"Specific Learning Disability" is by far the largest category of conditions served in special education. Unfortunately, few parents (and educators) really understand what learning disabilities are. Many erroneously believe it is a "politically correct" term for "mildly mentally retarded" or "dull normal." Further, while most laypeople have heard…

This report presents a revision of the Head Start Child Outcomes Framework (2000), renamed The Head Start Child Development and Learning Framework: Promoting Positive Outcomes in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children 3-5 Years Old. The Framework outlines the essential areas of development and learning that are to be used by Head Start programs…

The article examines the child's ability to produce complex sentences with sections on a structural framework for complex language (clausal and nonclausal complexity), a developmental perspective (coordination of clauses, subordination of nominal, adverbial, and relative clauses), and applied considerations (evaluating and teaching complex…

When speech language pathologists collaborate with classroom teachers to develop language rich environments with many reading, writing, speaking, and listening opportunities, they increase the likelihood that the goals of therapy for language-impaired children will be supported throughout the school day. (Author/DB)

This article suggests that the receptive language abilities of children with AIDS and HIV infection might be less affected than their expressive and non-verbal skills. It proposes an instructional delivery framework for children with HIV/AIDS that focuses on reading, arithmetic/mathematics, handwriting instruction, and the use of computers.…

Talks with students who share their thoughts and ideas about classroom environments which foster writing for learning. Discusses how teachers influence and affect students' writing environments. (MG)

Pacing boards can assist in the transition from single word to multiword utterances by children with language impairments. The pacing board provides visual and motor cues to help young children imitate and spontaneously produce multiword utterances as well as increase metalinguistic awareness of speech units. Instructions for making pacing boards…

Five receptive and five expressive considerations are presented which serve as guidelines for the selection of informal evaluation tasks. The resulting procedure provides descriptive data on a student's auditory processing skills and his/her ability to use language for various purposes. (Author/CL)

This article offers suggestions on enhancing emotional vocabulary in early childhood education settings. A schematic of children's emotional literacy is followed by ways to build emotional vocabulary by teaching directly, teaching incidentally, or utilizing special activities. Suggestions also address teaching children to recognize feelings in…

This article discusses repeated storybook reading using adult scaffolding and phonological awareness strategies to facilitate oral and written language in children with language delays. The discussion is framed around common questions asked by educators considering repeated storybook reading as an instructional method. (Contains references.)…

This guide was prepared to facilitate the practitioner's selection of formal tests for evaluating communicative behavior in clinical infant populations during the first year of life. Clinical instruments with particular emphasis on communication and emerging language and speech abilities were identified in terms of publishers' recommended…

Briefly described is an instructional activity, the "Short Story Booklet," designed to aid exceptional students in grades 7-12 to put their thoughts on paper. The students write stories using processes of prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing and compile them into booklets. (DB)

This paper deals with the specific problems of the adolescent and adult hearing-impaired individual who wishes to improve and develop his or her expressive speech ability. Considered are issues critical to the learning process, intervention strategies for improving speech production, and speech production as one part of communication competency.…

Voice programing for preschool children with communication disabilities is discussed, including suggestions for enriching the child's auditory environment, selecting target goals, and providing consistency of target presentations by caregivers. Sample vocal awareness and production goals and strategies are offered. (Author/DB)

This article presents a five-step sequence for teaching children with disabilities to read pictures. Steps are sequenced for content and complexity of picture, student response requirement, and language demands. They include: (1) identify person, (2) identify object, (3) identify person and object, (4) identify action, and (5) identify sequence.…