Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T20:22:54.308Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

A comparison of the effectiveness of graphic symbol and manual sign training with profoundly retarded children1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

Patricia Hodges*
Affiliation:
California State University
Bettina Schwethelm
Affiliation:
University of Michigan
*
Patricia Hodges, Department of Psychology, California State University, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles, California 90032.

Abstract

Using a random-block design, 52 profoundly retarded nonverbal children were matched on relevant variables and randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups or a no-treatment group. In Phase One, two groups were trained in either the Premack or NON-SLIP graphic systems. Children in the Premack group learned an average of 2.3 symbols; no child in the NON-SLIP group reached the symbol stage. In Phase Two, these two groups and a third group were taught manual signs from an American Sign Language lexicon. There were significant differences in IQ and language age from pre- to posttest, and children in the two groups exposed to both graphic symbols and signs learned significantly more signs than graphic symbols. Signing appears to be a demonstrably superior intervention for profoundly retarded nonverbal populations.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1984

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

1

Article processed by the former editor, Sheldon Rosenberg.

References

REFERENCES

Baer, D. M., & Guess, D.Teaching productive noun suffixes to severely retarded children. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 1973, 77, 498505.Google ScholarPubMed
Baer, D. M., Peterson, R. F., & Sherman, J. A.The development of imitation by reinforcing behavioral similarity to a model. Journal of Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 1967, 10, 405416.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bilovsky, D., & Share, J.The ITPA and Down’s syndrome: An exploratory study. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 1965, 70, 7882.Google ScholarPubMed
BMDP2V. Analyses of variance and covariance with repeated measures. Los Angeles, Calif.: BMDP Statistical Software, Inc., 1982.Google Scholar
Bonvillian, J. D., & Nelson, K. E. Exceptional cases of language acquisition. In Nelson, K. E. (Ed.), Children’s language, Vol. 3. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1982.Google Scholar
Bzoch, K. R., & League, R.Handbook for the receptive-expressive emergent language scale. Florida: Tree of Life Press, 1971.Google Scholar
Carrier, J. K. Jr., Nonspeech noun usage training with severely and profoundly retarded children. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 1974, 17, 510517.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carrier, J. K. Jr., and Peak, T.NONSLIP (non-speech language initiation program). Kansas City, Mo.: H & H Enterprise, 1975.Google Scholar
Cromer, R. F. Receptive language in the mentally retarded: Processes and diagnostic distinctions. In Schiefelbusch, R. L. & Lloyd, L. L. (Eds.), Language perspectives: Acquisition, retardation, and intervention. Baltimore: University Park Press, 1974.Google Scholar
Cromer, R. F. Reconceptualizing language acquisition and cognitive development. In Schiefelbusch, R. L. & Briches, D. D. (Eds.), Early language: Acquisition and intervention. Baltimore: University Park Press, 1981.Google Scholar
Dale, P. S.Language development: Structure and function. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1976.Google Scholar
Davis, H.Principles of evoked responses in audiometry. Annals of Otology, Rhinology, and Laryngology, 1976, 83, Supplement 28.Google Scholar
Deich, R. E., & Hodges, P.Language without speech. London: Souvenir Press, 1977.Google Scholar
Deich, R. E., & Hodges, P.Teaching a nonvocal communication symbol system to nonverbal retarded children. Behavior Modification, 1982, 6, 200228.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
deVilliers, J. G., & Naughton, J. N.Teaching a symbolic language to autistic children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1974, 42, 111117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fouts, R. S., Couch, J. B., & O’Neil, C. R. Strategies for primate language training. In Schiefelbusch, R. L. & Hollis, J. H. (Eds.), Language intervention from ape to child. Baltimore: University Park Press, 1979.Google Scholar
Frankenberg, W. K., & Dodds, J. B.Denver developmental screening test. Denver: University of Colorado Medical Center, 1966.Google Scholar
Fristoe, M., & Lloyd, L. L.A survey of the use of nonspeech systems with the severely communication impaired. Mental Retardation, 1978, 16(2), 99103.Google ScholarPubMed
Fristoe, M., & Lloyd, L. L. Nonspeech communication. In Ellis, N. R. (Ed.), Handbook of mental deficiency, psychological theory and research. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1979.Google Scholar
Garcia, E. E., & DeHaven, E. D.Use of operant techniques in the establishment and generalization of language: A review and analysis. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 1974, 79, 169178.Google Scholar
Gardner, R. A., & Gardner, B. T.Teaching sign language to a chimpanzee. Science, 1969, 165, 664672.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goodman, L., Wilson, P. S., & Bornstein, H.Results of a national survey of sign language programs in special education. Mental Retardation, 1918, 16(2), 104106.Google Scholar
Greenwald, C., & Leonard, L.Communication and sensorimotor development of Down’s Syndrome children. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 1979, 84, 296303.Google ScholarPubMed
Guess, D., Sailor, W., Rutherford, G., & Baer, D. M.An experimental analysis of linguistic development: The productive use of the plural morpheme. Journal of Applied Behavioral Analysis, 1968, 1, 225235.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harris, S. L.Teaching language to nonverbal children – with emphasis on problems of generalization. Psychological Bulletin, 1975, 82, 565580.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hayes, W.Statistics for the social sciences. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1973.Google Scholar
Heber, R. A manual on terminology and classification in mental retardation. American Journal on Menial Deficiency, Monograph Supplement, 2nd Edition, 1961.Google Scholar
Hewett, F. M.Teaching speech to an autistic child through operant conditioning. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 1965, 35, 927936.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hobson, P. A., & Duncan, P.Sign learning and profoundly retarded people. Mental Retardation, 1979, 17, 3337.Google ScholarPubMed
Hodges, P., & Deich, R.Teaching an artificial language to nonverbal retardates. Behavior Modification, 1978, 2, 498569.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hodges, P., & Deich, R. Language intervention strategies with manipulable symbols. In Schiefelbusch, R. L. & Hollis, J. H. (Eds.), Language intervention from ape to child. Baltimore: University Park Press, 1979. (a)Google Scholar
Hodges, P., & Deich, R.Language without speech. Film presented at the meeting of American Psychological Association, Montreal, September 1979. (b)Google Scholar
Ingalls, R. P.Mental retardation. New York: Wiley & Sons, 1978.Google Scholar
Jones, A., & Robson, C. Language training the severely mentally handicapped. In Ellis, N. R. (Ed.), Handbook of mental deficiency, psychological theory and research. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1979.Google Scholar
Jordan, T. E.Language and mental retardation: A review of the literature. In R. L. Schiefelbusch & J. O. Smith (Eds.), Research in speech and hearing for mentally retarded children. Report of a conference at the University of Kansas, 12 23–26, 1963.Google Scholar
Kahn, J.Relationship of Piaget’s sensorimotor period to language acquisition of profoundly retarded children. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 1975, 79, 640643.Google ScholarPubMed
Kahn, J.Application of the Piagetian literature to severely and profoundly mentally retarded persons. Mental Retardation, 1979, 17, 273280.Google ScholarPubMed
Katz, J.Handbook of clinical audiology. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkens, 1972.Google Scholar
Keane, V. E.The incidence of speech and language problems in the mentally retarded. Mental Retardation, 1972, 10(2), 38.Google ScholarPubMed
Kiernan, C.The use of nonvocal communication techniques with autistic individuals. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 1983, 24(3), 339375.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kirk, R.Experimental design: Procedures for the behavioral sciences (Second edition). Belmont, Calif.: Brooks-Cole, 1982.Google Scholar
Langacker, R. W.Language and its structure: Some fundamental linguistic concepts. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1968.Google Scholar
Limber, J.Language in child and chimp. American Psychologist, 1977, 32, 280296.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lovaas, I. O.The autistic child. New York: Irvington Publishers, 1977.Google Scholar
Lovaas, I. O., Berberich, J. P., Perloff, B. F., & Schaeffer, B. Acquisition of imitative speech in schizophrenic children. In Lovaas, I. O. & Bucher, B. D. (Eds.), Perspectives in behavior modification. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1974.Google Scholar
Lyons, J.Introduction to theoretical linguistics. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1969.Google Scholar
Mahoney, G., Glover, A., & Finger, I.Relationship between language and sensorimotor development of Down’s Syndrome and nonretarded children. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 1981, 86, 2127.Google ScholarPubMed
Martyn, M. M., Sheehan, J., & Slutz, K.Incidence of stuttering and other speech disorders among the retarded. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 1969, 74, 206211.Google ScholarPubMed
Nihira, K., Foster, R., Shellhaas, M., & Leland, H.Adaptive behavior scale. Parsons, Kansas: Parsons State Hospital; Copyright American Association on Mental Deficiency, 1969.Google Scholar
Parkel, D. A., & Smith, T. S. Jr., Application of computer assisted language designs. In Schiefelbusch, R. L. & Hollis, J. H. (Eds.), Language intervention from ape to child. Baltimore: University Park Press, 1979.Google Scholar
Piaget, J.Play, dreams and imitation in childhood. New York: Norton, 1962.Google Scholar
Poulton, K. T., & Algozzine, R.Manual communication and mental retardation: A review of research and implications. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 1980, 85, 145152.Google ScholarPubMed
Premack, D.A functional analysis of language. Journal of Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 1970, 14, 107125.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Premack, D.Intelligence in ape and man. New York: Wiley, 1976.Google Scholar
Riekehof, L. L.The joy of signing. Springfield, Mo.: Gospel Publishing House, 1978.Google Scholar
Risley, T., & Wolf, M. Establishing functional speech in echolalic children. In Lovaas, I. O. & Bucher, B. D. (Eds.), Perspectives in behavior modification. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1974.Google Scholar
Rumbaugh, D. M.Language learning by a chimpanzee: The LANA project. New York: Academic Press, 1977.Google Scholar
Salus, P.Linguistics. New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1969.Google Scholar
Scheffelin, M. A.A comparison of four stimulus–response channels in paired-associate learning. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 1968, 73, 303307.Google ScholarPubMed
Schiefelbusch, R. L. (Ed.), Nonspeech language and communication. Baltimore: University Park Press, 1980. (a)Google Scholar
Schiefelbusch, R. L. Synthesis of trends in language intervention. In Bricker, D. (Ed.), New directions for exceptional children: Language intervention with children. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1980. (b)Google Scholar
Schiefelbusch, R. L., & Hollis, J. H. (Eds.), Language intervention from ape to child. Baltimore: University Park Press, 1979.Google Scholar
Schiefelbusch, R. L., & Hollis, J. H. A general system for nonspeech language. In Schiefelbusch, R. L. (Ed.), Nonspeech language and communication: Analysis and intervention. Baltimore: University Park Press, 1980.Google Scholar
Shorwell, A. M.Suitability of the Kuhlmann-Binet infant scale for assessment of intelligence in mental retardates. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 1964, 68, 757765.Google Scholar
Siegel, S.Nonparametric statistics for the behavioral sciences. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1956.Google Scholar
Silverstein, A. B., Aguilar, B. F., Jacobs, L. J., Levy, J., & Rubenstein, D. M.Imitative behavior by Down’s syndrome persons. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 1979, 83, 409411.Google ScholarPubMed
Slobin, D. I.Universal and particulars in the acquisition of language. Paper presented at the workshop conference, Language acquisition: State of the art, 05 19–22, 1978, University of Pennsylvania.Google Scholar
SPSS Inc. SPSS X. Chicago, Ill.: SPSS Inc., 1983.Google Scholar
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, Form L-M. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1960.Google Scholar
Stinchfield, S. M. & Young, E. H.Children with delayed or defective speech. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1947.Google Scholar
Sulzbacher, S., & Costello, J.A behavioral strategy for language training of a child with autistic behaviors. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 1970, 35, 256276.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Talkington, L. W., Hall, S., & Altman, R.Communication deficits and aggression in the mentally retarded. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 1971, 76, 235237.Google ScholarPubMed
Talkington, L. W., Hall, S., & Cleland, C. C.Behavioral correlates of noncommunicators. Psychological Record, 1971, 27, 213217.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Uzgiris, I., & Hunt, J. McV.Assessment in infancy: Ordinal scales of psychological development. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1975.Google Scholar
Webster, C. D., McPherson, H., Sloman, L., Evans, M. A., & Kuchar, E.Communicating with an autistic boy by gestures. Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia, 1973, 3, 337346.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weiner, B. J.Statistical principles in experimental design. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1971.Google Scholar
West, R., Kennedy, L., & Carr, A.The rehabilitation of speech, (rev. ed.). New York: Stanford University Press, 1947.Google Scholar
Whitman, T. L., & Scibac, J. W. Behavior modification research with the severely and profoundly retarded. In Ellis, N. R. (Ed.), Handbook of mental deficiency, psychological theory and research. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1979.Google Scholar
Wohlhueter, M. J., & Sindberg, R. M.Longitudinal development of object permanence in mentally retarded children: An exploratory study. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 1975, 79, 513518.Google ScholarPubMed