Two studies investigated factors affecting children's (n=48) choice of pronouns as referring expressions. Findings indicate the children (ages 2-3) did not use pronouns differentially when the adult model them or they witnessed a target event, but did use pronouns differently depending on the immediately preceding discourse of the experimenter.…

Describes a study that compared the language abilities of first and third grade children. The children's narratives were analyzed for differences in T-units and the use of reference and conjoining. Results indicate that the older children used longer T-units and generally had more cohesive ties within their narratives. (Author/SED)

The relationship between interactive play and the frequency of related responding to comments was investigated within the dyadic interactions between a language impaired 4-year-old and 4 normal language users. While the frequency of related responses was variable for the subject, the frequencies of related responses of normal children were…

Two mentally retarded boys with autism and one girl with Down syndrome were successfully taught to initiate and play a ball game with an adult. The program targeted both nonverbal responses (such as ball contact and cooperative play) and verbal responses for play initiation and compliment delivery. (Author/JDD)

Sound play is important to child language development in that it contributes to the phonetic substrate, it is a factor in phonological development, and it is something to be learned as part of the socially acceptable use of language. Sound play progresses in three stages: (1) babbling, in which a gradual acquisition of phonetic units is built up…

Stories were read daily at school and home to 32 children, aged 3-10, with severe learning difficulties. After eight months, almost all of the children showed improvements in verbal comprehension greater than gains of a comparison group, and the older children showed improvements in verbal expression. (Author/JDD)

A practicum study, recognizing the expressive language delays of inner-city kindergarten children, implemented two strategies to increase their expressive language ability and their mean length of utterance. The target population, 14 kindergarten students who demonstrated vocabulary development delays on the Brigance Kindergarten Screening Test,…

A study examined the use of a body awareness microcomputer program on young children as a predictor of early reading achievement. Subjects, 58 preschool and kindergarten students (prereaders) from a university laboratory school in the southern region of the United States, were asked to work in the microcomputer center in small groups to identify…

The purpose of this study is to compare the English syntactic structures produced in spontaneous oral language and the receptive English syntactic and vocabulary skills of bilingual Spanish and Indian children and monolingual Anglo-Americans, all of whom qualify for Title I elementary schools (Grades 1-6). People in Action, the Northwestern Syntax…

This study investigated parents' and teachers' expectations of Auditory-Verbal therapy and the child's language development. Data were collected by questionnaires that were distributed to parents and teachers at three early intervention centers. Twenty matching questionnaires were completed and returned. The results of this study showed that the…