Professionals across disciplines who assess and teach students with language problems should develop their own standards for best professional practices to improve the diagnostic and treatment (instructional) services in schools and nonschool settings rather than assessing only for eligibility for categories of special education services according…

In honor of Dr. Katherine Butler's extraordinary leadership of "Topics in Language Disorders," this article takes up her 1982 challenge to reach toward greater understanding of individual differences in the use of oral and written language by children with language learning disability. The article focuses on 3 interconnected dimensions of learning…

This article describes individual differences in phases of writing development between typical students and students with language learning problems. Using an illustrative case study of a 10-year-old, the article demonstrates how school-based writing samples can serve as a dynamic tool for analysis of interactions among the linguistic and…

Distinguishes between full inclusion and optional inclusion for children with language-learning disabilities (LLD), reviews studies on the outcomes of inclusion, describes a university-school partnership model for educational restructuring, and outlines six reasons why innovative changes, such as inclusion and integrated learning, are difficult to…

Research is reviewed on children's fluency disruptions (including definitions, nature and types of self-interruptions, and typical and atypical discourse development). A collaborative approach to classroom intervention is proposed which focuses on the dynamics of the classroom environment and interaction patterns. (CL)

Two classrooms were studied to describe the forms and patterning of verbal overlaps in sharing-time narratives of 16 students (8-12 years old) with communicative disabilities. Videotape analysis revealed type and frequency of overlaps, type and frequency of the turn relations giving rise to overlap instances, and remedial tactics that appeared to…

This article describes the communication development program of a cooperative association of 55 Illinois school districts, which provides special education services for children and adolescents with low incidence disabilities including severe communication disorders. It examines the program's philosophy, principles, and practices; its authentic…

An Athabaskan narrative, told by a village storyteller to two native students (one with language-learning disability and mild hearing loss) was studied. Analysis of prosodic and structural patterns revealed a spatially rather than temporally organized narrative. The assessment method was felt to be sensitive to interfaces between cultural…