More Important Than Nonsense

Of course you've heard a young child talking to her- or himself while playing. Piaget called it egocentic speech and viewed it as an inability of the child to see the point of view of others. Vygotsky's "speech to self" characterization of children's self talk gave more significance to this childhood practice, however. Now Science Daily is highlighting a study that found that preschool children do better when they engage in "private talk" while completing a task. Most interestingly, children with autism also completed task well with when using "private talk."