Social interactions and communication patterns in mentally retarded children.

An observational approach and videorecordings were used to investigate a group of four mentally retarded kindergarten children with minimal language development. Results showed that when a facilitator (teacher) was present, there were more social interactions and vocalizations, but there was no significant increase in meaningful verbal content. Nonverbal communication rose sharply in the presence of the facilitator. The findings indicate that an observational analysis of patterns of interaction is useful in planning intervention programs in the area of social and communication development.