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JCPSLP
Volume 17, Number 3 2015
Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology
Appendix. Definitions and examples of utterance coding
Utterance code
Definition
Example
Successful child initiation
Child initiates a new topic that is unrelated to the
caregiver’s conversational turn (or is after a pause) and
is successful in eliciting a semantically related response
from the caregiver.
Child: “Why is doggy barking?”
(initiation)
Caregiver: “I don’t know, maybe he heard something.”
(response)
Successful parent initiation Caregiver initiates a new topic that is unrelated to the
child’s conversational turn (or is after a pause) and is
successful in eliciting a semantically related response
from the child.
Caregiver: “Do you want a bickie?”
(initiation)
Child: “Yes please.”
(response)
Connected
An utterance is semantically related to the other
interlocutor’s previous conversational turn. The first
utterance after a “response” is deemed connected.
Child: “Look at the cat.”
(initiation)
Caregiver: “She looks funny doesn’t she?”
(response)
Child: “Yes she does.”
(connected)
Failed utterance
The caregiver or child’s utterance is directed to the other
conversational partner, but does not elicit a semantically
related response.
Child: “Why is doggy barking?”
Caregiver: (no response)
or
Caregiver: “Who is that?” Child: “I’m hungry.”
Behavioural directive
Caregiver’s utterance includes a prohibition, threat, or
insult.
“Stop that.” “I’m taking away your toy.”
Caregiver expansion
Repeating the child’s intention with increased linguistic
or syntactic complexity.
Child: “Car.”
Caregiver: “Yes, we are going for a drive in the car.”
Note.
All definitions were adapted from Ensor and Hughes (2008).