Effect of object and movement cues on receptive communication by preschool children with mental retardation

Preschool children with mental retardation typically have delays in language comprehension that may result in difficulty understanding spoken messages. The effect of the systematic application of object and movement cues was investigated to determine whether either or both cues would facilitate children's comprehension of a partner's intended referent during play and snack activities. Children were presented with stimulus items that the communication partner referred to under three conditions: object cue and speech, movement cue and speech, or speech alone. All children identified the intended referents with fewer trials to criterion when object or movement cues were used with speech than when speech alone was employed.