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Speech following sign language training in autistic children with minimal verbal language.

This study was carried out to test the main and interaction effects of training condition and pretreatment-elicited verbal imitation ability when predicting spoken language use during language training of 60 minimally verbal autistic children. Subjects were randomly assigned to Speech Alone, Sign Alone, Simultaneous Presentation of Sign and Speech, and Alternating Presentation of Sign and Speech training conditions. Speech Alone, Simultaneous Presentation, and Alternating Presentation condition facilitated more child-initiated speech during treatment than did the Sign Alone condition. Regardless of training condition, pretreatment verbal imitation ability positively predicted the size of child-initiated spoken vocabulary observed during training. Exploratory analyses indicated that, in addition to verbal imitation, pretreatment age and IQ may also predict spoken language developed during training.

Autistic Disorder↗

Infants with congenital deafness: on the importance of early sign language acquisition.

Two boys who both had a profound bilateral hearing impairment met at a specialized sign preschool. Their preconditions were quite different, since in one of them the hearing impairment was detected in the maternity ward with the aid of otoacoustic emissions, and habilitation had begun at age 4 months. The other boy's impairment was not detected until age 2 years; habilitation was thus much delayed. Data were collected on the two boys using interviews with parents and teachers, observation, and video recording in the children's own environment at home and in the specialized sign preschool. Characteristic differences between the boys are described regarding their social and linguistic development relating to the time of detection of the hearing impairment. This illustrates the importance of early detection and habilitation so as to avoid separation of individuals into different groups with differing social and academic prospects, depending on the lack of early linguistic stimulation and consequent poor language acquisition. Giving children the possibility of developing a language is the primary consideration.

Age Factors↗

Beginning signers' self-assessment of sign language skills.

Students enrolled in introductory manual communication classes demonstrated limited ability to assess their own communication skills. Questionnaires completed on the third day of class revealed that 70% of the students surveyed would attempt to interpret in a court of law if asked to do so. Although a fifty-minute discussion concerning topics such as ASL, sign systems, and interpreter skills and ethics aided some students in putting their skills into perspective, 41% continued to overestimate their abilities at midterm. The reasons for the overestimation are not clear. Avenues for future research are suggested.

Humans↗