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KNOWING, BUT NOT DOING, MAKATON
Author(s) -
BAILEY R. D.,
TAIT E.
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
journal of the institute of mental subnormality (apex)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.633
H-Index - 39
eISSN - 1468-3156
pISSN - 0141-2205
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-3156.1979.tb00450.x
Subject(s) - comprehension , expression (computer science) , vocabulary , psychology , cognitive psychology , sign (mathematics) , sign language , spoken language , developmental psychology , linguistics , computer science , artificial intelligence , mathematical analysis , philosophy , mathematics , programming language
A detailed 12–month study with five hearing, severely mentally handicapped, non‐communicating young adults showed comprehension to be an important factor in Makaton Vocabulary Training. There was a general lack of spontaneous expression by all the students in the training. Possible reasons for this are reflected in the results that showed individual differences in comprehension and the rate of learning by the mentally handicapped students. It is agreed that comprehension precedes Makaton expression. This is in keeping with what we know about the normal development of spoken language. It is also shown that the level of understanding of spoken language improved along with the improvement in understanding Makaton. It is suggested that understanding is an important predictor of the ability to sign but not, in itself, a predictor of spontaneous Makaton expression. The role that it might play as a predictor of Makaton success, understanding and using Makaton, is briefly discussed. Retention scores were investigated to assess this problem. It is also argued that there is a need for working communication models to take account of the different processes that may be involved in learning and using Makaton signing.