As part of a continuing dialog, this response to Carta et al. (EC 607 082) raises questions about the comparability of early childhood special education and Developmentally Appropriate Practice principles and examines philosophical differences over the meaning of integration of curriculum and assessment and the importance of active engagement. (DB)

Mothers' ways of structuring conversations about past events are related to children's abilities to structure personal narratives. When mothers provided temporally complex and informationally dense narratives about the past to their 2 1/2-year olds, the children recounted similar accounts a year later. (Author/BB)

Studied the transactional relationship between parental support and the development of competence in children. Results indicated a strong effect of parental support on a child's competence in infancy, a gender-differentiated stability of competence from infancy to the end of elementary school, and a relationship between the competence of a child…

Presents answers to 12 questions parents might have about reading aloud to young children (e.g., why, how, when to begin, teaching reading, building a love of books, choosing books, and the whole-language approach). The article discusses the educational advantage reading aloud gives to children in their early years. (SM)

Educators (n=84) were randomly assigned to one of two groups reading either an ecological assessment report or a developmental assessment report written for the same student with severe disabilities. Analysis indicated that educators reading the ecological assessment had significantly higher expectations for student accomplishment than those…

Sources of continuity among nine measures of infant cognitive processing and later childhood intelligence quotient were examined through developmental structural equation models applied to a sample of 208 twin pairs measured from 7 to 36 months. Skills assessed appear related to general cognitive ability in a relatively unstable manner. (SLD)

Eighteen cases of disintegrative psychosis (DP) were compared with 52 cases of infantile autism (IA) with speech loss and 145 IA cases without speech loss. DP cases showed clearer regression after more satisfactory development than the IA cases with speech loss, and by age seven were more severely retarded but similar in autistic symptomatology to…

It is argued that reading aloud to children in school is an important vehicle for developing a child's feelings and their correlative values. In response to possible charges of indoctrination, the author draws a parallel between first-language learning and the learning of a repertoire of feeling. (seven references) (Author/LB)

This study examined 510 case records of psychological services provided by Denver (Colorado) Head Start. The study focused on average child age at referral for services, referral questions most frequently posed, similarities and differences in concerns of the family and Head Start staff, psychological service actions initiated, and goals and…

This article reviews the effects of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) on the central nervous system and the educational implications of increasing numbers of students with perinatal HIV infection and pediatric acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Studies on the relationship between HIV and child development are urged. (Author/DB)

Examined the relationship of caregivers' beliefs and behavior to personal and professional background and work environment. Studied the quality of care in family day care homes in Israel in terms of the caregiver's behavior. With the exception of the attribution of influence, caregivers' beliefs were not related to their background or work…

Reviews research on the influence of intervention programs such as Project Head Start on the development of young children. Declares a lack of explanations as to how gains are made in programs showing substantial gains. Reviews factors affecting social science research. Makes recommendations for future research and programs. (NL)

This study analyzed the impact of child and family variables (such as child's functioning level, parent-child interaction, and parent and family adaptation) on the progress of 12 children (ages 2-4) with autism. Analyses showed a strong inverse relationship between mother-reported stress and child progress. (Author/JDD)

Responds to Herbert Zimiles's criticisms in this issue of an overreliance on empirical, quantitative data in child development research, arguing that, although quantitative research has limitations, intuition is no substitute for a rigorous, systematic investigation of a hypothesis. (MDM)

Discusses how teachers can aid young children in developing social skills in and outside the home through reading and discussing books that present characters and social situations with which children can identify. Discusses several such child-recommended book titles from "Children's Choices" and includes an annotated bibliography of additional…