Multisign combinations by children with intellectual impairments: An analysis of language skills

Research suggests that people with intellectual impairments who use manual signs to augment or substitute for speech rarely progress beyond the stage of single signs and that word order is particularly problematic. However, t he majority of studies have focused on experimental tasks, and relatively l ittle is known about spontaneous sign production in naturalistic settings. The present study explored the linguistic development in sign and speech of 10 children who relied on manual signs (the Makaton vocabulary) as their m ain means of communication. Mean utterance length in sign ranged from 1.0 t o 2.5, and analysis of semantic relations, lexical development, and word or der suggested that the children had not developed their language beyond MLU Stage 1. Examination of their abilities within the modality of sign indica ted that some children were able to manipulate features of sign at a sublex ical level. The results are discussed in relation to the language input by teachers, and inferences are drawn regarding the underlying modality of lin guistic representation in children who use manual signs.