A visual graphic tool to support the production of simple sentence structures in a student with learning disability

• Published in: Child language teaching and therapy Vol. 22; no. 2; pp. 219 - 240
• Main Authors: Valiquette, Christine, Gérin-Lajoie, Anne-Marie, Sutton, Ann
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Thousand Oaks, CA Sage Publications 01.06.2006; SAGE Publications; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Case Studies; Child Language; Children; Coding; Cognitive Processes; Communication Aids; Down Syndrome; Evaluation; Females; Form Classes (Languages); French; French language; Grammar; Grammar Instruction; Grammatical subject; Graphic symbols; Language; Language Acquisition; Language Impairments; Language Processing; Language Teaching Materials; Learning Disabilities; Learning disabled children; Memory; Mental Age; Native Language Instruction; Nonverbal Ability; Nouns; Oral Language; Pronouns; Recognition (Achievement); Repetition; Sentence Structure; Sentences; Short Term Memory; Speech; Syntax; Thinking Skills; Transformation Rules; Verbal Tasks; Verbs; Visual Aids
• ISSN: 0265-6590; 1477-0865
• DOI: 10.1191/0265659006ct302oa

A tool was devised to improve spoken syntax through manipulation of graphic symbols. The participant, a French-speaking 11-year-old girl with general learning disability, learned to produce subject-verb-object (SVOn) sentences and transform them into a subject-object-verb (SOpV) structure in which the object becomes pronominal in a preverbal position. The production of personal pronouns in subject position was also targeted. Didactic methods were selected and administered for a total of 12 individual sessions. Pre-and post-measurements in an elicitation task (picture description) and language sample analysis showed significant improvement on target productions.