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Article 5:Learning from the Great Apes —
Language Research Center Atlanta, Georgia State & Emory Universities

Visitors to the Language Research Center (LRC) leave the city streets of Atlanta, Georgia and drive to a forested area. There they begin to hear noises not typical of most environments. Located on 55 acres with five miles of trails, the LRC was founded ten years ago by Georgia State University and the Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center at Emory University. Funded by the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development, the Center is directed by Duane M. Rumbaugh, Ph.D. Its purpose is to study language acquisition processes in great apes and humans and to benefit persons with mental retardation by applying principles and intervention strategies learned. Currently 11 great apes live at LRC and 40 people work there.

You can talk to these animals. Many have communication boards and interact using signs and by pointing to abstract symbols. Some use voice output communication aids (VOCAs), i.e., SuperWolf.* For example, Kanzi, a pygmy chimpanzee, asked your ACN publisher to chase him and had your publisher acting just like a monkey. Currently four major areas of investigation are underway at LRC.

A. Language Acquisition in the Chimpanzee. Principal Investigator, Sue Savage-Rumbaugh, Ph.D.; Co-investigator, Rose A. Sevcik. This project considers how non-human primates learn symbols. Among the things learned about chimps’ abilities are:

· Chimps learn abstract symbols and use them to communicate.

· Chimps learn to use symbols during natural interaction with their caregivers.

· Speech synthesis is an effective strategy during human/chimp interactions.

· Chimps use symbols to interact with other chimps.

Results also have shown the acquisition of a symbolic communication system was easier for Kanzi, a pygmy chimpanzee than for Sherman and Austin, two common chimpanzees. Kanzi had a capacity for the comprehension of speech, while Sherman and Austin did not.

B. Georgia State Mental Retardation Project. Principal Investigator, Mary Ann Romski, Ph.D. Co-Investigator, Rose A. Sevcik. This project adapts findings from the non-human primate research and studies how non-speaking persons with mental retardation learn symbols and how technology can facilitate growth in the comprehension and expression of language and interaction. Work is carried out in the homes and schools of students with moderate and severe mental retardation who are enrolled in Clayton County schools. Articles summarizing results of this project are:

Sevcik, R.A., Romski, M.A. & Wilkinson, K. (1991). AAC symbols: Their roles in communication acquisition for persons with severe cognitive disabilities. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 7, 1-10.

Romski, M.A., & Sevcik, R. A. (1991). Augmenting language development in children with severe mental retardation. In S. Warren & J. Reichle (Eds.), Causes and effects of communication and language intervention. Baltimore, MD: Paul Brookes.

Molfese, D., Morris, R., & Romski, M.A. (1990). Semantic discrimination in nonspeaking youngsters with moderate or severe retardation: Electrophysiological correlates. Brain and Language, 38, 61-74.

Romski, M. A., Sevcik, R. A., Reumann, R., & Pate, J.L. (1989). Youngsters with moderate or severe retardation and severe spoken language impairments I: Extant Communicative patterns. JSHD, 54, 66-373.

 

Outgrowths of this work are:

A. Project FACTT (Facilitating Augmentative Communication Through Technology). Co-Directors, Mary Ann Romski, Ph.D. and Vicki Collier. A joint project with Clayton County Schools, FACTT provides augmented language services to school-age children with moderate and severe mental retardation. Implementation practices are based on these principles:

1.Augmented language learning can occur during natural communicative interaction between children and their partners.

2. For at least some children, comprehension may play a critical role in the augmented language learning process.

3. Electronic speech output devices may provide an interface between a child and the auditory world

4. Integration of an electronic speech output device within the child's natural extant communication skills facilitates a multimodal system for communication

3. Augmented language learning provides the child with an entry point to related symbolic skills.

FACTT services extend beyond the school program to ensure transition to supported employment, family and community settings.

B. Georgia AAC Technical Assistance Project. Kim Hartsell, Project Manager; Mary Ann Romski, Consultant. A cooperative effort among the State Department of Education, the Clayton County schools and the LRC, this project is designed to give technical assistance in the area of AAC throughout Georgia's schools.

Opportunities for study.

The principal investigators of the LRC serve as faculty in the Biology, Communication and Psychology Departments at Georgia State University. An AAC course is available to graduate students. Opportunities for stipends are available for research assistants who specialize in the area of language development.

For further information contact Mary Ann Romski, Ph.D., Department of Communication, Georgia State University, University Plaza, Atlanta, Georgia 30303

*SuperWolf.Available from ADAMLAB, 33500 Van Born Road, Wayne, MI 48184.

This article appears in ACN Volume 4, # 6.

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