Support is requested to enable junior researchers studying language use and acquisition by developmentally disabled and language handicapped individuals to attend a workshop on a set of computer methods for transcribing and analyzing transcript data developed through the Child Language Data Exchange System (CHILDES). CHILDES is a three part system of support for child language researchers; it comprises a) an open-access database for child language transcripts, b) an accompanying set of guidelines for transcription (codified in CHAT, the system transcription manual), and c) a set of programs for manipulating and analyzing transcript data (CLAN, which stands for Child Language Analysis). A number of successful workshops have now been held to provide a) training in the transcription system and the analysis programs developed as part of CHILDES, b) training in the computer technology required to support those programs, and c) information about the availability of transcript data through the CHILDES database. Until now, though, very few researchers interested in developmentally delayed populations have been able to attend. Automated analysis systems like CHILDES are becoming crucial tools to the language researcher who relies on transcript data. Access to training in using these tools for researchers interested in developmentally disabled populations will improve the quality of research on language delay, language disorders, and language handicap.
