Data seem to indicate that for children disadvantaged with respect to social class and ethnic background there is a functional interaction between art and language which allows such children to give verbal expression to their conceptual development. (Authors)

Discusses the use of euphemisms, self-aggrandizing expressions, semi-pseudo-technical jargon, idioms, etc., in everyday usage of English. (RB)

Presents the results of an investigation of age trends in the development of ideational fluency among 7-to-12 year-olds in which verbal, figural, and Draw-a-Man tests were administered to school children in five groups at 1-year intervals between the ages of 7 and 12. A 13-item reference list is included. (Author/JL)

Investigates the syntactical level of spontaneous and echolalic utterances of 26 autistic boys at different stages of phrase speech development. Speech samples were collected over a 90-minute period in unstructured settings in participants' homes. Imitations were not deliberately elicited, and only unprompted, noncommunicative echoes were…

Reading skills change developmentally, from acquisition of decoding skills to reading-to-learn. This article discusses the non-instructional and instructional factors that associate with acquisition, and the non-instructional and instructional factors that associate with reading-to-learn. (Author/BW)

Discusses a study to determine the extent to which education results in enduring effects in the area of verbal skills. Research is based on a causal model of the enduring effects of education. Findings indicate that previous studies have seriously overestimated the enduring effects of education. (Author/DB)

A comprehension task employing English animate third person pronouns was run on 100 children from three to seven years of age. Results show that comphrehension of forms beyond chance level first appears at age five, with continuing improvement through ages six and seven. Mastery of gender distinction preceded number and case. (Author/PJM)

The development of communication ability between very young children is examined. (JD)

Reviews research to date dealing with attempts to conceptualize a framework for analysis of communication skills acquired in early childhood years. (MH)

The phonotactic development of one child is traced from age 3;9 to 5;3. Data are presented in a table indicating both the child's phonological equivalent of adult consonant sequences and the range distinguished by the child at a given stage. (CHK)

The verbal interactions of 20 mothers with their children, who were between 1.9 and 5.0 years old, were recorded and analyzed. (SB)

Examines the relationship between adult recasts of child utterances and the child's acquisition of syntactic structures. Results indicate that maternal recasts of specific morphemes were related to the acquisition of those specific morphemes during certain developmental periods, whereas other grammatical morphemes were facilitated by expansions…