Jean Berko Gleason is an American psycholinguist and professor emerita in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Boston University who has made fundamental contributions to the understanding of language acquisition in children, aphasia, gender differences in language development, and parent–child interactions.
Facilitated communication (FC), or supported typing, is a scientifically discredited technique, which claims to allow non-verbal people, such as those with autism, to communicate. The technique involves a facilitator guiding the disabled person's arm or hand in an attempt to help them type on a keyboard or other such device which they are unable to properly use if unfacilitated.
A sibling is a relative that shares at least one parent with the other person. A male sibling is a brother, and a female sibling is a sister. Somebody with no siblings is an only child.
Developmental disorders comprise a group of psychiatric conditions originating in childhood that involve serious impairment in different areas. There are several ways of using this term. The most narrow concept is used in the category "Specific Disorders of Psychological Development" in the ICD-10. These disorders comprise developmental language disorder, learning disorders, developmental coordination disorders, and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). In broader definitions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is included, and the term used is neurodevelopmental disorders. Yet others include antisocial behavior and schizophrenia that begins in childhood and continues through life. However, these two latter conditions are not as stable as the other developmental disorders, and there is not the same evidence of a shared genetic liability.
June Gibbons and Jennifer Gibbons were twin sisters who grew up in Wales. They became known as "The Silent Twins", since they only communicated with each other. They wrote works of fiction. Both women were admitted to Broadmoor Hospital, where they were held for 11 years.
Baby talk is a type of speech associated with an older person speaking to a child or infant. It is also called caretaker speech, infant-directed speech (IDS), child-directed speech (CDS), child-directed language (CDL), caregiver register, parentese, or motherese.
A language delay is a language disorder in which a child fails to develop language abilities at the usual age-appropriate period in their developmental timetable. It is most commonly seen in children ages two to seven years-old and can continue into adulthood. The reported prevalence of language delay ranges from 2.3 to 19 percent.
An idioglossia is an idiosyncratic language invented and spoken by only one or two people. Most often, idioglossia refers to the "private languages" of young children, especially twins, the latter being more specifically known as cryptophasia, and commonly referred to as twin talk or twin speech.
An Individualized Education Program (IEP) is a legal document under United States law that is developed for each public school child in the U.S. who needs special education. It is created through a team of the child's parent(s), the student and district personnel who are knowledgeable about the child's needs. IEPs must be reviewed every year to keep track of the child's educational progress.
Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) encompasses the communication methods used to supplement or replace speech or writing for those with impairments in the production or comprehension of spoken or written language. AAC is used by those with a wide range of speech and language impairments, including congenital impairments such as cerebral palsy, intellectual impairment and autism, and acquired conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Parkinson's disease. AAC can be a permanent addition to a person's communication or a temporary aid. Stephen Hawking, probably the best-known user of AAC, had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and communicated through a speech-generating device.
Just for Kicks is an American comedy series that aired on the Nickelodeon television network as a part of the channel's TEENick television lineup. The series is about a group of girls on a soccer team set in New York City.
Self-advocacy is the act of speaking up for oneself and one's interests. It is used as a name for civil rights movements and mutual aid networks for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The term arose in the broader civil rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s, and is part of the disability rights movement. Today there are self-advocacy organizations across the world.
Auditory integration training (AIT) is a procedure pioneered in France by Guy Bérard. Bérard promoted AIT as a cure for clinical depression and suicidal tendencies, along with what he said were very positive results for dyslexia and autism, although there has been very little empirical evidence regarding this assertion. AIT typically involves 20 half-hour sessions over 10 days listening to specially filtered and modulated music. It was used in the early 1990s as a treatment for autism. Since, it has been promoted as a treatment for ADHD, depression, and a wide variety of other disorders. AIT has not met scientific standards for efficacy that would justify its use as a treatment for any condition.
In human development, muteness or mutism is defined as an absence of speech, with or without an ability to hear the speech of others. Mutism is typically understood as a person's inability to speak, and commonly observed by their family members, caregivers, teachers, doctors or speech and language pathologists. It may not be a permanent condition, as muteness can be caused or manifest due to several different phenomena, such as physiological injury, illness, medical side effects, psychological trauma, developmental disorders, or neurological disorders. A specific physical disability or communication disorder can be more easily diagnosed. Loss of previously normal speech (aphasia) can be due to accidents, disease, or surgical complication; it is rarely for psychological reasons.
Cryptophasia is the phenomenon of a language developed by twins that only the two children can understand. The word has its roots from the Greek crypto-, meaning secret, and -phasia, meaning speech. Most linguists associate cryptophasia with idioglossia, which is any language used by only one, or very few, people. Cryptophasia differs from idioglossia on including mirrored actions like twin-walk and identical mannerisms.
Idioglossia is a play by American playwright Mark Handley about a woman who grew up – and most notably, learned to speak – isolated from society. It served as inspiration for the 1994 film Nell.
The Kennedy Krieger Institute is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, Johns Hopkins affiliate located in Baltimore, Maryland, that provides in-patient and out-patient medical care, community services, and school-based programs for children and adolescents with learning disabilities, as well as disorders of the brain, spinal cord, and musculoskeletal system. The Institute provides services for children with developmental concerns mild to severe and is involved in research of various disorders, including new interventions and earlier diagnosis.
Global developmental delay is an umbrella term used when children are significantly delayed in two or more areas of development. It can be diagnosed when a child is delayed in one or more milestones, categorised into motor skills, speech, cognitive skills, and social and emotional development. There is usually a specific condition which causes this delay, such as Cerebral Palsy, Fragile X syndrome or other chromosomal abnormalities. However, it is sometimes difficult to identify this underlying condition.
Girl Fight is a television film that premiered on Lifetime on October 3, 2011. Inspired by true events, the film revolves around a bullied and troubled 16-year-old girl who tries to fit in with a popular group of girls, leading to a brutal beating upon joining the clique.
Developmental regression is when a child who has reached a certain developmental stage begins to lose previously acquired milestones. It differs from global developmental delay in that a child experiencing developmental delay is either not reaching developmental milestones or not progressing to new developmental milestones, while a child experiencing developmental regression will lose milestones and skills after acquiring them. Developmental regression is associated with diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder, Rett syndrome, Landau-Kleffner syndrome, and neuro-degenerative diseases. The loss of motor, language, and social skills can be treated with occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech therapy.
