Communication disabilities are common, although their precise nature and degree of severity vary greatly among individuals. They are among the most handicapping of disabilities because they isolate a person and in so doing restrict social, educational, and occupational opportunities. One of the purposes of this book was to bring together theoretical, practical, and clinical knowledge from several disciplines that bear on language and communication into some reasonably accessible form. The intent is to provide a broad and multi-faceted view of language development and language disorders. Thus, contributions from education, linguistics, psychology, pediatrics, psychiatry, neurology, neuropsychology, and speech therapy are included. They describe our current knowledge of language development, suggest classifications for language pathology, outline what is known of the epidemiology of language difficulties, consider assessment and therapy, alternative communication systems and the impact of the new technology on communication aids. The variety of perspectives that it provides will make it particularly useful to the range of specialists who are concerned with the development of communication skills and language disorders.

The English and Romanian Adoptees (ERA) study constituted an invaluable "natural experiment" in which there was a rapid, easily-timed transition from a profoundly depriving environment in Romanian institutions to generally well-functioning adoptive families in England. Multimodal methods of assessment were used throughout the assessments at 4, 6, 11, and 15 years of age. Four key findings were particularly striking. First, institutional deprivation was associated with an apparently deprivation-specific pattern of combinations of quasiautism, disinhibited attachment, cognitive impairment, and inattention/overactivity. Second, longitudinal growth curves showed a relative deceleration of growth between 11 and 15 years (possibly due to early puberty). Third, institutional deprivation without subnutrition was associated with a major impairment in head growth. Fourth, the effects of institutional deprivation were as strong at 15 years as they had been earlier in childhood.

God: The Play is a story about an inquisitive college student named Jude. He is a scholar and contender for valedictorian of his graduating class. He has completed an academically demanding program with a double major in English and drama, which requires a thesis to graduate. Jude's professor gave him the thesis topic: Does God exist, or not? He decides to write and perform a play to fulfill this requirement, and he uses his fellow drama students as the actors. God: The Play begins with a series of opinionated characters presenting unconventional insights into the existence of God. It is the intent of these composite characters to provide new perceptions on old beliefs, including unique ideas about God. These characters do not intend to leave the audience resting comfortably in their current beliefs as an atheist, a member of a religious sect, or a scientist. In their dialogue, the characters examine human tolerance for believing in irrational, intangible ideas, even if one's belief is non-belief. The characters use "dialectic rhetoric" to "inquire, argue and persuade" in seeking the truth about God's existence through "closed fist" and "open hand" discussions as described by philosophers such as Zeno the stoic, Hegel, Aristotle, Socrates, Plato and Cicero.

In this major new book, eminent scientist Professor Sir Michael Rutter gets behind the hype of the behavioral genetics debate to provide a balanced and authoritative overview of the genetic revolution and its implications for understanding human behavior. * Written by one of the world's leading figures in child psychology and psychiatry, Professor Sir Michael Rutter * Provides non-technical explanation of genetics to diffuse the sensational debates surrounding the topic * Sets out in layman's terms what genes do, how much is nature and how much is nurture * Argues that nature and nurture are not truly separate and gives examples of how the two interact * Looks at the implications of genetic findings for policy and practice * The book will inform public debate about the implications of the Human Genome Project and, more broadly, the field of genetic science