Examined the role of animacy and pronouns as children ages 2 to 3 years acquired transitive construction. Participants learned two nonce verbs, one of which was modeled in several transitive sentence frames and the other in neutral sentence frames. Many children produced transitive sentences with the first verb, but only children near age 3…

Two studies explored the relationship between young children's pragmatic skills and their grammatical development. The studies involved videotaping children with and without autism interacting with their parents at age 1;2 and 2;7. In both studies, pragmatic accomplishments of mutual attention, as well as mother's conversational style, explained…

A study used the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales to investigate patterns of adaptive behavior in 30 children with autism who were under 3 years. Relative to controls, participants demonstrated weaker socialization and communication skills and greater discrepancies between adaptive behavior and mental age. The utility of the scales is discussed.…

Describes the theoretical orientations that frame current understanding about the development of self and the social processes that may shape it. Components of the self are discussed, and current thinking about their development in infancy and toddlerhood is described. The role of temperament is also addressed. (Author/CR)

Discusses three concepts from an emergent literacy perspective that are especially relevant to libraries: literacy learning starts early; young children construct their understandings of literacy; and adults are vital in teaching children literacy. Describes several ways librarians can promote early literacy learning. (AEF)

Presents strategies for early childhood educators and child caregivers for identifying potential developmental delays and disabilities among the children they work with. Suggests using a developmental checklist, documenting actual activities, talking with the director, meeting with the parents, and referring parents to the appropriate agency. (KB)

Examines the prevalence, developmental course, and predictive power of child mental health problems for young children in general and low-income, diverse populations in particular. Notes discrepancies between Head Start agency-level data, national estimates, and intensive studies of similar populations. Describes new collaborative federal…

This article presents information about the auditory and speech development of infants with normal hearing and those who are deaf or hard of hearing. Methods of assessing hearing, evidence of auditory learning prior to birth, behavior assessment procedures, hearing aid use, and early identification and speech development are discussed. (Contains…

Examined the use of protoimperative and protodeclarative pointing gestures in three children with autism (ages 26 to 53 months) at 5-month intervals over two years. Imperative or instrumental functions emerged early in all three; declarative or experience sharing functions emerged later in two subjects and not at all in the third. (DB)

Five full-term and five preterm children with blindness (age 12 months) were visited at home with their families every two weeks for two years. An individualized, disability-specific early intervention that used different types of parent involvement was successful in accelerating development of the full-term infants, particularly in orientation…

Examines the plight of children who are being victimized by the criminalization of their parents and the ways in which these children are being traumatized. The few programs that offer some solutions are described, and the need for more attentive, relevant, and effective policies is outlined. (GR)

The children's crisis in the U.S., along with the looming crisis in physical education, suggests that it is time to mobilize, plan, and act collaboratively and strategically. This paper raises critical questions that teachers, teacher educators, and researchers must consider and answer responsibly if physical education is to fulfill its social…

The independent contributions of ethnicity and socioeconomic status to intellectual and academic functioning in children with diabetes were studied with 58 diabetic children and 58 comparisons. Findings indicate that black children with diabetes, regardless of social class, are at greater risk for intellectual deficits and learning problems than…

Examined the relationship between play and learning by exploring contrasts between the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky and examining data from a study of preschool teachers' theories of play. At the outset, these theories revealed a predominantly Piagetian, developmental orientation but changed toward a more social-constructivist orientation.…

Comments on the findings of study of maternal input into children's category knowledge in this monograph. Discusses such aspects of maternal input as the child's role in guiding the parent's language, conceptual development, ways of imparting information about category types, parental speech patterns and how they help children learn optimally, and…