COMPUTER-ENHANCED LANGUAGE LEARNING BY MRDD CHILDREN

THE LONG-TERM GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DETERMINE HOW TO USE COMPUTER AND VIDEO TECHNOLOGY MOST EFFECTIVELY TO FURTHER SPOKEN AND WRITTEN LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDREN WITH MRDD DUE TO A WIDE RANGE OF ETIOLOGIES. THE SPECIFIC AIMS ARE: (1) TO DEVELOP AND TEST THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SOFTWARE, HARDWARE, AND THERAPEUTIC TECHNIQUES WITH CHILDREN WITH MRDD, COMPARED TO STANDARD INTERVENTIONS; AND (2) TO DEVELOP AND TEST THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE USE OF VIDEO TECHNOLOGY WITH TEACHERS, THERAPISTS, AND PARENTS TO TRAIN THE TECHNICAL SKILLS REQUIRED TO USE THE SOFTWARE, HARDWARE, AND THERAPEUTIC TECHNIQUES, COMPARED WITH USE OF DOCUMENTATION ALONE. DURING PHASE I, THE TECHNICAL MERIT, FEASIBILITY, AND PERFORMANCE WILL BE ESTABLISHED BY: (1) CARRYING OUT A MODELEFFECTIVENESS STUDY WITH A GROUP OF CHILDREN WITH MRDD; (2) SURVEYING TEACHERS, THERAPISTS, ADVERTISERS, AND DISTRIBUTORS TO DETERMINE THE LEVEL OF INTEREST AND SPECIFIC NEEDS FOR NEW SOFTWARE, EFFECTIVENESS STUDIES, AND TRAINING VIDEOS; (3) PLANNING, IN DETAIL, THE DESIGN AND PRODUCTION OF THE PHASE II TRAINING VIDEOS; AND (4) DESIGNING, IN DETAIL, THE PHASE II COMPUTER AND VIDEO EFFECTIVENESS STUDIES. DURING PHASE II, SOFTWARE WILL BE DEVELOPED, EFFECTIVENESS STUDIES WILL BE CARRIED OUT WITH MRDD CHILDREN, AND TRAININGVIDEOS WILL BE DEVELOPED AND TESTED.