The study examined the performance of 19 pairs of autistic and nonautistic (but with a language delay of at least six months) children on the Test for Auditory Comprehension of Language. Results indicated no significant differences between groups or between sexes within groups in receptive language skills. (Author/DB)

A modeling experiment, conducted to determine if children benefit from observing speech not addressed to them in discovering the use of first and second pronouns, suggested that children even less than two years of age can attend to and learn from speech not addressed to them. (Author/CB)

After a brief discussion of the difficulties Spanish-speaking children encounter when learning to speak and read English, the authors offer suggestions for curriculum changes and methods of teaching oral English that would facilitate learning for these children. (TO)

A study investigated how 19 Finnish adults who were postlingually severely or profoundly hearing impaired would relearn to recognize vowels after receiving multi-channel cochlear implants. Average vowel recognition was 68% 6 months after switch-on, and 80% 24 months after switch-on. Vowels y, e, and o were most difficult. (Contains references.)…

A study investigated how 19 Finnish adults who were postlingually severely or profoundly hearing impaired would relearn to recognize consonants after receiving multi-channel cochlear implants. Two years after the switch-on, the mean recognition for consonants was 71%. Consonants with alveolar, palatal, or velar transitions were better recognized.…

Five studies examined the contributions of syllable-ordering and rhythmic properties of syllable strings to 6- and 9-month-old infants' speech segmentation. Results indicate that the capacity for integrating multiple sources of information in speech perception emerges between 6 and 9 months, in rough synchrony with the emergence of integration in…

Children (N=110, ages 8 to 10) with either normal or poor reading ability were tested on (1) ability to recall sequences of nonspeech tones presented at various rates, and (2) ability to make phonetic decisions using brief and transitional properties of the speech signal. Results did not support the hypothesis that temporal-processing deficits…

This study examined the behavior of 70 children with hearing losses attending a clinical program providing an auditory-verbal intervention. Parents' ratings indicated that boys were more likely to display temperament features nonconducive to traditional clinical language intervention. Girls' language and placement outcomes surpassed the boys',…

The paper examines ways in which language complexity of the stimulus and language ability of the receivers may influence learning via television for hearing impaired and hearing children. Research is reviewed on the impact of language abstraction on learning from television, and findings from paired associate learning trials are cited to suggest…

Perception and production data were collected from 28 children, ages 1 year 8 months to 3 years 11 months to test four specific hypotheses on the acquisition of initial fricatives and glides in English, based on the assumptions that perception precedes production and unmarked precedes marked. Perception data were collected by the Shvachkin-Garnica…

Phonological development in children is described in terms of four stages; (1) preverbal vocalization and perception (birth to 1;0); (2) phonology of the first 50 words (1;0 to 1;6); (3) phonology of simple morphemes (1;6 to 4;0); and (4) completion of the phonetic inventory (4;0 to 7;0). (CTM)

American Medical Association, 535 N. Dearborn Street, Chicago, Illinois 60610. The developmental, psychological, and educational sequelae of chronic otitis media (a middle ear disease) occurring during the first 3 years of life were investigated in a group of children (ages 6-11 years) with educational difficulties. (Author/DLS)