This study examined the effects of using unexpected events on children's
communicative behaviour. These events included mislabelling objects
or actions (e.g. calling a cup an elephant), making objects inaccessible
(e.g. placing a desired object in a closed, zip-lock bag), and violating
object function (e.g. trying to pour from a closed bottle). Although
many language interventionists have suggested that unexpected events
increase communication behaviour, this has not been empirically
studied. Ten developmentally-delayed preschool children were tested in
two play sessions, one which used unexpected events, and one which did
not. Results indicated that children communicated more frequently
during the session that used these events. In addition, the unexpected
event of withholding objects was associated with more communication
attempts than the other two types of events.
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