Purpose: This article reviews research on executive function (EF) skills in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the relation between EF and language abilities. The current study assessed EF using nonverbal tasks of inhibition, shifting, and updating of working memory (WM) in school-age children with ASD. It also evaluated the…

Summarizes historical and contemporary examples of stories for children that contain a "magic element" or "oral sorcery" that complements the basic structure of beginning, consistent sequence of events, and full stop ending. (CRH)

Three types of rapid message composition for non-speaking persons, classified according to keyboard, are described: sequential keyboard, "semantic" input through iconic representation, and chord keyboard. The strengths, drawbacks, and potential of each type are discussed for a user population with good keying ability and normal cognitive and…

Used the language intensity/message affect coding metric developed by R. Rogan and M. Hammer to evaluate variability in the language of 160 Euro-American and African-American college students responding to a free-response scenario. Results indicate significant differences in the level of affect present in messages communicated by the two groups.…

Originally given as a speech, this paper describes the double-deficit hypothesis of reading disabilities, which proposes that developmental dyslexia is due to deficits in the phonological system and in processes underlying naming speed. The paper also reports on an innovative reading fluency intervention program based on the double-deficit…

Includes the full text of Toni Morrison's acceptance speech for the 1996 Nobel Prize, awarded in Stockholm, Sweden. In the context of a modern day fable, Morrison investigates interwoven themes of language, creativity, and responsibility. Includes several photographs of the ceremony. (MJP)