This study was designed to investigate the use of conversational strategies by metally retarded children in response to a situation of communication failure. Responses to clarification resquest during spontaneous conversation showed that regardless of language stage, revision of the original utterance was the primary strategy used, rather than repetition or response. Subcategories of revision were expanded to include revision in manner of production, constituent revision, and topic revision. There was a significant increase in the use of revisions across language stages, but no revision subcategory group was used significantly more often than the others.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Bates, E.Language and context : The acquisition of pragmatics. New York: Academic Press, 1976.
2.
Bliss, L., Allen, D. & Walker, G.Sentence structure of trainable and educable mentally retarded subjects . Journal of Speech & Hearing Research, 1978, 21, 722-730.
3.
Bloom, L.Language Development: Form and function in emerging grammars. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1970.
4.
Brown, R.A.first language: The early stages. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1973.
5.
Bruning, J. AND Kintz, B.Computational handbook of statistics, 2nd Ed. Glenview, Illinois: Scott, Foresman & Co., 1977.
6.
Buium, N., Rynders, J. & Turnure, J.Early maternal linguistic environment of normal and Down's Syndrome language-learning children. American Journal of Mental Deficiency , 1974, 29, 52-58.
7.
Clark, E.What's in a word? On the child's acquisition of semantics in his first language . In T. Moore (Ed.), Cognitive development and the acquisition of language. New York: Academic Press, 1973, 65-110.
8.
Coggins, T. Related meaning encoded in the two-word utterances of Stage I Down's Syndrome children. Journal of Speech & Hearing Research, 1979, 22, 166-178.
9.
Devilliers, J., AND deVilliers, P.Competence and performance in child language: Are children really competent to judge?Journal of Child Language , 1974, l, 11-22.
10.
Duchan, J. AND Erickson, J.Normal and retarded children's understanding of semantic relations in different verbal contexts. Journal of Speech & Hearing Research , 1976, 19, 767-776.
11.
Dore, J.Children's illocutionary acts . In R. Freedle (Ed.), Discourse relations: Comprehension and production. Norwood, N.J.: Ables, 1977.
12.
Gallagher, T. Revision behaviors in the speech of normal developing language. Journal of Speech & Hearing Research, 1977, 20, 303-318.
13.
Gallagher, T. AND Darnton, B.Conversational aspects of the speech of language disordered children: Revision behaviors. Journal of Speech & Hearing Research , 1978, 21, 118-135.
14.
Graham, J. AND Graham, L.Language behavior of the mentally retarded: syntactic characteristics . American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 1971, 75, 623-629.
Krauss, R. AND Glucksberg, S.The development of communication: Competence as a function of age . Child Development, 1969, 40, 255-266.
17.
Lackner, J. A developmental study of language behavior in retarded children. Neuropsychologics , 1968, 6, 301-320.
18.
Marshall, N., Negrenes, J., & Goldstein, S.Verbal interactions: Mothers and their retarded children vs. mothers and their nonretarded children. American Journal of Mental Deficiency , 1973, 77, 415-419.
19.
Mclean, J.,Yoder, D., & Scheifelbusch, R. (Eds.), Language intervention with the retarded. Baltimore : University Park Press, 1972.
20.
Menyuk, P.The acquisition and development of language. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1971 .
21.
Naremore, R., & Dever, R.Language performance of educable mentally retarded and normal children at 5 age levels. Journal of Speech & Hearing Research , 1975, 18,82-95.
22.
Newfield, M. & Schlanger, B.The acquisition of English morphology by normal and educable mentally retarded children. Journal of Speech & Hearing Research, 1968, 11, 693-706.
23.
Peterson, C., Danner, D. & Flavell, J.Developmental changes in children's responses to three indications of communication failure. Child Development, 1972, 43, 464-468.
24.
Richardson, F.Speech and language services. In R. Koch and J. Dobson (Eds.), The mentally retarded child and his family. New York: Brunner/Mazel, 1971.
25.
Schiefelbusch, R. & Lloyd, L. (Eds.), Language perspectives-acquisition, retardation, and intervention. Baltimore: University Park Press, 1974.
26.
Seitz, S.Language intervention-changing the language environment of the retarded child . In R. Koch, F. de la Cruz, and F. Menolascino (Eds.), Down's Syndrome:
27.
Research, prevention, and management. New York: Brunner/Mazel, 1975.
28.
Slobin, D., Cognitive pre-requisites for the development of grammar. In C. Ferguson and D. Slobin (Eds.), Studies of child language development, New York: Holt,
