Ten characteristics of child development clinicians functioning at higher levels in therapeutic play are added to the 10 proposed in a previous article. These demonstrate a growth in sophistication and versatility and extend the clinician's effectiveness in all aspects of children's personality functioning: the physical, emotional-social, and…

Three programs which focus on at-risk kindergarten students are described. These programs feature kindergarten retention, transition classes, and child development specialists, respectively. (IAH)

This study examined preferences for consultation models and styles among 67 professionals who worked in early intervention programs in Colorado. Participants preferred a collaborative approach involving shared responsibility across all stages of the consultation process and a directive style of sharing specific strategies to address the concerns…

A child development team in a children's services unit of a mental health center should: (1) formulate a broad philosophy of treatment for young child clients; (2) evaluate treatment approaches to determine the extent to which they facilitate or conflict with that philosophy; (3) assess inservice training needs to ensure competency-based service…

In 1959 the New Jersey State Legislature enacted a law establishing the position of learning disabilities specialist (LDS) in order to provide services to aid the classroom teacher's work with pupils who have handicaps or learning disabilities. The innovation of new instructional methods, the adaptation of new educational materials, and the…

This article describes community-based developmental assessment (CDA) sites as one means for early identification of infants and toddlers with disabilities. At CDA sites, developmentalists assess referred children for developmental status and serve as liaison between the referring physician and the early intervention system. CDA sites are cost…

These three newsletter issues present scholarly developmental research results pertaining to social and public policies that affect children. The first 1995 issue, "Escaping Poverty: The Promise of Higher Education" (Erika Kates), discusses results of a study that explored the ways in which institutions of higher education provide a…

A study compared the informal theories about the child held by 10 preservice education students with those held by 8 educational leaders with experience in the elementary grades. During interviews, students and educators were asked to define "the child" in everyday terms. They were also asked to categorize and respond to 32 statements…

Research indicates that sexual abuse of children is widespread and underreported. Since child development workers are among children's first contacts, the emotional and physical well-being of the young children in their care depends to a large degree on workers' awareness of characteristics of sexually abused children and abusive parents. In turn,…

In a conference convened to evolve new research approaches to the study of child development within the family, workgroups discussed emerging issues and priorities in research on children and families, information on children and families (needs and sources), and current methods and approaches in child development research. Workgroup I evaluated…

ACCORDING TO A SURVEY OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS, THE SERVICES OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANTS (CDC'S) HAVE HAD AN IMPACT ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN. ALMOST 13,000 ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS HAD CDC'S IN 1962-63. OF THE PRINCIPALS IN SCHOOLS WITHOUT CDC'S, THREE-FOURTHS EXPRESSED NEED FOR SUCH SERVICES. CDC'S DESCRIBED AS HAVING A BACKGROUND IN…

Educators have rationalized the traditional school starting age of 6 by saying that children have by then normally acquired sufficient muscular control and language ability to begin reading instruction. When it became apparent that many children did not begin to read at the supposedly proper time, further rationalizations developed concerning…