scholarly journals Mothers' Social Communicative Adjustments to Young Children With Mild Developmental Delays

Author(s):  
Michael J. Guralnick ◽  
Brian Neville ◽  
Mary A. Hammond ◽  
Robert T. Connor
1994 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theresa A. Kouri

Lexical comprehension skills were examined in 20 young children (aged 28–45 months) with developmental delays (DD) and 20 children (aged 19–34 months) with normal development (ND). Each was assigned to either a story-like script condition or a simple ostensive labeling condition in which the names of three novel object and action items were presented over two experimental sessions. During the experimental sessions, receptive knowledge of the lexical items was assessed through a series of target and generalization probes. Results indicated that all children, irrespective of group status, acquired more lexical concepts in the ostensive labeling condition than in the story narrative condition. Overall, both groups acquired more object than action words, although subjects with ND comprehended more action words than subjects with DD. More target than generalization items were also comprehended by both groups. It is concluded that young children’s comprehension of new lexical concepts is facilitated more by a context in which simple ostensive labels accompany the presentation of specific objects and actions than one in which objects and actions are surrounded by thematic and event-related information. Various clinical applications focusing on the lexical training of young children with DD are discussed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melinda Raab ◽  
Carl J. Dunst ◽  
Deborah W. Hamby

Findings from a randomized control design efficacy trial of an asset-based vs. needs-based approach to the response-contingent learning of infants and toddlers with significant developmental delays and disabilities who did not use instrumental behavior to produce or elicit reinforcing consequences are reported. The investigation included 71 children randomly assigned to the two contrasting types of interventions. The asset-based intervention and needs-based intervention differed in terms of how child behavior were identified and used to elicit reinforcing consequences as part of response-contingent learning games implemented by the children’s parents or other primary caregivers. Children in the asset-based group were provided more learning opportunities, acquired more response-contingent behavior, and demonstrated more efficient learning compared to children in the needs-based group. Implications for improving practices for very young children with significant developmental delays and multiple disabilities are described.


Gesture ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 375-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley B. de Marchena ◽  
Inge-Marie Eigsti

Co-speech gestures in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are poorly understood. Historically, all gestures were thought to be reduced in this social-communicative disorder; however, reduced gestures have not been consistently demonstrated in the empirical literature. Just as protodeclarative pointing is reduced in young children with ASD, while protoimperative pointing is not, the varied functions of co-speech gesture may explain these mixed findings. Verbally fluent adolescents with ASD (n = 18) and controls (n = 18) completed a narrative task and a standardized executive function task. Gestures on the narrative task, which serve a wide range of social and cognitive functions, were reduced in ASD. Gestures on the executive function task, which serve primarily cognitive functions, were increased in ASD. Gesture function may be the best predictor of the presence or absence of gesture in ASD. Despite reduced social-communicative gestures, individuals with ASD may benefit from gesture’s internal, cognitive functions.


2004 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 223-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Crnic ◽  
Casey Hoffman ◽  
Catherine Gaze ◽  
Craig Edelbrock

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document