The North Carolina State Legislature's mandate to Division TEACCH has three major components. First, to provide the most up-to-date and cost effective services possible for families with autistic or similar language impaired children; second, to conduct research aimed toward the better under standing of such devastating disorders; and third, to provide training for the professionals needed to pursue these goals. One element in achieving these aims is to hold annual conferences on topics of special importance to the under standing and treatment of autism and similar disorders. In addition to training professionals and parents on the most recent de velopments in each conference topic, we are publishing a series, Current Issues in Autism, based on these conferences. These books are not, however, simply the published proceedings of the conference papers. Instead, some chapters are expanded conference presentations, whereas others come from national and in ternational experts whose work is beyond the scope of the conference, but es sential in our attempt at comprehensive coverage of the conference theme. These volumes are intended to provide the most current knowledge and profes sional practice available to us at the time.

Ever since attempts were made to describe and explain normal language development, references to exceptional circumstances have been made. Variations in the conditions under which language is acquired can be regarded as natural experiments, which would not be feasible or ethical under normal circumstances. This can throw light on such questions as: *What language input is necessary for the child to learn language? *What is the relationship between cognition and language? *How independent are different components of language function? *Are there critical periods for language development? *Can we specify necessary and sufficient conditions for language impairment? This book covers a range of exceptional circumstances including: extreme deprivation, twinship, visual and auditory impairments, autism and focal brain damage? Written in a jargon-free style, and including a glossary of linguistic and medical terminology, the book assumes little specialist knowledge. This text is suitable for both students and practitioners in the fields of psycholinguistics, developmental and educational psychology, speech pathology, paediatrics and special education.

Communicating with Normal and Retarded Children explores the way in which normal children acquire language and the mistakes they make. It aims to trace the common growth between professions in understanding of normal language development and the retarded person's language and to encourage research, particularly of an interdisciplinary kind. This book is organized into five main sections. The contributors provide different professional perspectives of how and why the mentally retarded get their communication wrong and what remedies can be applied. They also present their own research findings, often in little-explored areas or from a novel angle, and offer their opinion on the types and topics of research that should be carried out. This book will be of interest to academic and clinical psychologists, educators, linguists, advisors and tutors in nursing and social studies, child health doctors, psychiatrists, and a range of therapists.

Drawing on the TEACCH program's twenty years of experience in clinical services, education, and research, this volume synthesizes some of the most important theory and data related to the early identification and intervention in autism and related disorders. Chapters addressing clinical aspects, parental concerns, and legal issues will be useful in helping professionals understand and implement state-of-the-art services for young children and their families.

Written by therapists experienced in working with nonspeaking clients and their families, this helpful book includes many issues pertinent to the assessment and training of augmented communicators. The field of augmentative communication, which is rapidly gaining recognition in all areas of rehabilitation, is thoroughly addressed here. A summary of the prerequisites for implementing a communication system will be particularly useful to anyone working with nonspeaking clients who do not yet have a method of communication. Included among the topics are assessing cognitive function in clients unable to take intelligence tests in standardized fashion, finding a match between the motor capabilities of the client and the motor demands of various aided and unaided communication systems, and promoting the involvement of the family in the development of a communication system. This indispensable resource also offers information about publication, equipment vendors, and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), the primary leader in augmentative communication.