Since Ruth Weir's Language in the Crib (1962), the phenomenon of pre-sleep monologues has been studied almost exclusively in normally developing children. This article reports the pre-sleep monologues of five developmentally disturbed children: three autistic and two psychotic. The language used in these monologues is compared with similar monologues in normally developing children, concentrating on function, form and content. Similarities are most apparent in form and content, although a few differences appear. The main differences concern function and age of appearance, although the hypothesis of the later age being related to mental retardation is seriously challenged.
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