Infants show shifting patterns of visual engagement to faces over the first years of life. To explore the adaptive implications of this engagement, we collected eye-tracking measures on cross-sectional samples of 10-25-month-old typically developing toddlers (TD;N = 28) and those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD;N = 54). Concurrent language…

In language learning, aided language modeling refers to the method by which communication partners provide models of the communication system used by individuals with complex communication repertoires that involving both symbols and speech. Providing aided language models creates opportunities for individuals with complex communication repertoires…

A systematic review of research on the effects of interventions that include communication partner modeling of aided augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) on the language acquisition of individuals with complex communication needs was conducted. Included studies incorporated AAC modeling as a primary component of the intervention,…

Joint attention (JA) skills are deficient in children with autism; however, children with autism seem to vary in the degree to which they display joint attention. Joint attention skills refer to verbal and nonverbal skills used to share experiences with others. They include gestures such as pointing, coordinated looks between objects and people,…

This is the first study to explore lexical and grammatical development in a deaf child diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Inattentive sub-type (ADHDI). The child, whose family language was Spanish, was fitted with a cochlear implant (CI) when she was 18 months old. ADHDI, for which she was prescribed medication, was diagnosed…

A 9-year-old autistic boy with language comprehension skills but minimal meaningful expressive language was exposed to a language training program. The program began with imitation of sounds and progressed to discrimination training, responding to his name, and partial verbalization. Positive reinforcement (including food and a revolving light)…

The connected discourse tracking technique was adapted to an auditory story modeling procedure with two four- to five-year-old children with moderately-severe hearing losses. Over four academic quarters, the two children's word per minute scores increased substantially demonstrating the feasibility of this task for children in this age range. (DB)

The study found that activities designed to improve the elaboration and/or retrieval of words with two language-impaired children (ages 9 and 10) showed definite effects with the greatest gains associated with activities focusing on both elaboration and retrieval. (Author/DB)

This report presents a three-year case study of oral-language skill development in a child with Floating-Harbor syndrome, a rare condition characterized by short stature, expressive language delay, and triangular facies. It discusses initial presenting speech and language characteristics, the naturalistic language intervention used, and long-term…

Four specific perspectives on narrative structure are briefly reviewed, and a case study is used to illustrate how these perspectives can provide useful insights into the language behavior of a language-disordered child. (Author/SW)

A diary study, in which observers recorded occurrences of vocal communications of a severely developmentally-delayed six-year-old, provided a scheme for categorizing and analyzing the vocalizations (into such areas as semantic, communicative, and phonological usage) and establishing a pattern of word development and possible interventions. (CB)

This study reports data on form classes (e.g., nouns, verbs, modifiers) of the early vocabulary of an English-speaking boy with autism, to determine whether his language acquisition was referential or expressive. Results are compared with norms for normal and Down's syndrome populations. The predominance of nominals suggests a referential language…

Discusses how single-word usage reflects two stages in child language development. Early words express internal states and share none of the corresponding semantic features of these words in adult language. Later words approximate the use of adult language and share standard semantic features of adult indicative words. (JMF)

This study evaluated a method of adult mediation with a deaf second grader which involved identification of language needs through transcription and analysis of the child's retellings of weekly basal stories, followed by targeted adult-mediated conversations. Evaluation indicated the student's performance on targeted semantic and syntactic…

The paper describes a successful attempt to stimulate expressive language in Becky, a young child with Cornelia de Lange syndrome, a condition characterized by moderate to severe mental retardation, dwarfed stature, and excessive body hair. The child participated in infant stimulation and individual speech therapy and her expressive output has…