Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
By Dixie Sanger,
John W . M a a g ,
a n d N a d i n e R. Shapera
Y
oungsters with emotional (Camarata, Hughes, & Ruhl, 1988; child can experience. Language prob-
and behavioral disorders Cantwell & Baker, 1985; Giddan, 1991; lems are commonly described within
(EBD) represent a very het- McDonough, 1989; Prizant et al., 1990; five areas: phonology, morphology,
erogeneous group. These Rosenthal & Simeonsson, 1991; Traut- syntax, semantics, and pragmatics.
children experience problems that in- man, Giddan, & Jurs, 1990). Awareness- The component of language that fo-
clude aggressive, disruptive, and anti- of-incidence figures strongly suggest cuses on rules governing the structure,
social behavior,- social rejection by that speech-language pathologists and distribution, and sequencing of speech
peers,- depression,- and inadequate aca- special educators need to collaborate sounds is phonology (Owens, 1992).
demic achievement (cf. Cullinan, Ep- and develop improved services for Morphology refers to units of language
stein, & Sabomie, 1992). One area in youngsters with concomitant behav- that convey the nuances of meaning—
particular that seems to represent a ioral, emotional, and language disor- such aspects as tense markers, plural-
central and persistent characteristic ders. Therefore, in this article we will ity, pronominalization, and case vari-
of youngsters with EBD is deficits in first provide an overview of language ation (Laughton & Hasenstab, 1986).
language. Rosenthal and Simeonsson disorders and their impact upon young- Syntax refers to the form and order of
(1991) found that the communication sters with EBD, the extent of language words,- semantics addresses the mean-
of adolescents with emotional distur- problems in these youngsters, and the ing component of language and words
bances was both less informative and implications of language impairments (e.g., antonyms, synonyms, analogies,
less effective than that of nondisturbed in this population. Recommendations nonliteral and literal meanings, mean-
peers. Because language and communi- for special educators will be presented ings of sentences). Finally, pragmatics
cation are essential components of to address the needs of these young- refers to how language is used for inter-
interpersonal relationships, children sters. personal communication. It describes
with EBD may experience difficulties a set of sociolinguistic rules used to
giving and receiving information from determine who says what to whom,
others. Consequently, language skills Language and its how, why, when, and in what situation
seem to impact upon children's so- Relation to EBD (Muma, 1978).
cial skills (McTear & Conti-Ramsden, In order to understand the impact Taken together, youngsters with lan-
1992; Rice, Sell, & Hadley, 1991). language difficulties have upon the guage problems experience a number
Recently, researchers have docu- emotional and behavioral disorders of of difficulties that include, but are not
mented the extent of language dif- youngsters, it is important to under- limited to, deficiencies in using tense
ficulties in youngsters with EBD stand the type of language problems a or plural markers in correct pronoun
INTERVENTION IN SCHOOL AND CLINIC VOLUME 30 NUMBER 2 NOVEMBER 1994 (PP. 103-108) 103
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usage, limited vocabulary, restricted more difficult. Neel and Cessna (1993) of disorders. For example, Costello
word meanings, problems with figura- developed an outcome guide and out- et al. (1988) found that community
tive language and jokes, poor compre- come analysis worksheet to assist in prevalence rates of between 12% and
hension and spoken language skills, this process. However, an area that 20% for emotional and behavioral dis-
difficulty understanding questions and could greatly enhance this process is orders were considered to constitute a
following directions, and problems par- an understanding of the language dif- major public health problem and, con-
ticipating effectively in conversations. ficulties many youngsters with EBD sequently, pediatricians in these com-
Specific examples of pragmatic behav- experience. Language disorders are munities were more likely to identify
ior could include the ability to main- much more prevalent in youngsters children for treatment. During the past
tain or stay on a topic, as opposed to with EBD than one may suspect. This 10 years, studies have reported preva-
irrelevant comments, unorganized nar- area is often ignored by educators work- lence rates of language problems among
ratives, inappropriate questions, or ing with these children. In fact, a quick youngsters with EBD ranging from
excessive interruptions. Of the five glance through textbooks dealing with moderate levels of 24% to a shock-
areas of language problems, pragmatics characteristics and interventions for ing 95% (Baker & Cantwell, 1982;
is particularly relevant to practitioners youngsters with EBD suggests that the Camarata et al., 1988; Fessler, Rosen-
working with youngsters with EBD be- topic of language problems is either berg, & Rosenberg, 1991; Ruhl, Hughes,
cause of its relation to interpersonal ignored completely or restricted to dis- & Camarata, 1992). Interestingly, these
competence. cussions of severe behavior disorders studies have addressed the strong co-
such as autism. existence of language problems (e.g.,
Unless the relatively high prevalence morphological, syntactical, semantic,
Understanding Pragmatics of language problems among young- and pragmatic) with youngsters who
Aspects of pragmatics include under- sters with EBD is acknowledged, the also have emotional or behavioral
standing context; changing language area of language seems destined to disorders.
according to the needs of a listener or remain solely within the purview of In summary, the research to date sug-
situation,- conveying intents; using lan- speech-language pathologists. This cir- gests that rates of language problems
guage for different purposes such as cumstance would indeed be unfortu- among youngsters with EBD are fairly
greetings, requests, or commands; and nate because special educators can use high but will vary, depending upon the
using rules for participating in con- many of the language techniques from age of the sample, the setting from
versations. The ability to initiate and the field of speech pathology to deter- which they were selected (e.g., clinical
maintain a topic, take turns, respond mine the functional relationship be- and psychiatric, resource classroom),
to requests for clarification, repair tween problem behavior and its intent. and the tests used to determine the
errors in conversation, actively partic- Therefore, a brief overview of the prev- presence of a language disorder.
ipate in a conversation, establish eye alence of language problems among
contact, use other nonverbal signals youngsters with EBD is necessary.
such as facial expressions, or provide These prevalence figures support addi- Implications
sufficient information are important tional collaborative efforts between Language disorders among young-
aspects of conversational management speech-language pathologists and spe- sters with EBD can have far-reaching
and social competence (Brinton & cial educators for more effective pro- implications. Within the academic
Fujiki, 1989; Gallagher, 1991; Kirchner gramming. domain, language impairments ad-
& Prutting, 1989; Laughton & Hasen- versely impact a youngster's auditory
stab, 1986). comprehension, written expression,
The importance of understanding Extent of Language Impairments reading comprehension, mathematics,
pragmatics has been addressed recently in Youngsters with EBD spelling, response to questions, basic
by Neel and Cessna (1993) in their de- Language disturbances in youngsters concept development, and participa-
scription of appropriate instructional with EBD have only recently been the tion in class discussions (Kamhi &
content for students with EBD. They topic of investigation; however, many Catts, 1989; Wallach & Liebergott,
gave the example of aggressive students of the interventions used with young- 1984; Wallach & Miller, 1988). Neel
who found that striking an intimi- sters with EBD rely on some type of and Cessna (1993) cogently described
dating pose or uttering a few well- language skill. For example, how effec- the relation between the intended pur-
chosen words allowed them to escape tive can we expect verbal mediation pose of inappropriate behavior and
an unpleasant spelling assignment. interventions such as self-instruction teaching appropriate replacement be-
This example reflects the students' training to be with youngsters who haviors that achieve the desired out-
communicative intent (e.g., Neel & lack adequate receptive and expressive come. Although determining the pur-
Billingsley, 1989). From this perspec- language skills? Similarly, the whole pose inappropriate behavior serves is
tive, problem behaviors are similar area of pragmatics described previously directly related to pragmatics, the im-
to their appropriate counterparts in has direct impact upon children acquir- pact language problems have upon the
that they have been determined by the ing and using social skills. Therefore, effectiveness of a broad range of inter-
youngster to be the most effective it is helpful to examine the extent ventions used with youngsters with
means of communicating their needs to which youngsters with EBD ex- EBD cannot be understated.
in a particular situation or setting. perience concomitant difficulties in
Although this explanation appears language. Intervention Implications. Almost
straightforward, the task of determin- Prevalence estimates have implica- every intervention used with young-
ing the intent of behavior is much tions for identification and treatment sters with EBD relies on some form of
NOTICES
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Journal Seeks tions. The journal will also publish Kansas City, KS 66160-7335; or
Manuscripts short manuscripts (2 to 10 pages) Dr. Dianne Berkell, Long Island
The bimonthly journal Focus in two areas: (1) teaching tips and University, C. W. Post Campus,
on Autistic Behavior will soon be (2) book reviews. Department of Special Education
superseded by a new, peer-reviewed Persons submitting papers for and Reading, Brookville, NY 11548.
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Focus on Autism and Other and Other Developmental Disabili-
Developmental Disabilities. The ties should prepare their manu- The Orton Dyslexia
journal will continue to include scripts in accordance with the Pub- Society's Annual
articles related to persons with lication Manual of the American Outstanding Dissertation
autism but is being expanded to Psychological Association (4th ed., Award
address issues concerning persons 1994). An original of the com- Application guidelines for the
with other developmental disabil- plete manuscript and three high- Outstanding Dissertation Award
ities, such as mental retardation. quality copies (double-space all are available by contacting The
Editorial responsibilities for the manuscript pages, including tables, Orton Dyslexia Society. Deadline
new journal will be shared by figures, references, and headings) for submission to the committee
Dr. Richard Simpson, the cur- should be submitted; each manu- is March 1, 1995. The award will
rent editor of Focus on Autistic script should include a cover be presented at the society's 46th
Behavior and a professor of spe- sheet listing the names, affil- annual conference in Houston,
cial education at the University of iations, addresses, and phone Texas, November 1-4, 1995. The
Kansas, and Dr. Dianne Berkell, a numbers of all authors. All manu- recipient receives a $1,000 cash
professor of special education at scripts will be screened by one of award, plus $500 for travel expenses.
Long Island University, C. W. the coeditors for appropriateness Some recent winners include Brenda
Post Campus. of content and form and reviewed H. Stone, PhD, University of
The journal's editorial staff seeks by three peers (selected by the Rhode Island; Lois G. Dreyer, PhD,
manuscripts from diverse philo- coeditors on the basis of their Southern Connecticut State Uni-
sophical and theoretical positions. expertise in particular areas). versity,- and Margaret Semrud-
Five types of full-length manu- Authors typically will be notified Clikeman, PhD, University of
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sidered for publication: (a) original within 8 to 10 weeks of the time guidelines, write or phone: The
research reports,- (b) reviews and it is sent for peer review. Addi- Orton Dyslexia Society, The
interpretations of professional lit- tional details may be obtained by ODS Dissertation Award, Chester
erature; (c) theoretical papers, contacting either Dr. Richard L. Building/Suite 382, 8600 LaSalle
Simpson, Department of Special Road, Baltimore, MD 21286-2044;
conceptual statements, and posi-
Education, University of Kansas 410/296-0232.
tion papers; (d) intervention pro-