Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have been gaining attention, partly as an example of unusual developmental trajectories related to early neurobiological differences. The present investigation addressed the process of learning new words to explore mechanisms of language delay and impairment. The sample included 21 typically developing toddlers…

The body awareness of 124 toddlers with mental retardation and of 124 children developing normally matched to them on age and gender was examined. Twenty-nine of the children with mental retardation were diagnosed as Down syndrome (DS). The "Pointing and Naming" Test of Berges and Lezine [Berges, J., & Lezine, I. (1978). "Test d'imitation de…

In the UK, exclusions from school because of behaviour problems usually occur when other alternatives have proved unsuccessful. There is some evidence to suggest that behaviour problems and resulting school exclusions are associated with language impairment. In older children who are permanently excluded, expressive rather than receptive language…

Nineteen shy, twenty-three middle and twenty-five non-shy junior kindergarten children were assessed at school by an unfamiliar examiner, and at home where their parents administered a parallel form of the expressive and receptive vocabulary tests given at school. A speech sample between the child and parent was also collected at home. Shy…

In this study, the purpose was to determine whether there was concordance among raters in the assessment of the writing performance using analytic rubric; furthermore, factors affecting the assessment process were examined. The analytic rubric used in the study consists of three sections and ten properties: External structure (format, spelling and…

Teachers working with children with autism spectrum disorders were surveyed to determine the characteristics of children with whom Social Stories are used, how extensively they are employed and the types of behaviors targeted by teachers; how and why teachers use Social Stories (including the extent to which Social Stories conform to recommended…

Electrocorticographic (ECoG) spectral patterns obtained during language tasks from 12 epilepsy patients (age: 12-44 years) were analyzed in order to identify and characterize cortical language areas. ECoG from 63 subdural electrodes (500 Hz/channel) chronically implanted over frontal, parietal and temporal lobes were examined. Two language tasks…

The current study examined consistency between parental reports on early language development and behaviors in non-language domains and observer-coded videotapes of young children with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and autistic regression. Data are reported on 56 children (84% male) with ASD (early onset or autistic regression) and 14…

Purpose: This is the 2nd article of a companion set (the 1st article being on language and independence). It presents research examining parental perspectives on aspects of impairment in their offspring involving families rearing children with specific language impairment (SLI). Method: The same sample as that of the 1st study participated in this…

This study investigated the relationship between receptive and productive vocabulary size. The experimental design expanded upon earlier methodologies by using equivalent receptive and productive test formats with different receptive and productive target words to provide more accurate results. Translation tests were scored at two levels of…

Interest in students who exhibit characteristics with difficulties in learning can be traced as far back as 1800. In order to better understand the complexities and causes of learning disabilities, many researchers (Bannatyne, 1968, 1974; Rugal, 1974) have investigated ways to better identify learners who struggle with academics. A strong argument…

This study's primary purpose was to examine the relative contribution of social-behavioral predictors to reading and math skills. The study expands on Duncan et al.'s (2007) work by using longitudinal methodology from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development's Study of Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD) and the Early…

This study sought to test the most efficient representation mode with which children with hearing impairment could express a story while producing connectives indicating relations of time and of cause and effect. Using Bruner's (1973, 1986, 1990) representation stages, we tested the comparative effectiveness of Virtual Reality (VR) as a mode of…

This paper reports on the writing of grade seven learners in English as an additional language at four differently resourced schools in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Because grade seven is the start of the senior phase of schooling, it is vital that learners achieve grade-level competence in the language used as medium of instruction.…

Purpose: To draw on multiple sources of information to determine prevalence of speech and language impairment in young Australian children. Method: Information about 4,983 children (ages 4-5 years) from Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2007) was obtained via parent…