An approach to ameliorate social perception deficits in learning disabled children is described. Based on task analysis and diagnosis and prescription, the approach is seen to cover four stages in teaching nonverbal communication skills: discrimination of specific social cues (body language), understanding of the social meanings of such cues,…

Examines the reception of structured exercises drawn from fantasy and nonverbal communication methods by individuals in group setting. Participants were very favorably disposed toward exercises. Review and study suggest further research. (NRB)

Finds that subjects primarily used a communicator's verbal plausibility, nervousness, and nonverbal expectancies violation to guide veracity judgments. Shows that accuracy was higher for participants judging truthful communicators than for subjects judging deceptive communicators. Discusses a truth bias and the use of global heuristics as possible…

Facial responsiveness to pleasant and unpleasant odors was examined in 5- to 12-year-old children. Children failed to display reflex-like patterns, but exhibited facial configurations that varied according to odor and social condition. Results suggest that facial responsiveness to odors is flexible and able to reorganize and supports emotional and…

Studied the gestures of blind, sighted, and blindfolded sighted 10- through 12-year olds as they engaged in narration, direction giving, or conservation tasks. Found that blind children produced gestures, though not in all contexts in which sighted children produced gestures; and that blind children's gestures resembled sighted children's gestures…

Describes the development of an experimental measure for assessing growth in expressive communication in children from birth to 3 years of age Results from a sample of 50 infants and toddlers assessed monthly for 9 months in indicated that the measure displayed adequate psychometric properties of reliability and validity and was sensitive to…

Argues that fine arts have never gained a major place in either public school curricula or educational research because artists, critics, and educators have been unable or unwilling to define art. Proposes a working definition of art as visual communication that would permit systematic curriculum development and instructional research. (FMW)

Autistic leading in four autistic children, aged three-five, was treated by strengthening pointing as an alternative form of request. Following intervention, pointing gradually replaced leading, and stimulus generalization was observed. Results indicate that functional equivalence and response efficiency can be procedurally combined to…

Attempts to identify elements of universal language and probes the limitations of the communication metaphor. Universal language is discussed in terms of the theory of quantum nonlocality and the implications of this theory for communication with extraterrestrial beings. (PCB)

The investigation compared the transparency of 11 different types of symbols with 40 nonspeaking mentally retarded subjects (ages 4-20). Analysis indicated a hierarchy of difficulty with actual objects the easiest and Blissymbols and written words the hardest to understand. Results have implications for selecting initial symbol systems for…

The article reviews issues related to the cognitive styles, processing modes, and learning strengths and weaknesses that should be considered when selecting augmentative and alternative communication techniques for persons with autism. Stressed is the need to change communication techniques to accommodate the expanding needs and capabilities of…

A literature review notes how gender expectations lead to nonverbal communication differences in such behaviors as smiling, eye contact, kinesics, proximics, and decoding. The importance of the effective use of nonverbal communication in human resource development is emphasized. (SK)

The study compared the nonverbal emotional expressions of five young children (ages three through five) with autism and five typical children. Although frequency of emotional displays was similar in both groups, children with autism displayed happy, sad, and angry faces during incongruent contextual events. (Author/DB)

Videotaped elicited short Spanish texts and free conversations from a 23-year-old deaf woman and a 57-year-old deaf man who used Argentine Sign Language (LSA) showed that negative statements generally included a negative manual sign. The sign DECIR-NO (SAY-NO) functions in LSA as an agreement negative verb. There also exists an affirmative…