The picture exchange communication system (PECS) is an augmentative communication system frequently used with children with autism (Bondy & Frost, 1994; Siegel, 2000; Yamall, 2000). Despite its common clinical use, no well-controlled empirical investigations have been conducted to test the effectiveness of PECS. Using a multiple baseline design, the present study examined the acquisition of PEC...

this paper highlights the folk perception of impoliteness among ghanaians in view of watts’ (2003) notion of first order impoliteness. the study showed that impoliteness is not just an opposite of politeness, but the manifestation of non-cooperation, disapproval, and mutual antipathy through certain communicative behaviours that signal disrespect. these communicative behaviours include ‘interru...

While there are a wide variety of studies about communicative action theory of Habermas, there is the need for building of indicators and variables for quantitative methods of assessing this concept in a particular case study. Especially as the development of communicative action theory has created new perspectives in urban planning, it is necessary to assess and promote this concept in cities ...

The most widely practised instructional method for the development of interpersonal skills is role-play. Role-play is supposed to be a complex learning environment for novices to develop interpersonal skills. The learning environment is complex because of two factors. Firstly, the cognitive load is high during social-communicative problem solving because the execution of all steps has to be tak...

The earliest stages of functional communication training (FCT) involve providing immediate and continuous reinforcement for a communicative response (FCR) that is functionally equivalent to the targeted problem behavior. However, maintaining immediate reinforcement is not practical, and the introduction of delays is associated with increased problem behavior. The present study evaluated the eff...