This study investigated the effects of a peer-mediated intervention on the social interaction of five triads composed of preschoolers with autism and typical peers. Improved rates of social interaction during play were clearly associated with the peer intervention for four of the five children with autism. (Author/DB)

This study of the pragmatic characteristics of conversations between mothers and their 30 preschool children with developmental delays found significant differences between naturally occurring and researcher-introduced semistructured situations in the proportions of conversational turns taken and the pragmatic functions of mothers' and children's…

Both deaf and hearing mothers (N=23) were observed in videotaped face-to-face interactions with their infants (also either deaf or hearing) and maternal touching behavior was coded for intensity, location, and type. Deaf mothers were especially responsive to tactile needs of their deaf infants. However, hearing mothers of deaf infants also…

The amount and intelligibility of spoken language output were evaluated in 15 deaf children (ages 4 to 9 years) during 15 minutes of free play with either their mothers or a hearing peer. Results indicated that significantly more speech was produced during the children's interactions with their mothers. (Author/DB)