There is growing interest in the role that physical illness and pain might play in exacerbating problem behavior in individuals with developmental disabilities. Assessment of these factors, however, is often difficult since many individuals have minimal verbal communication skills. In response to this difficulty, we developed a sequential method…

It is proposed that the identification and description of students with communication problems requires assessments in four domains: (1) linguistic ability; (2) cognitive ability; (3) social skill; and (4) pragmatic competence. Evidence from research on individuals with mental retardation and other developmental disorders is presented. (SLD)

This introduction to the special issue summarizes issues raised in the nine subsequent contributed papers, which discuss research findings on communication and language development in persons with mental retardation or developmental disabilities. The paper stresses the direct relevance of the research for prevention, assessment, intervention, and…

This monograph presents 11 papers on a study of the problem of specific diagnosis with children who do not communicate effectively. About 500 children with inadequate communication skills, selected as having a developmental language disorder, autism, or low IQ without autistic features, were studied by a multidisciplinary team. Data collected…