Wednesday, April 21, 2010

April 29: Laura Sterponi, Graduate School of Education

Rethinking Echolalia: Repetition as Interactional Resource in the Communication of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Echolalia, that is the repetition of the speech of others, often constitutes the bulk of the early speech of those children with autism who develop language. Autism echolalia has traditionally been conceived of as an automatic, pre-reflexive behavior that bears no or minimal communicative function and compromises intersubjectivity. In line with recent naturalistic studies, Prof. Sterponi explores the functional role of echolalic behavior in the communication of and with affected children. Through an integrated methodology, which combines linguistic, discourse and acoustic analyses, Prof. Sterponi demonstrates that (1)immediate echoes are not automatic responses devoid of meaning but rather they accomplish a range of interactional goals; (2)delayed echoes are employed systematically and productively to mark different epistemic and affective stances; and
(3)adult-child verbal interaction unfolds according to discernible formats, which are distinctly conducive to functional uses of echoes.

Thursday, April 29, 2010
12:30-2:00p.m.
1111 Tolman Hall

Friday, April 9, 2010

April 15: Margaret Bridges, Institute of Human Development

Watching Scooby Doo and Making Tortillas: The Daily Activities of Mexican-American Preschool Children

In response to Social and Ecocultural theories about why some young children of color lag behind their peers in school, Dr. Bridges will present her research on the everyday activities of 25 young Mexican-American children. Specifically, she will report on the six most frequently observed activities in terms of their reproduction of heritage culture, language, symbols, and knowledge; their cognitive demands; and how they varied across families. She will use these findings to explain, in part, why some Latino children may differentially engage in the activity structures present in U.S. classrooms.