There is considerable debate regarding the simplification of adults' language when talking to young children with expressive language delays (ELD). While simplified input, also called telegraphic speech, is used by many parents and clinicians working with young children, its use has been discouraged in much of the clinical literature. In addition…

This article reviews the nature and function of recasts, a well-documented way of responding to young children. The paper challenges the definition of recast and argues that it is too broad a category to be useful, either for theories of language development or for practice. In particular, various forms of recast have featured in intervention…