| The referential communication skills and the communication competence of behaviorally/emotionally handicapped (BEH) and regular classroom students were compared. Participants were 24 White males ages 12-16. The COMTASK, a referential communication task, was modified in order to increase the complexity of the language used by the participants and to expand the range of scores. Participants were asked to place everyday objects anywhere on a set of shelves arranged with containers of different shapes, sizes, and colors. Student responses to the modified COMTASK were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed as language samples.;On the modified COMTASK regular classroom students used more referents and gave more accurate descriptions of containers where objects were placed than did the BEH students, suggesting that BEH students were deficient in referential communication. No difference was found between the two groups in the variability of scores although the two groups showed different patterns of variability. Measures of communication competence showed that regular classroom students used more communication units, more words, and more complete communication units than did the BEH students when responding to the COMTASK. The Mean Length of Communication Unit was also greater for the regular classroom students. There were no differences between the groups in semantics or discourse. Regardless of group membership a significant positive correlation was found between referential communication success and several communication competence measures.;Findings suggest that BEH students differ from regular classroom adolescents in referential communication skills and in communication competence. Most importantly BEH students appeared to talk less. Possible explanations for decreased language on the task include smaller vocabularies, discomfort talking, lack of social skills, and social anxiety. Findings suggest that communication competence may play a role in referential communication; however, findings also suggest that attention and self-monitoring may affect referential communication success as well. |
