Pragmatic language skills in people with intellectual disabilities: A review
01 Jan 1998-Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability (Routledge)-Vol. 23, Iss: 1, pp 79-100
TL;DR: A review of relevant research concerning the development and use of spoken pragmatic language skills by people with intellectual disabilities is provided in this article, where the authors discuss the development of pragmatic language in childhood, the use of such skills in adulthood, and links between pragmatic language use and quality of life.
Abstract: This paper provides a review of relevant research concerning the development and use of spoken pragmatic language skills by people with intellectual disabilities. The development of pragmatic language skills in childhood, the use of such skills in adulthood, and links between pragmatic language use and quality of life are discussed. Despite the variety of participants and methodologies used, research findings are broadly consistent. First, people with intellectual disabilities can and do acquire basic pragmatic language skills, although more subtle aspects of conversational competence are less commonly displayed. Second, the communicative environments of children and adults with intellectual disabilities appear to inhibit the acquisition and display of pragmatic language skills. Third, different service settings can have an impact on the pragmatic skills of people with intellectual disabilities. Fourth, intervention programs can improve the pragmatic language skills of people with intellectual disabilitie...
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19 Nov 2015
TL;DR: The first description in the English language of the constellation of findings now known to be due to this chromosomal difference was made in the 1960s in children with DiGeorge syndrome, who presented with the clinical triad of immunodeficiency, hypoparathyroidism and congenital heart disease as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS) is the most common chromosomal microdeletion disorder, estimated to result mainly from de novo non-homologous meiotic recombination events occurring in approximately 1 in every 1,000 fetuses. The first description in the English language of the constellation of findings now known to be due to this chromosomal difference was made in the 1960s in children with DiGeorge syndrome, who presented with the clinical triad of immunodeficiency, hypoparathyroidism and congenital heart disease. The syndrome is now known to have a heterogeneous presentation that includes multiple additional congenital anomalies and later-onset conditions, such as palatal, gastrointestinal and renal abnormalities, autoimmune disease, variable cognitive delays, behavioural phenotypes and psychiatric illness - all far extending the original description of DiGeorge syndrome. Management requires a multidisciplinary approach involving paediatrics, general medicine, surgery, psychiatry, psychology, interventional therapies (physical, occupational, speech, language and behavioural) and genetic counselling. Although common, lack of recognition of the condition and/or lack of familiarity with genetic testing methods, together with the wide variability of clinical presentation, delays diagnosis. Early diagnosis, preferably prenatally or neonatally, could improve outcomes, thus stressing the importance of universal screening. Equally important, 22q11.2DS has become a model for understanding rare and frequent congenital anomalies, medical conditions, psychiatric and developmental disorders, and may provide a platform to better understand these disorders while affording opportunities for translational strategies across the lifespan for both patients with 22q11.2DS and those with these associated features in the general population.
1,850 citations
TL;DR: This paper explored the problems presented by small talk for workers with intellectual disabilities in the workplace and provided valuable insights into the taken-for-granted assumptions that underlie much of our day-to-day interaction at work.
Abstract: It is commonly assumed that communication in the workplace is primarily transactional talk, that is, task-oriented interaction focusing on information exchange. The research of the Wellington Language in the Workplace Project indicates, however, that workplace interaction is unlikely to proceed smoothly without the crucial small talk that oils the social wheels. Although competent native speakers have been socialized over many years to "do" small talk appropriately at work, successfully engaging in small talk in different work contexts presents serious challenges for some workplace novitiates. This article explores some of the problems presented by small talk for workers with intellectual disabilities. The way such workers negotiate workplace interactions provides valuable insights into the taken-for-granted assumptions that underlie much of our day-to-day interaction at work. The analysis examines 2 distinct aspects of small talk at work, namely the way small talk is distributed and the complex functions...
49 citations
Cites background from "Pragmatic language skills in people..."
..., 1992), and are less involved in workplace joking and teasing (e.g., Beyer & Kilsby, 1995, cited in Hagnar, 1996; Hatton, 1998)....
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...Reviewing this literature, Hatton (1998) concluded that although people with intellectual disabilities are generally accepted by coworkers, they typically do not achieve “a high degree of social integration” (p. 91)....
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...The value of effective social skills in the workplace for those with intellectual disabilities cannot be overestimated (e.g., Greenspan & Shoultz, 1981; Hagnar, 1996; Hatton, 1998; Storey et al., 1991)....
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...As Hatton (1998) pointed out, “Relatively subtle aspects of pragmatic language use can inhibit the development of meaningful relationships with others…the display of conversational competence can be considered as an essential prerequisite for the achievement of a valued quality of life” (p. 93)....
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...…that focused social skills training both before and during work placement contributes to improvements in the management of interpersonal interaction by workers with intellectual disabilities (Hatton, 1998; Hughes, Killian, & Fischer, 1996; La Greca, Stone, & Bell, 1983; Schloss & Wood, 1990)....
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyse tape-recorded workplace small talk collected in a range of New Zealand workplaces, including workplaces employing workers with intellectual disabilities, and suggest ways in which teachers and trainers may be able to assist workers acquire some basic sociolinguistic skills in small talk needed to operate effectively in their workplaces.
Abstract: Interpersonal workplace interaction provides many challenges for workers with intellectual disabilities. While these workers are generally able to handle well the tasks required of them at work, the social interaction which others manage with ease often presents unexpected hurdles to such workers. This paper analyses tape-recorded workplace small talk collected in a range of New Zealand workplaces, including workplaces employing workers with intellectual disabilities. The topics, the distributional patterns, and the functions of small talk are described, and aspects of the management of small talk which may present problems to workers with intellectual disabilities are illustrated and discussed. Finally, some suggestions are provided concerning ways in which teachers and trainers may be able to assist workers acquire some of the basic sociolinguistic skills in small talk needed to operate effectively in their workplaces.
45 citations
Cites background or methods from "Pragmatic language skills in people..."
...Because this kind of friendly banter is an important way of expressing collegiality or worker solidarity, it is obviously important for young workers with intellectual disabilities to learn how to manage it (Hagnar, 1993, 1996; Hatton, 1998)....
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...Yet these are precisely the contexts that have been identi ed as problematic (e.g., Greenspan & Shoultz, 1981; Hagnar, Rogan, & Murphy, 1992; Hatton, 1998)....
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...…disabilities stresses the crucial role played by social skills or social behaviours in the perceptions of others as competent; in other words, socially competent workers are often more positively perceived, whatever their level of task-related ability (Butterworth & Strauch, 1994; Hatton, 1998)....
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...The value of effective social skills in the workplace for those with intellectual disabilities cannot be over-estimated (e.g., Greenspan & Shoultz, 1981; Hagnar, 1996; Hatton, 1998; Storey et al., 1991)....
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...…that focussed social skills training both before and during work placement contributes to improvements in the management of interpersonal interaction by workers with intellectual disabilities (Hatton, 1998; Hughes, Killian, & Fischer, 1996; La Greca, Stone, & Bell, 1983; Schloss & Wood, 1990)....
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TL;DR: Interventions addressed communicative aspects of health consultations, taking into account emotional factors and social context and questions remain about how such interventions might impact on real-life health consultations and how issues of power might be resolved.
Abstract: Background
Communicative health literacy is a term relating to the range of competencies and capabilities patients bring to the task of seeking information about their health and sharing it with others. This exchange can be problematic for people with intellectual disabilities. The aim of this review was to synthesize findings from interventions designed to improve health communication for people with intellectual disabilities.
Materials and method
Available evidence was systematically reviewed, and findings from 14 articles were synthesized in a narrative review.
Results and conclusions
Interventions addressed communicative aspects of health consultations, taking into account emotional factors and social context. Questions remain about how such interventions might impact on real-life health consultations and how issues of power might be resolved.
32 citations
TL;DR: The KWS program was successful and can be applied in similar clinical settings and adults with ID were able to express significantly more communicative functions in their narrative language after the intervention and when using KWS.
Abstract: Purpose The goal of this study was to evaluate a key word signing (KWS) program in which adults with mild to severe intellectual disability (ID) were taught manual signs through their support staff Our hypothesis was that spontaneous manual sign production of participants would increase significantly after 12 months of implementation of the KWS program Method A KWS immersion program was implemented in a facility for adults with ID First, 8 support workers received 8 hr of training These KWS ambassadors then taught 2 manual signs per week to their colleagues, who modeled the use of the signs throughout the day in natural interactions with their clients KWS use in 15 adults with ID and 15 of their support staff was evaluated before the start of the program and at a 12-month follow-up using a narrative task and during spontaneous conversation Results Manual sign production of support workers and adults with ID had increased significantly 12 months after the start of the program The adults with ID were
27 citations
References
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01 Jan 1987
TL;DR: Gumperz as discussed by the authors discusses politeness strategies in language and their implications for language studies, including sociological implications and implications for social sciences. But he does not discuss the relationship between politeness and language.
Abstract: Symbols and abbreviations Foreword John J. Gumperz Introduction to the reissue Notes 1. Introduction 2. Summarized argument 3. The argument: intuitive bases and derivative definitions 4. On the nature of the model 5. Realizations of politeness strategies in language 6. Derivative hypotheses 7. Sociological implications 8. Implications for language studies 9. Conclusions Notes References Author index Subject index.
9,542 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1987TL;DR: This paper presents an argument about the nature of the model and its implications for language studies and Sociological implications and discusses the role of politeness strategies in language.
Abstract: This study is about the principles for constructing polite speeches. The core of it first appeared in Questions and Politeness, edited by Esther N. Goody (now out of print). It is here reissued with a fresh introduction that surveys the considerable literature in linguistics, psychology and the social sciences that the original extended essay stimulated, and suggests distinct directions for research. The authors describe and account for some remarkable parallelisms in the linguistic construction of utterances with which people express themselves in different languages and cultures. A motive for these parallels is isolated and a universal model is constructed outlining the abstract principles underlying polite usages. This is based on the detailed study of three unrelated languages and cultures: the Tamil of South India, the Tzeltal spoken by Mayan Indians in Chiapas, Mexico, and the English of the USA and England. This volume will be of special interest to students in linguistic pragmatics, sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, anthropology, and the sociology and social psychology of interaction.
9,053 citations
TL;DR: Theoretical orientations of questioners and answerers are discussed in this paper, where the interplay between questioning and answering is discussed as well as the activities of answerers.
Abstract: Part I. Theoretical orientations: Part II. The activities of questioners: Part III. The activities of answerers: Part IV. The interplay between questioning and answering.
1,475 citations
TL;DR: A model of quality of life is proposed that integrates objective and subjective indicators, a broad range of life domains, and individual values, and allows for objective comparisons to be made between the situations of particular groups and what is normative.
1,444 citations
01 Jan 1978
TL;DR: On the basis of research using audio recordings of naturally occurring conversations, the chapter highlights the organization of turn taking for conversation and extracts some of the interest that organization has.
Abstract: Publisher Summary
Turn taking is used for the ordering of moves in games, for allocating political office, for regulating traffic at intersections, for the servicing of customers at business establishments, and for talking in interviews, meetings, debates, ceremonies, conversations. This chapter discusses the turn-taking system for conversation. On the basis of research using audio recordings of naturally occurring conversations, the chapter highlights the organization of turn taking for conversation and extracts some of the interest that organization has. The turn-taking system for conversation can be described in terms of two components and a set of rules. These two components are turn-constructional component and turn-constructional component. Turn-allocational techniques are distributed into two groups: (1) those in which next turn is allocated by current speaker selecting a next speaker and (2) those in which next turn is allocated by self-selection. The turn-taking rule-set provides for the localization of gap and overlap possibilities at transition-relevance places and their immediate environment, cleansing the rest of a turn's space of systematic bases for their possibility.
832 citations