YOUNG CHILDRENS COMMUNICATION AND LITERACY - A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF LANGUAGE IN THE INCLUSIVE PRESCHOOL

Interactive and literacy based language use of young children within t he context of an inclusive preschool classroom was explored. An interp retivist framework and qualitative research methods, including partici pant observation, were used to examine and analyze language in five pr eschool classes that were composed of children with and without disabi lities, Children's language use included spoken, written, signed, and typed. Results showed complex communicative and literacy language use on the part of young children outside conventional adult: perspectives . Also, children who used expressive methods other than speech were of ten left out of the contexts where spoken language was richest and mos t complex.