Teaching Single Word Vocabulary with Minspeak Using a
Word Retrieval Therapy Approach
Arlene Luberoff Badman, M.A., CCC-SLP
Prentke Romich Company/Private Clinician
Children verbally practice speech and language extensively to master
language concepts and develop vocabulary for spontaneous retrieval when
expressing their thoughts. However, nonverbal children are severely restricted
by how much they can communicate and practice language both physically and
verbally. We must provide a method for nonverbal children to practice
language in order to help them organize their words for spontaneous
communication and ultimately to set the stage for literacy. Using a word
retrieval approach to teach single word vocabulary with Minspeak will be
discussed with examples provided.
Wilson and Risucci (1988) stated that reading ability is the most likely academic skill to be
adversely affected by difficulties in a nondisabled child's ability to receive, process and
express spoken language. This is based on the assumption that reading and oral language
share a common knowledge base and lexicon. An on-going study by these authors regarding
establishing predictive and severity factors of a reading disorder is showing that "preschool
children with a receptive and/or auditory memory and retrieval disorders are at greatest risk
for later reading difficulties.' This suggests that children must have adequate storage and
organizational skills of language concepts and vocabulary for future retrieval in order to
become competent oral communicators and to become literate. Children develop strong
language skills verbally by practicing extensively with their words and by using their words
in a variety of contexts. However, nonverbal children lack this important opportunity.
It is known that many nonspeaking individuals are illiterate (Koppenhaver and Yoder, 1992).
Children who are physically and speech impaired are severely restricted by how much they can
communicate and practice language verbally. As a result, they may not be able to mentally
store and organize vocabulary necessary for spontaneous communication adequately. This can
result in receptive, auditory memory and retrieval difficulties. If the typical child who exhibits
such difficulties is at risk for reading failure, then similar difficulties in oral expression in the
nonverbal population may be a contributing factor to their illiteracy. Therefore, we must
provide a method for children who are nonspeaking to practice language in order to help them
organize their words for spontaneous communication and ultimately set the stage for literacy.
Children with vocabulary retrieval difficulties, whether speaking or nonspeaking, need
constant exposure to and use and reuse of vocabulary before they can effectively engage in
conversation (Jorgensen, C. Huisingh, R., Zachman, L.,Barrett, W., Snedden, U.K., and
Thomsen, S., 1985). Using a word retrieval approach to teaching single word vocabulary with
Minspeak, a clinician can teach the vocabulary using the device as well as strengthen the
child's ability to organize and retrieve vocabulary mentally. This approach requires that the
child state answers to questions about object functions, associations, categorizations,
similarities/differences, attributes and definitions using their device. Since these steps are
inherent in Minspeak, using a device with Minspeak provides an easy medium for teaching the
vocabulary in the child's device while possibly strengthening the child's storage and
organizational skills.
Listed below are six tasks a clinician can use to teach single word vocabulary and
retrieval skills (Richard and Banner, 1987).
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STATING FUNCTIONS
Stating functions allows a child to tell what an object does and serves as a stepping stone
toward defining words. For example, questions such as
 What do you do with juice?," 'What do you do with an apple?,' " What do you do
when you are tired?,' or 'What do you do with your eyes?" teach the child about what
objects do, or what we do with them, and associates the verb with the object's label.
CATEGORIZATIONS
Categorization is the process of classifying object by their similarities, whether by attribute,
function, or category. For example, questions such as
 Tell me three things that are round," "Tell me three things that are blue," "Tell me
three things that we cut with," "Name three furniture items," or "What are red, yellow
and blue called?' teach the child to group words by cannon features.
ASSOCIATIONS
The ability to attach a related meaning to a word is important to building vocabulary and is
inherent in Minspeak. Once several categorizations and functions are learned a therapist can
ask "What goes with a shoe?," "What goes with a coat?," "Who paints?," "Who cries?". This
teaches a child based on past experiences to associate new concepts to an object or a situation.
SIMILARITIES
Asking a child to state similarities encourages a child to note the likeness between objects.
Questions to ask include "How are hats and shoes the same?,' or "How are a pumpkin and
carrot the same?" This teaches the child how to evaluate two objects and state their common
attributes.
DIFFERENCES
Stating differences encourages a child to think of two objects and note their contrasts.
Questions to ask may include "How are a sock and shoe different?,' or "How are a pumpkin
and carrot different?" This teaches the child to contrast two objects and state their
dissimilarities.
DEFINITIONS
This task teaches the child to define a word. Examples of questions include "What is a hat?,"
"What is a spoon?,' or "What is a painter?", teaching a child to use what he has learned in
previous exercises to formulate his response.
The above approach does not have to be presented in a drill format although practice and more
practice is necessary. Rather, it can be used in a motivating, fun manner that includes
functional everyday activities (i.e., ACHIEV as one possibility). There are additional materials
already developed that address the issue of how to improve vocabulary deficiencies (Language
Processing Remediation, HELP Volumes I-V, to name a few). These ideas can be
creatively incorporated into a child's therapy plan for teaching single word vocabulary with
Minspeak. Once the ideas in the above steps are established in a clinician's mind, they can be
easily incorporated into book reading activities, computer software lessons, and commercial
game boards (Semantically Speaking for Early Intervention, Guess Who?, Outburst Jr., to
name a few).
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CONCLUSION
It has been reported that-a child's speaking skills assist in his development of listening, writing,
and reading; a process thought once to be sequential in its development, but now considered
interrelated (Koppenhaver, Coleman, and Yoder, 1991). It is also known that children
practice talking extensively. However, if a child cannot practice speaking, as with children
who have severe speech impairments, then this interrelated structure of speaking, listening,
writing, and reading will be adversely affected. A teaching tool to strengthen oral expression
includes retrieval exercises that enable a child to explore, use and reuse words. This approach
can be an excellent technique to familiarize non-oral children with the single word vocabulary
in their augmentative communication devices using Minspeak. Also, this technique has been
observed by the author to strengthen a verbal child's storage and organizational skills and
provide him with the ammunition needed for developing spontaneous and effective
communication. I believe that the same effect may occur using this word retrieval approach
and Minspeak with the nonspeaking child. By strengthening and developing this aspect of
language, a child is able to explore the other aspects of listening, reading and writing which are
the essential building blocks for 1iteracy.
REFERENCES
GuessWho? (19875. Springfield, MA; Milton Bradley Company.)
Jorgensen, C.,Huisingh, R.,Zachman, L.,Barrett, M., Snedden, U.K., and Thomsen, S.
(1985). ACHIEV: Activities for Children Involving Everyday Vocabulary. Woline, II:
LinguiSystems.
Koppenhaver, D. A., Coleman, P.P., Kalman, S.L., and Yoder, D. E. (1991). The
Implications of Emergent Literacy Research for Children with Developmental Disabilities.
American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology: A Journal of Clinical Practice, Vol. 1, pp.
38-44.
Koppenhaver, D.A., and Yoder, D.E.,0992). Three Reasons for Literacy Learning
Difficulties in Children with SSPI and How to Address Them. Paper Presented at the Second
Annual Meeting of the Carolina Symposium for Literacy and Persons with Severe Speech and
Physical Impairments, Research Triangle Park, NC
Krassowski, E.B. (1986). Semantically Speaking: A Game for Building
Vocabulary Skills. Tucson, AZ; Communication Skills Builders, Inc.
Krassowski, E.B. (1990). Semantically Speaking for Early Intervention. Tucson, AZ;
Communication
Skill Builders, Inc.
Lazzari, A. M. and Peters, P. W. (1980). HELP: Handbook of Exercises for, Language.
Processing.Vol. 1-5. Holine, II :LinguiSystems.
Richard, G.J., and Banner, M. A. (1987). Language Processing Remediation,
LinguiSystems.
Vilson, B.C., and Risucci D. A. (1988). The Early Identification of Developmental
Language Disorders and the Prediction of the Acquisition of Reading Skills. In R. L. Mas] and
and W. V. Wasland (Eds.). Preschool Prevention of Reading Failure. (pp. 187-203).
Parkton, MD: York Press.
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