Emerging Language in Autistic Children (Language Intervention Series) (review)

Reviews Emerging Language in Autistic Children (Language Intervention Series), Warren H. Fay and Andriana Luce Schüler, 216 pp., University Park Press, 233 East Redwood Street, Baltimore, Md. 21202, 1980. As an overview of language development and its multiproblem areas for autistic children, this book serves a useful purpose. In one volume the areas of speech and language, communication , cognition, and a review of intervention techniques are summarized succinctly for the reader. This serves as a useful resource book for professionals new to the learning problems of autistic children. It could also be a "catch-up" volume for those who have been out of touch with the field during the last 10 years, since during this period of time so many new theories , explorations, and innovative attempts have been reported for autistic children. Of note, the authors still attempt to collate the symptomatology into a single causative entity. The idea that the list of symptoms are often so homogenous should not preclude a number of heterogenous etiologies for autism. The neurocognitive deficits of these children vary, but the common theme still represents serious learning problems and developmental delays. Naomi Abrams Director Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center Chicago, Illinois 60616 Real Life Reading Skills, Beatrice Jackson Levin, 128 pp., $2.50, Scholastic Book Services, 50 West 44th St., New York, N.Y. 10036, 1977. For a literacy program, this is an excellent source which covers most functional reading skills including the following specific areas: reading signs and labels, following directions, reading and filling in forms and applications, using reference material, reading newspapers, and consumer education. The workbook is designed for use by the individual student and is well illustrated and very thorough. However, the vocabulary content and amount of subject matter covered are immense, and hence, require teacher supplementation. The difficulty level varies (some sections are easy while others are complex) and would probably be handled best by a junior or senior high school student with at least a third- or fourth-grade instructional reading level. An additional set of dittos and transparencies as well as suggestions and answer keys are also available. All students need competency in functional reading skills, and this material is an outstanding aid for developing these skills. Janet Conley, M.Ed. Maryland School for the Deaf Frederick, Maryland 21701 Oral Education: Today and Tomorrow, Edited by Ann Mulholland, Ed.D., 544 pp., Alexander Graham Bell Association, 3417 Volta Place, N.W., Washington , D. C. 20007, 1981. The manuscript constitutes the proceedings of the "International Symposium on Oral Education " held in the Netherlands with 36 participants , of whom 32 were from the United States (13), the Netherlands (11), and the British Isles (8). The report consists of 25 chapters and responses written by the participants on aspects of oral-only education. Two contradicting themes run through the chapters: First is general acceptance of the "greatly impoverished nature of the speech of deaf children" (Ling, p. 391), the existence of many cases of "oral failures " (Van Uden, p. 117), and the "limitations of oral approach systems" (Schulte, p. 105). Ivimey (p. 54) summarized the situation as follows , "The inescapable conclusion of this is that the practices most frequently observed in schools for deaf children are unsuccessful and frequently counterproductive." The second theme is that the worldwide trend toward oral-manual communication is a mistake . The problem is seen as not related to oralonly education per se, but in poor applications of oral methods, inadequate teacher training programs, the increased number of additional handicaps, and even to foreign immigration to highly industrialized countries (Lowe, p. 17). There was a belief that oral-only education would be successful in any program that had early identification and fitting of hearing aids, effective parent counseling, well-trained teachers , small classes, and constant interaction with hearing children. Unfortunately, the participants could not agree on the major essence of oral education. Differences existed over unisensory vs. multisensory stimulation, natural vs. structured techniques , and the use of supplementary manual systems such as the Phoneme Transmitting Manual System. Clark (p. 321) was moved to 318 A.A.O. I June 1982 ...