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Communicative Behavior in the Natural Environment

Case Studies of Two Young Children With Autism and Limited Expressive Language

Illinois State University, hmeadan{at}ilstu.edu

James Halle

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Michaelene M. Ostrosky

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Lizanne DeStefano

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Many individuals with developmental disabilities show delays in the development of sophisticated communication skills. Listeners often misunderstand their unconventional means of communication, and breakdowns occur. A communication repair is a second attempt to communicate a message when a breakdown is encountered. Qualitative methods were employed to assess and describe the communication repairs used by two young children with autism spectrum disorders who had limited expressive language. During natural observations, only one of the two participating children was observed to repair his initial requests. The results suggest that in contrast to the emphasis in the literature that development is the primary determinant of repair behavior, variables in the children's social and physical environment influenced their communication repair behavior. Implications for practice and research are described.

Key Words: communicative functions • communication • autism spectrum disorders • young children • nonverbal

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Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, Vol. 23, No. 1, 37-48 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1088357607311444


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This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Meadan, H. Articles by DeStefano, L. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?