A REPORT OF A CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN SPEECH AND HEARING FOR MENTALLY RETARDED CHILDREN IS PRESENTED. THE MAIN AREAS INCLUDED ARE THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION, PROCEDURES FOR MEASURING LANGUAGE, AND SPECIAL METHODS FOR TREATMENT. SPECIFIC REPORTS GIVEN ARE--"PSYCHOLINGUISTICS IN THE STUDY OF MENTAL RETARDATION"…

A SPEECH THERAPY METHOD FOR MENTAL RETARDATES WAS DEVELOPED AND EVALUATED. THE METHOD WAS BASED UPON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF FAVORABLE ASSOCIATIONS IN THE CHILD BETWEEN THE WORDS AND SOUNDS OF LANGUAGE AND THE PRODUCER OF THE LANGUAGE, USING STIMULUS-REWARD AND SITUATION-REWARD PRINCIPLES. TRADITIONAL METHODS OF SPEECH THERAPY WERE ADMINISTERED,…

Individualized and intensive daily therapy was provided to 870 New York City pupils with severe speech handicaps in this summer program funded by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Title I. The evaluation focuses on pupil's progress in correction of speech problems, the effectiveness of the clinical methods, the reactions of the staff and…

To determine the effectiveness of group articulation therapy, 180 educable retarded children in special classes (average age 9, average IQ 70), all of whom had articulation problems, were rated on the Carter/Buck Prognostic Speech Test and a picture version of McDonald's deep test of articulation. Subjects were then randomly assigned to one of…

Presented in the final report are results of a 4 1/2-month research project to test music media for improvement of speech articulation and conversational skills of 46 11- to 21-year-old trainable mentally retarded (TMR) students in New Haven (Connecticut) inner city schools. Included for study aspects are discussions on the literature; stimulus…

This book is a collection of ideas and information, gathered from various sources, which should aid college students in formulating their own methods of improving communication. The four main sections of the book are "Concepts of Communication,""Concepts of Source and Message,""Concepts of Communication Criticism," and "Concepts of Interpersonal…

In the speech therapy clinic of the University of South Florida, student clients are treated in groups and as individuals. Tests for differences between clients treated in groups for the total period of their therapy and those treated individually for part of their therapy period showed no significant difference in the results of the two methods…

Continuous self-monitoring (CSM) was compared with a demand characteristics control condition (non self-monitoring), with intermittent self-monitoring (ISM) and with another control condition. It was predicted that both self-monitoring conditions would produce effects over and above the demand characteristics inherent in the self-monitoring…

Speech-anxious students ranging in age from 17 to 48 were offered a four-week speech anxiety group. Treatment groups demonstrated significantly greater speech anxiety reduction than the no-treatment controls at postassessment and follow-up assessment. (Author/MFD)

Efficacy of individualized training using a distinctive feature model of therapy was evaluated with 75 hearing-impaired postsecondary students. Significant improvements in vowel, word and sentence production, and word and sentence perception were observed. (Author/DB)

This article, addressed to singing and choral teachers, examines functional voice disorders resulting from incorrect or abused functions of the laryngeal mechanism. Symptoms, testing methods, and correction techniques, short of medical help, are outlined for disorders of resonance, registration, articulation, and of the vocal fold mass.…

The articulator positions of a man with deafness who had a cochlear implant were measured with an electromagnetic midsagittal articulometer system with and without auditory feedback via his implant. Findings suggest that the cochlear implant was providing important auditory cues that can be used to monitor speech and maintain phonemic contrasts.…

A study of 36 children (ages 3-5) compared traditional and phonological treatment of 36 children with multiple articulation disorders. Results found that the response of children in the traditional therapy group was substantially inferior; the children in the phonological therapy group showed more improvement with fewer therapy sessions. (CR)

This longitudinal case study follows the development of a woman with autism from mutism at age 10 to acquisition of a range of spoken and written language skills by age 26. Results support hypotheses that both spoken and written language may become feasible forms of communication in such cases, although some skills may plateau or decline.…