Verbal retelling abilities in adolescents with and without language-learning disabilities for social studies lectures.

Verbal retelling abilities for social studies lectures were examined and compared in 20 adolescent boys, ages 12-5 to 14-7, with language-learning disabilities (LLD) and 29 with normal language abilities (NL). Participants viewed one videotaped social studies lecture with a comparison expository discourse structure and one with a causation discourse structure. Following each lecture presentation, participants verbally retold the lecture. Results of several repeated-measures analyses of variance indicated that the group with LLD produced a significantly smaller number of T-units, subordinate clauses, subordinate clauses per T-unit, T-units per second, lecture components per second, and percentage of lecture components in their retellings, compared with the group with NL, regardless of lecture type. Both groups produced a significantly greater number of T-units and subordinate clauses for the comparison lecture. By contrast, both groups recalled a significantly greater number of lecture components per T-unit and per second for the causation lecture. Results indicated that the comparison discourse structure facilitated more substantive and elaborate retellings, whereas the causation discourse structure facilitated more efficient, concise retellings in both groups. Research and instructional implications are discussed.

Listening comprehension and recall abilities in adolescents with language-learning disabilities and without disabilities for social studies lectures.

Listening comprehension and recall abilities for social studies lectures were examined and compared in 20 adolescent males with language-learning disabilities (LLD) and 29 without disabilities (WD). Subjects viewed two social studies lectures with comparison and causation expository discourse structures and verbally responded to literal and inferential comprehension questions. Regardless of lecture type or question type, the group with LLD performed significantly more poorly than did the group WD. Both groups responded accurately to significantly more inferential questions for the causation lecture over the comparison lecture. Neither group demonstrated a significant difference with respect to their response accuracy for the literal questions across lecture types.

Contextual strategy instruction: socially/emotionally maladjusted adolescents with language impairments.

Ten socially/emotionally maladjusted adolescents with language impairments (SEM/LI) and ten non-impaired adolescents received four treatment sessions in the use of a "context clues strategy" for facilitating comprehension of unfamiliar words in four sentence types. Both groups improved their ability to use a context clues strategy following direct instruction. The SEM/LI subjects exhibited greater difficulty with the appositive sentence type than did the non-impaired subjects. The results indicated that SEM/LI adolescents probably would benefit from receiving direct instruction involving any of the three other sentence types (i.e., cause/effect, example, grouping), prior to instruction involving the appositive sentence type

Drawing to communicate: a case report of an adult with global aphasia.

Treatment for adults with global aphasia has typically involved the use of verbal treatment methods or alternative communication techniques including communication boards, word lists and notebooks. However, many adults with aphasia are unable to communicate verbally and alternative communication techniques can be limited, as a result of the restricted number and type of concepts that can be adequately depicted and expressed. Another viable means of communication for the globally aphasic adult is drawing. However, few individuals with severe aphasia initiate communication through this modality without specific training. In this case report we present several successful treatment methods that were used to train an adult with global aphasia to communicate more effectively through drawing. Several of his drawings are presented to illustrate the results of training in the use of drawing as an alternative means of communication.