Allen Chapter 16

Allen and Cowdery, The Exceptional Child: Inclusion in Early Childhood Education, Ninth Edition. © 2022 Cengage. All
Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Facilitating Speech, Language, and
Communication Skills
Chapter 16

Chapter Objectives (1 of 2)
By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:
16-1 define language and explain how it develops according to the theories
discussed in the chapter.
16-2 describe the theories of language acquisition.
16-3 trace the sequence of language development from birth through age
five or six.
16-4 describe alternative language systems.

Chapter Objectives (2 of 2)
By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:
16-5 highlight the key features of a naturalistic language-learning
environment.
16-6 discuss speech irregularities among young children and describe
appropriate responses from teachers and parents.
16-7 discuss the similarities and differences of language development for
single language speakers and English language learners.

Defining Speech, Language, and Communication
Skills
Interrelated components of learning to talk
• Communication—exchange of thoughts and ideas, feelings, emotions, likes, and dislikes
• Speech—sound system of a language, depends on articulation
• Language—code or symbol system that enables individuals to express ideas and
communicate them to others who use the same code

Theories of Language Acquisition (1 of 2)
Environmental Perspective
• The child will imitate spoken language, therefore learning to speak
• Too simplistic; evidence that genetics and other factors play important roles
• Environment still important
• Children from educated parents hear more words
• Leads to significant differences in intellectual accomplishments
• Infant-directed speech called motherese

Theories of Language Acquisition (2 of 2)
Innateness Perspective
• Language unfolds as the child matures.
• Children are more likely to learn language if it holds meaning for them.
Integrated explanation
1. The maturationally determined mechanism for learning language
2. The input, or quality and timing of the child’s early language experiences
3. The use the child makes of input; the strategies the child devises for processing spoken
language and then reproducing it

Sequences in Language Acquisition (1 of 4)
Language acquisition, like all development, is a sequential process
Pre-linguistic Communication
• Crying
• Cooing
• Babbling
• Intonation

Knowledge Check Activity 1
What is the difference between cooing and intonation?
a. Cooing is an attempt at combining consonant and vowel sounds. Intonation consists of
single vowel sounds.
b. Cooing is a string of single vowel sounds made by an infant of approximately two months.
Intonation is a form of babbling occurring at about six months.
c. Cooing is a string of single vowel sounds made by an infant of approximately two months.
Intonation is the rising and falling variations in pitch and is a progression from babbling
which occurs at about six months of age.
d. Cooing is the repetition of sounds. Intonation is the rising and falling variations in pitch and
is a progression from cooing.

Knowledge Check Activity 1 Answer
What is the difference between cooing and intonation?
Answer: c. Cooing is a string of single vowel sounds made by an infant of
approximately two months. Intonation is the rising and falling variations in pitch and is
a progression from babbling which occurs at about six months of age.

First Words and Sentences
• Vocabulary
• Practicing vowel and consonant combinations
• Receptive language
• Understanding or recognizing of language
• Expressive language
• Initiative—The child begins an interaction with another.
• Responsive—The child answers or responds to another person’s initiation.

Early Sentences
• Syntax—how words are put together
• Holophrastic speech
• Single word to convey entire thought
• Telegraphic speech
• Simple, two-word sentences
• Private speech
• Helps direct behavior

Language Complexity
• Use of “W” questions—who, what, where, when, why
• Transforming positives to negatives—can/can’t, will/won’t, is/isn’t
• Change verb forms—run/ran
• Indicating more than one through plurals—kitty/kitties, toy/toys
• Conveying ownership—hers, his, our, mine, theirs
• Overregularization
• Grammatical misconstructions

Alternative Language Systems (1 of 2)
Method of communication that does not require spoken language
Nonverbal Communication
• Respond to body language while giving the child the words to say
Augmentative and Alternative Communication Systems
• Use of gestures, signs, symbols, or pictures to communicate with others
• Voice synthesizer
• Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS)

Alternative Language Systems (2 of 2)
Signing
• Observe and see what signs are already in place
• Teach simple signs
• Move slowly, picking a child’s favorites to sign
• Speak and act naturally when signing

Knowledge Check Activity 2
How does the Picture Exchange Communication System prevent a child from
gaining dependency on an adult to begin a communication exchange?
a. By immediately receiving an object from the teacher
b. By using an exchange of pictures
c. By not using verbal prompts during the initial teaching
d. By teaching a system of discrimination among symbols

Knowledge Check Activity 2 Answer
How does the Picture Exchange Communication System prevent a child from
gaining dependency on an adult to begin a communication exchange?
Answer: c. By not using verbal prompts during the initial teaching

Arranging a Language-Learning Environment
(1 of 2)
Teachers’ expectations
• Children should have a reason to communicate
• Children should be given time to share their ideas
• Teachers and children need to become good listeners and alert responders
Role of questions
• Ask open-ended questions
• Provide a role model for how to answer questions
• Language play and practice
• Information gathering

Arranging a Language-Learning Environment
(2 of 2)
Activities
• Materials that are new and unique
• Field trips
• Life experiences
• Picture books
• Songs, rhymes, chants, and word-play
• Active playtime

Direct Assistance (1 of 2)
A hierarchy of direct teaching strategies:
Choice making—teacher presents two options and asks the child to make a
choice
Mand-model—teacher uses the focus of the child’s interest and mands a
response from the child
Topic continuation—teacher follows the child’s conversational lead

Direct Assistance (2 of 2)
Time delay—teacher looks expectantly at the child (for a request) before
providing the desired material or activity
Incidental teaching—teacher waits for a child to initiate and then responds
immediately in such a way as to prompt a response from the child

Milieu Teaching
Child initiates communication.
Teacher needs to make sure that initiation by the child continues, by:
• Being readily available
• Showing interest in the child’s questions
• Prompting a response
• Being conscious of keeping contact brief
• Making sure the contacts are pleasant

Role Play Activity
1. Select a partner to role-play a three-year-old who approaches you, the
teacher, and silently holds out a sweater.
2. You want to increase this child’s language skills in general.
3. Demonstrate ways to do this by using milieu teaching strategies.

Speech Irregularities (1 of 2)
Articulation Errors
• Omissions—leaving out sounds
• Substitutions—interchanging sounds
• Additions—inserting sounds not part of the word
• Distortions—deviations in speech sounds
Lisping
• Pronouncing s as th
• Lisping usually goes away on its own unless adults encourage it by commenting on it.

Speech Irregularities (2 of 2)
Dysfluency
• Repetition of particular sounds or words
• Noticeable hesitations between words
• Extra sounds
• Undue prolonging of a sound

Guidelines
• Make sure that the child is well rested
• Provide comfort and care, reduce tension
• Have fun with language
• Discipline with calmness
• Offer activities where a child can be successful

What Adults Should Not Do
• Correct or nag a child
• Call attention to speech irregularities
• Hurry a child
• Compare a child’s speech to another
• Attempt to change a child’s handedness

Referral
Early warning signs
• Is not aware of sounds or noise
• Is not talking by two years
• Leaves off beginning consonants after three years
• Uses markedly faulty sentence structure after five years
• Uses mostly vowel sounds in speech
• Is noticeably non-fluent after six years
• Has frequent ear infections and signs of possible delay
• Is a year late in acquiring any speech and language skill

Intervention
• One-on-one therapy is best.
• Teachers, specialists, and parents need to work together.
• The more repetition and practice the child has, the better the progress will
be.

Discussion Activity
The parent of a three-year-old comes to you, the teacher, very distraught and
says, “I’m really concerned. Ryan has been stuttering for the past two weeks.”
How do you respond to this parent?

English Language Learners (ELL)
• Children should not be forced to give up their native language.
• Children should not be labeled language impaired because of a language
deficiency.
• Children should be offered opportunities to practice the new language in a
relaxed, play setting.

Summary (1 of 2)
Now that the lesson has ended, you should have learned how to:
• Define language and explain how it develops according to the theories discussed in the
chapter.
• Describe the theories of language acquisition.
• Trace the sequence of language development from birth through age five or six.
• Describe alternative language systems.

Summary (2 of 2)
Now that the lesson has ended, you should have learned how to:
• Highlight the key features of a naturalistic language-learning environment.
• Discuss speech irregularities among young children and describe appropriate responses
from teachers and parents.
• Discuss the similarities and differences of language development for single language
speakers and English language learners.

Allen Chapter 16

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