Total communication procedures were used with three severely mentally retarded children (mental ages 2 to 4) to examine the effects of receptive speech on the acquisition and maintenance of manual signing. Signs corresponding to known words were generally acquired faster and retained better than signs corresponding to unknown words. (Author/JW)

An adaptation of the Fluency in Controlled Association subtest of the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination was administered to language-disordered (N=123) and non-disabled (N=286) kindergarten through ninth-grade students. Lack of significant differences on this task suggests that it may not be an appropriate screening device for identifying…

Comparison of Test of Early Language Development (TELD) scores of developmentally-delayed three- to six-year-olds (N=85) with other language and cognition measures indicated that TELD scores documented language delays, correlating strongly with other language measures, but failed to accurately classify subjects clinically classified as…

Proposes a heuristic to generate specific and vivid phrasing and to draw on the right hemisphere of the brain for the substance of the essay. Describes stages of process as DRAW (Delineate, Ruminate, Analogize, and Write). Emphasizes creative description and expressive language rather than generation of ideas. (JG)

The Double Administration Naming Technique assists clinicians in obtaining qualitative information about a client's visual confrontation naming skills through administration of a standard naming test; readministration of the same test; identification of single and double errors; cuing for double naming errors; and qualitative analysis of naming…

The exploratory study examined the effectiveness of the Van Dijk method of developing language skills with four deaf-blind infants and their mothers over a two-month period. Findings indicated increased expressive/elocutionary communicative output with concomitant reduction in self-stimulatory, abusive, and tantrum-like behaviors. (DB)

Discusses a variety of storytelling techniques. Emphasizes the importance of children's involvement in the construction and use of storytelling props. Concludes that storytelling helps children develop a positive attitude toward learning and extends their opportunities for literacy development. (RWB)

Compared linguistic flexibility of deaf and hearing children aged 8 to 15 by examining relative frequencies of their nonliteral constructions in stories written and signed or spoken. Considered seven types of nonliteral constructions. Results suggest deaf children are more competent linguistically and cognitively than are hearing children. (SKC)

Twenty language-impaired and 20 unimpaired children, aged 9-11, generated and retold stories and answered comprehension questions. The stories produced by language-disordered children contained fewer complete story episodes, fewer main and subordinate clauses per complete episode, and a lower frequency of use of story grammar components than those…

Three types of rapid message composition for non-speaking persons, classified according to keyboard, are described: sequential keyboard, "semantic" input through iconic representation, and chord keyboard. The strengths, drawbacks, and potential of each type are discussed for a user population with good keying ability and normal cognitive and…

Technical (e.g., the need for more audiologists) and educational (e.g., the need for personnel preparation) considerations are examined in terms of maximizing the use of residual hearing with hearing impaired students. Historical and current approaches to auditory training are discussed, as is the role of prosody in spoken language comprehension,…

Examines young children's developing ability to talk about emotions, considers evidence concerning the ability to talk about emotions in the conduct of interpersonal interaction, and offers ideas about future directions for research, emphasizing the functionalist approach to the analysis of emotion-denoting terms. (HOD)

Five receptive and five expressive considerations are presented which serve as guidelines for the selection of informal evaluation tasks. The resulting procedure provides descriptive data on a student's auditory processing skills and his/her ability to use language for various purposes. (Author/CL)

Evaluates James L. Kinneavy's theory of discourse. Suggests that Kinneavy's theory would profit from internal development and shows how his terminology is capable of systematic elaboration. (RBW)