Pragmatic development in individuals with mental retardation: Learning to use language in social interactions

Reported communication challenges for adult witnesses with intellectual disabilities giving evidence in court

“…Nineteen court reports written by RIs in Northern Ireland were examined. Findings of this research are in line with current literature which highlights communication difficulties for adults with ID including: difficulties in receiving, processing and retaining information; limitations in recall and expressive language skills; limitations in being able to focus during communicative exchanges; and challenges with social and pragmatic skills for effective communication (Abbeduto and Hesketh, 1997;Bartlett and Bunning, 1997;Belva et al, 2012;Blackwell et al, 1989;Cascella, 2004;Cogher, 2010;Henry and MacLean, 2002;Hronis et al, 2017;Kelly, 2000). Findings of this research also complement existing research regarding difficulties with witness suggestibility to leading questions (Bettenay et al, 2014;Cardone and Dent, 1996;Clare and Gudjonsson, 1993;Gudjonsson and Henry, 2003;Milne et al, 2002;White and Willner, 2005), limited recall skills (Bettenay et al, 2014;Brown et al, 2012;Henry and Gudjonsson, 2003) and difficulties understanding court-related language (Ericson and Perlman, 2001).…”

“…This two-way form of communication is often referred to as interpersonal communication (Berger, 2014), which requires some form of mutual interaction between the persons involved (Burleson, 2010;Griffiths and Smith, 2017). The process of an effective communication exchange can be complex and is impacted by the communication skills of each communication partner involved, such as: cognitive (Cogher, 2010;Wyer and Gruenfeld, 1995); language (Chomsky, 2011); social (Burleson, 2010); and pragmatic skills to understand the more subtle meanings conveyed in a message (Abbeduto and Hesketh, 1997;Hronis et al, 2017). Bar training in the UK would suggest that advocates are being trained to question witnesses in a style that can be easily understood and processed by the witness.…”

Observation de pratiques pour développer des habiletés de communication chez les enfants du préscolaire qui ont des incapacités

“…Cette stratégie est particulièrement efficace pour susciter l'initiative chez l'enfant qui a un retard de développement, et dont les difficultés sur le plan de l'initiative (Nader-Grosbois, 2006) ralentissent l'émergence des habiletés de communication (Abbeduto et Hesketh, 1997). L'adulte qui imite de façon exacte, réduite ou amplifiée le comportement de l'enfant immédiatement après sa production s'assure ainsi de suivre l'initiative de l'enfant (McCathren, 2000(McCathren, , 2010.…”

Mothers' Social Communicative Adjustments to Young Children With Mild Developmental Delays

“……”