A Comparison of Tactful Messages by Children With and Without Language Impairment

The purpose of this investigation was to compare the level of tactfulness produced in messages constructed by school-age children with language impairment (LI) and school-age children with normal language development (NL). The LI children were enrolled in special classes for children with language impairments. They ranged in age from 8 to 12 years. They were matched by gender and chronological age to a group of NL children from the same school district. The subjects were presented with role-playing situations that required the construction of tactful messages. The responses were coded according to a five-point heirarchical system that reflected tactfulness. The procedures and scoring systems were adapted from the research of Pearl, Donahue, and Bryan (1985). The LI children gave significantly less tactful messages than the NL children. Developmental advances in the scores were noted only for the NL children. The results are discussed in terms of the nature of language impairment and clinical significance.