Decisions regarding normality of childhood behaviors are necessary when clinicians attempt to discriminate which children require psychiatric treatment. Elements affecting clinical judgments include the influence of direct observation of the child and the parents' report of the child's behavior. Results show that judgments depended almost entirely…

In a study of the relationship between reading disability and poor social adjustment in intelligent children, significant correlation was found between reading retardation and hostility. Also, misperception by teachers of intelligent children with reading problems was noted. (Author/AV)

Discusses the need for child advocates in the schools and the issues presented in two books entitled "The Plug-In Drug" and "All Our Children". Presented at the IAPPW Convention, Houston, Texas, 1977. (Author/HLM)

The author calls for the establishment of day care centers in conjunction with family life education courses in secondary schools. These programs could then serve two purposes; (1) fulfill the needs of youth for parenting skills, and (2) improve the quality of day-care programs. (Author/HMV)

The study compared 17 abused children with 17 children who had been in accidents, matched for age, race, sex, and socioeconomic status, eight years after all had been studied as infants. (Author)

Discussed are innovative psychological assessment strategies intended to circumvent problems associated with traditional ability assessment of exceptional children. (Author/DB)

One of the most subtle but viciously effective cultural mechanisms for harming children in the United States is the persistent confusion between norms and standards. Investigates what can be done to prevent unrealistic and invidious labeling of children during their most vulberable years if their growth curve in achievement or some other factor…

Sets forth educational inferences drawn from a classroom incident involving a first-grade child and her first story writing experience. (FL)

Reports on a four-year study of the process of journal writing in an elementary school. Assesses student behavior as well as actual writing. (FL)

Argues that the effect of media violence on individual differences in aggression is primarily the result of a cumulative learning process during childhood. Presents a developmental theory holding that a child's repeated viewing of media violence, in combination with other factors, can culminate in aggressive behavior patterns (including…

Describes and evaluates attempts to mitigate effect that watching television violence has on young children. Most relevant studies have been laboratory experiments, and there is no reported evidence that any intervention has been effective over long-term. Concludes that interventions combining cognitive and behavioral approaches have most promise,…

Children's joint production and maintenance of a peer culture in preschool settings is crucial to their development of a social identity. Theoreticians and researchers should consider what it is actually like to be a child to understand better how children's activities model and prepare them for the adult world. (Author/JL)

Fifteen 1-year-olds without otitis media were compared to 12 babies who were otitis positive. No significant differences were detected on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development or the Sequenced Inventory of Communication Development (SICD) Receptive scale. However, the otitis-positive group exhibited lower SICD Expressive scores than the…

A mother describes how her experiences with a second, developmentally normal son helped her better understand and relate to her Down's syndrome child, including recognition that not all normal patterns of behavior are positive and not all abnormal behaviors are necessarily negative. (JW)

Educators are urged to encourage gifted/talented students to teach themselves foreign languages. This essay discusses the lack of language requirements in schools, linguistic insensitivity or laziness shown by Americans, individuals' linguistic potential, goals of multilingual development, the appropriate time to introduce foreign languages, and…