Modification of children's speech as a function of the perceived intellectual capacity of the listener

In the context of an adapted referential communication task the speech of 40 children aged 8-10 years was examined under the listener conditions of speech to a younger child and to a retarded child of the same sex and similar chronological age, relative to initial speech to a peer. Modification, as indexed by an increase in quantity of speech and in semantic coherence was observed in speech to a retarded listener but not to a younger listener, suggesting that the intellectually handicapped children were perceived as being less competent listeners. The effect is interpreted as a result of an active integration programme in a particular school setting and is seen to offer promise for the limited integration of the mildly disabled.