Language learning and communication disorders in children

A highly favorable review of a book concerned with the growth of language. A model of language learning and communication disorders is presented; central to the process of acquisition is the continuous, undisrupted, and affectionate relationship between mother and child that results in frequent verbal and nonverbal communication. The interpersonal matrix of reciprocal feedback between the caretaking adult and the infant is viewed primarily from the experience of those Central European and North American societies that are characterized by the nuclear family. The cultural context in which the author's viewpoint was developed is carefully specified, with room for alternative descriptions of the social and emotional contexts of language development. Much of the research included comes from other sources and should not be considered the works of the author alone. Though some of it is outdated, the ability to combine clinical, theoretical, and research findings in this volume is commendable.