Paired gestural and vocal behavior in one-year-old cleft lip and palate children.

The paired gestural plus vocalization communicative abilities of 10 normal and 10 cleft palate children were examined. All subjects were 12 months old and were matched with respect to sex, race, socioeconomic level, hearing acuity, and language spoken at home. During data collection, mothers were asked to play with their children. These interactions were videotaped and analyzed for the amount of paired gestural plus vocalization behavior displayed. Results of the investigation yielded significant differences between the two groups on the amount of paired giving plus vocalization behavior exhibited. Further study was suggested regarding the possible existence of an intermediate linguistic development stage in which preverbal vocalizations become attached to communicative gestures.