Background: Effective co-practice is essential to deliver services for children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). The necessary skills, knowledge and resources are distributed amongst professionals and agencies. Co-practice is complex and a number of barriers, such as "border disputes" and poor awareness of respective…

The wide use of English has given rise to the World Englishes (WE) paradigm, within which there has been a growing interest in the pedagogical implications of the varieties of English. A frequently documented rationale for the marriage between second language education and WE is that WE users should be aware of the potential problems in WE…

This case study was designed to measure the response of one student with blindness and selective mutism to the intervention of voice-output devices across two years and two different teachers in two instructional settings. Before the introduction of the voice output devices, the student did not choose to communicate using spoken language or…

Factor analytic studies have been conducted to examine the inter-relationships and degree of overlap among symptoms in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This paper reviewed 36 factor analytic studies that have examined ASD symptoms, using 13 different instruments. Studies were grouped into three categories: Studies with all DSM-IV symptoms, studies…

Rett syndrome (RTT) is associated with a range of serious neurodevelopmental consequences including severe communicative impairments. Currently, no evidence-based communication interventions exist for the population (Sigafoos et al., 2009). The purpose of the current study was to examine the effectiveness of functional assessment (FA) and…

Literacy and language development is a central aspect of educational theory and practice. One area of literacy and language research that has had a lot of attention is dialogic teaching (Bakhtin, 1984; Freire, 1970; Murphey, Wilkinson, Soter, Hennessey, & Alexander, 2009; Reznitskaya & Gregory, 2013). However, there is limited research on…

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) has been argued to cause (mis)communication issues. Research and practice suggest a range of tactics and strategies for educators focused on how to encourage and foster communication in a virtual learning environment (VLE) (eg, Salmon). However, while frameworks such as Salmon's support the effective…

To understand the challenges and their causes in interactions between Western supervisors and international doctoral students, we conducted a self-study of our experiences as a Chinese international student and her Dutch supervisor during her doctoral research project. We found the supervisor and the student to differ in their expectations of the…

Increasing numbers of students with autism are being educated in mainstream schools. However, outcomes for students with autism are poor when compared to typical students and students with other developmental disabilities. In order to better understand facilitators and barriers to success at school for students with autism, research into the…

Children with complex communication needs (CCN) face many challenges in their daily life. They can struggle academically and socially if their communicative needs are not supported consistently by those who provide care for them. They frequently use Augmentative or Alternative Communication (AAC) systems or devices to communicate. The purposes of…

Rett syndrome (RTT) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, including autonomic nervous system dysfunctions and severe communication impairment with an extremely limited ability to use verbal language. These individuals are therefore dependent on the capacity of caregivers to observe and interpret communicative signals, including emotional expressions.…

This study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of using the high-tech speech-generating device with Proloquo2Go app to reduce echolalic utterances in a student with autism during conversational speech. After observing that the iPad device with several apps was used by the students and that it served as a communication device, language…

This investigation explored the interactions between paraeducators and the culturally and linguistically diverse families of their students with disabilities. Paraeducators (n = 117) attending a statewide professional development event responded to a questionnaire designed to explore their interactions with diverse parents and families. Results…

This study investigated the psychosocial adjustment and anxiety of adolescents during a 7-month exercise intervention programme. In addition, extensive research on the psychosocial adjustment of adolescents during intense physical activity was performed. The experimental group included adolescent girls (n = 110) and boys (n = 107) aged between 14…

In this article I will first discuss the notions of "politeness" and "impoliteness" including a multilevel model of politeness and impoliteness that relates universal levels to culture- and language-specific ones. Given this framework and my earlier postulation of a set of parameters along which members of two linguacultures differ in terms of…