The article presents a typology of statements that can be made about discourse data. The classification is based on two parameters: level of generality and level of interpretation. Each of these is operationalized into three discrete levels, to yield a nine-cell table containing types of statements going from the presentation of a single case to…

Over time, the meaning of disability has been understood in a variety of ways. The way in which disability is understood is important because the language people use to describe individuals with disabilities influences their expectations and interactions with them. For physical education teachers, philosophical orientation in regard to disability…

This study investigated three conversational subskills in children with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS, n = 8, ages 7-13) and Williams syndrome (WS, n = 8, ages 6-12). The researchers re-evaluated these subskills after 18 to 24 months and compared them to those of peers with idiopathic intellectual disability (IID) and IID and comorbid…

In order to study problems of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) with morphosyntax, we investigated twenty high-functioning Greek-speaking children (mean age: 6;11) and twenty age- and language-matched typically developing children on environments that allow or forbid object clitics or their corresponding noun phrase. Children with…

The words 'children' (Danish: 'børn') and 'young people' (Danish: 'unge') are so often combined that they almost have the character of idiomatic expressions. But what differences in the use of the words can be found? This article seeks to study the prevalent, dominant discourses about children and young people. In particular, it endeavours to…

The data on language acquisition in children with specific language impairment (SLI) primarily come from studies in English reporting particular morphemes that differentiate them from their typically developing (TYP) peers, but markers of impairment vary cross-linguistically. There is some cross-linguistic evidence that SLI disrupts language…

The aim of this article is to analyze the Swedish scout program. Socialization is used as a theoretical tool in the analysis. The method is inspired by critical discourse analysis. What are children and young people being prepared for, how is it accomplished, and by whom? The findings reveal two discourses: doing things as an investment for the…

This comparative study examined how participation in an early childhood development (ECD) program, "Better Beginnings, Better Futures," for children (ages 4-8) relates to sense of community (SOC) in later adolescence (ages 18-19). Youths' stories (N = 96) about community experiences, collected by semistructured, open-ended interviews,…

We examined processing of verbal irony in three groups of children: (1) 18 children with high-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (HFASD), (2) 18 typically-developing children, matched to the first group for verbal ability, and (3) 18 typically-developing children matched to the first group for chronological age. We utilized an irony…

Purpose: This study was designed to (a) compare the speech fluency of school-age children who do and do not stutter (CWS and CWNS, respectively) within 2 standard diagnostic speaking contexts (conversation and narration) while also controlling for speaking topic, and (b) examine the extent to which children's performance on such discourse tasks is…

This study explores how intertextuality influences the narrative practices of young deaf children in two classrooms. Specifically, the study examines how variations in what texts are made available to juxtapose and variations in how texts are juxtaposed influence the narratives young deaf children produce. A major premise underlying these two…

Background: Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) include the range of disabilities that occur in children exposed to alcohol during pregnancy, with Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) on the severe end of the spectrum. Clinical research has documented a range of cognitive, social, and communication deficits in FASD and it indicates the need for…

Through analysis of chimpanzee-human discourse, study shows that four chimpanzees exposed to humanly devised symbol system use partial or complete repetition of others' symbols. They do not produce rote imitations but use repetition to fulfill variety of pragmatic functions in discourse. Theories are advanced regarding meaning of two differences…

Examines how children (ages 6-7 and 10-11) interpret and respond to representations of sexual behavior on television and how they define what is appropriate for themselves and for children in general. Examines, through discourse analysis, how children's discussions of these issues serve as a form of "identity work," through which they…

The view that child maltreatment is the result of a breakdown in normal family communication processes suggests that difficulties in verbal interaction may be found in nearly all interactions between maltreating parents and their children. To explore this possibility, a comparative study was made of the conversations of maltreating mothers and…