Language and cognitive development: a systematic behavioral program and technology for increasing the language and cognitive skills of developmentally disabled and at-risk preschool children.

Behavioral research in teaching verbal behavior to language-delayed and developmentally disabled preschool children has progressed greatly during the past 30 years. It is now possible to produce improvements in the verbal behavior of language-delayed and developmentally disabled children that previously would have been considered impossible. Not only is it possible to teach language-delayed children a wide variety of individual elements and forms of speech, such as plurals, adjectives, syntax, and grammar, but it is also possible to achieve functional language in nonverbal children and produce total recovery in some autistic and functionally mentally retarded preschool children. The results of our research with the TALK Language Development Program provide techniques, procedures, and new directions to further advance the technology of verbal behavior. First, development of a standard procedure for the analysis, reinforcement, and recording of verbal behavior provides a precise and standard method for evaluating the effect of contingencies of reinforcement on verbal behavior. Second, the TALK program, by systematizing and operationalizing the process of shaping functional language, provides a program that is relatively easily learned by therapists, teachers, speech pathologists, and others. Third, the robustness and reliability of the TALK program, as demonstrated by replication across diagnostic groups, settings, and therapists, makes it an attractive program for use with a variety of developmentally disabled children. Fourth, the identification of specific parent-child reinforcement paradigms that appear to be functionally related to language delay may facilitate research in the prevention of language delay. Finally, our research with functionally retarded children and normal infants has led to the development of a behavioral strategy and technology for the prevention of and total recovery from some cases of language delay and functional mental retardation. At least two important opportunities now exist for making a substantial social impact through the technology of verbal behavior. First, the passage of Public Law 99-457 has created a major need for effective language programs that can be used by public school teachers of handicapped preschool children. The need will increase as more programs for the birth to 3 population are mandated. This presents a major opportunity for transferring the technology of verbal behavior to other professionals who are in daily contact with young handicapped preschool children, such as teachers, speech pathologists, pediatricians, and social workers.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)