The emergence of accessing skills of typically-developing school-age children

Author

Heather Leigh Jones

Date of Award

5-1997

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Major

Speech Pathology

Major Professor

Lori Swanson

Committee Members

Pearl Gordon, Jacki Ruark

Abstract

Recent research has affirmed that delays in the development of pragmatic skills can have long-term ramifications. Children whose language abilities are limited, as in specific language impairment, are at risk for social incompetence due to their inability to interact appropriately with their peers. One particular area of pragmatics which has been shown to have a profound impact on social skills is accessing. Studies have indicated that children with specific language impairment do not develop accessing techniques as do their age-matched and language-matched peers. However, no comprehensive study had been done thus far which documented the emergence of accessing skills in typically-developing children. The purpose of this study was to examine the development of accessing skills. Typically-developing children in kindergarten and second grade participated in a triadic interaction. Two confederates began the interaction, and the subject was introduced after five minutes. The time required to access and accessing technique used were recorded. analyzed, and compared between groups. The Social Skills Rating System-Teacher Form (Gresham & Elliott, 1990) was also administered to assess social competence. The results showed that kindergarten Subjects required an average of one minute longer to achieve access than did second graders, though this was not a significant difference. The results showed that attention getting, particularly through eye contact, was the single most frequently used accessing technique among all Subjects. The techniques used by both groups to achieve access were virtually identical, thus indicating the existence of a particular pattern of behaviors which constitutes appropriate accessing skill. A hierarchy of steps to achieve successful access is presented as a preliminary guide to providing treatment for children with pragmatic disorders who have difficulty with this skill.

Recommended Citation

Jones, Heather Leigh, "The emergence of accessing skills of typically-developing school-age children. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 1997.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/10572