Logographic reading by TMR adults

Ten moderately retarded adults learned a set of 16 logographic signs. Subjects were asked to demonstrate sentences formed from the signs using dolls and other toys. They were also asked to pick out signs and form a sentence after watching the experimenter demonstrate an event. All subjects were able to demonstrate sentences with only minor errors. Only about half were completely successful in constructing four- and five-word sentences. The method of construction of most subjects revealed a semantic--syntactic disengagement; the signs were chosen in nonsentence order, apparently in order of salience of the referents. After collecting the signs, most subjects were able to put them in correct sentence order. The results support the feasibility of a logographic system for nonreading retarded adults.