The use of nonverbal pragmatic behaviors by language-impaired and normal-speaking children.
The use of six nonverbal pragmatic behaviors was investigated for three groups of subjects. The experimental group (LI) consisted of 20 language-impaired children who were in stages III and IV of linguistic development. One control group (NSY) consisted of 20 normal-speaking children equated with the experimental group on the basis of mean length of utterance. Another control group (NSO) consisted of 20 normal-speaking children equated with the experimental group by chronologic age. The NSY were younger, whereas the NSO were of the same age as the LI. Two individuals observed each child and a peer playing with toys and recorded the presence of the six behaviors for each subject. The LI and the NSY and the NSO did not differ significantly for five behaviors. Play was the only behavior that distinguished the groups. The clinical implications of the results are discussed.
D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D009633:Nonverbal Communication; D010988:Play and Playthings; D012904:Smiling; D013037:Spatial Behavior