Asperger syndrome (AS) is differentiated from high-functioning autism (HFA) largely on a history of "language delay." This study examined "specific language impairment" as a predictor of outcome. Language skills of 19 children with AS and 45 with HFA were assessed at 4-6 years of age (Time 1) and 2 years later (Time 2). Children's symptoms and…

Background: Although children with speech disorder are at increased risk of literacy impairments, many learn to read and spell without difficulty. They are also a heterogeneous population in terms of the number and type of speech errors and their identified speech processing deficits. One problem lies in determining which preschool children with…

This study investigated the effects of an explicit individualized phonemic awareness intervention administered by a speech-language pathologist to 4 prekindergarten children with phonological speech sound disorders. Research has demonstrated that children with moderate-severe expressive phonological disorders are at-risk for poor literacy…

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 purpose of the study was to examine the psychometric properties of the "Preschool Language Scale-4" (PLS-4) with a sample of English-speaking Hispanic and European American children who attended Head Start programs. Participants were 440 children between the ages of 3 and 5 years (52% male; 86% Hispanic and 14% European American).…

This study was designed to examine the effects of tracing and fading prompts to improve the handwriting of two preschoolers both diagnosed as Developmentally Delayed (DD) and one of whom had fine motor goals. The study took place in a self-contained special education public preschool classroom located in the Pacific Northwest. The results showed…

The seemingly simple task associated with formal reading instruction may be problematic for many students with speech and language delays who often enter school with meager literacy experiences (B. K. Gunn, D. C. Simmons, & E. J. Kame'enui, 1999). However, the challenges that students face may be reduced when reading instruction includes…

When Candi Carter, a producer at "The Oprah Winfrey Show", learned that her son, Emerson, was born with chromosome 8p, which causes heart defects, mental retardation, severe speech delay, and other issues, she was immediately thrust into the world of special needs parenting. Like many in her position, she learned quickly that her child's…

Children with autism may sometimes appear to be living in their own world and show very little interest in others. They may be socially unaware, avoiding eye contact and showing limited attachment to others. But when a child is able to express and communicate thoughts, desires, and needs, they are much more likely to seek out social interactions.…

The authors discuss cultural influences on clinical interactions when treating late talkers, 2- to 3-year-old children with primary language delays. They use the literature to examine the cultural relevance of core components of early language treatment and propose alternative professional actions in the cases of cultural mismatches. Alternative…

The British Picture Vocabulary Scale, second edition (BPVS-II), a measure of receptive vocabulary, is widely used by speech and language therapists and researchers into speech and language disorders, as an indicator of language delay, but it has frequently been suggested that receptive vocabulary may be more associated with socio-economic status.…

Efficacy of an explicit phonological awareness intervention embedded within repeated shared book reading with preschool children from low-income backgrounds with language delays was investigated. A multiple-baseline design across behaviors assessed the effects of phonological awareness training on rhyme and letter-sound knowledge with 13 preschool…

The phenomenon identified as naming is a key stage of language function that is missing in many children with autism and other language delay diagnoses. We identified four children with autism, who, prior to the implementation of this experiment, did not have the naming repertoire (either speaker to listener or listener to speaker) and who had no…

Purpose: This study examined the longitudinal relationships between lexical and grammatical development in typically developing (TD) and late-talking children for the purposes of testing the single-mechanism account of language acquisition and comparing the developmental trajectories of lexical and grammatical development in late-talking and TD…

Theory-of-mind (ToM) abilities were studied in 176 deaf children aged 3 years 11 months to 8 years 3 months who use either American Sign Language (ASL) or oral English, with hearing parents or deaf parents. A battery of tasks tapping understanding of false belief and knowledge state and language skills, ASL or English, was given to each child.…