The relationships between emergent literacy skills and phonological awareness in preliterate children are examined, and a developmental model for facilitating literacy development is presented. Suggestions for enhancing metaphonological skills and a checklist for the early identification of young at-risk children are offered. (Author/DB)

Reports on the assessment of 636 children who were identified in a 1984 Scottish low birth weight study. Discusses adaptations of standardized tests that made it possible to test 27 children who had been judged as impossible to test because of developmental disabilities. (CFR)

This article describes TORCH infections, a congenital cluster of infections including toxoplasmosis, syphilis, rubella, cytomegalovirus, and herpes which often results in developmental disabilities for infected children. Methods of transmission, incidence, and developmental outcomes for common TORCH infections are described, as are program…

A case is made for bilingual education in Britain, emphasizing the importance of the heritage language in child development. For children to appreciate language diversity, they must gain insight into the nature and form of languages and their roles in society. (SLD)

This response to a previous article comparing guidelines for developmentally appropriate practice in the fields of early childhood education and early intervention/special education stresses the importance of individualizing application of principles and the need to look beyond effectiveness and efficiency as dimensions for evaluating practice.…

Presents 6 summaries of documents and 10 journal articles concerning elementary and early childhood education in an international context that were recently included in the ERIC collection. (AP)

British teachers excel in managing students' behaviors during classroom learning activities. The paper examines the major differences between British and American schools for young children, then discusses three factors that influence British teachers' abilities (knowledge of child development, structuring of learning activities, and shaping…

Reviews research on the attitudes of nondisabled children toward disabled children in regular classroom settings, and on patterns of play among at-risk and non-at-risk children. Implications for camps include encouraging social skills development through an atmosphere of peer friendship development, and helping at-risk children develop verbal…

Reviews the research comparing the social and behavioral characteristics of only children and children with siblings in China. Results are mixed, and many of the studies are seen as having methodological flaws. (BB)

This paper presents examples of nonconscious or intuitive parental behaviors in parent-infant dyads in which the parent or child is deaf, discusses these behaviors in terms of the ways they help infants adapt to the postnatal environment and transition from preverbal to verbal development, and examines difficulties in parent-infant interactions.…

Work inhibition occurs when students have no trouble learning but have difficulty in engaging in the work of school. As many as 20 percent of U.S. public school students may be work inhibited. Reasons for work inhibition and way to combat it are discussed. (SLD)

Common situations in which children perceive risk and in which adults can lend them a sense of security are described. Ways in which children can learn to become responsible for the risks they face and acquire a sense of security that makes some risks worth taking are reviewed. (SLD)

This article addresses the critical role of caregiver interaction styles in the language development and treatment of infants/children with developmental disabilities. An approach to measuring and guiding adult interactive styles is proposed and related to research in parent-child development and intervention. The approach examines five…

This review describes Nonorganic Failure to Thrive, presents developmental outcomes, and discusses psychosocial assessment and intervention issues relevant to this developmental disability of early childhood, focusing on child-specific variables, situational and family variables, parent-child interaction variables, and biopsychosocial formulation…

Describes a project within an undergraduate developmental psychology course in which students build toys suitable for newborn to four-year-old children. Includes instructional procedures, descriptive examples of toys made during the class, grading procedures, and student evaluations of the project. (CFR)