This review describes a computational approach for modeling the development of speech motor control in infants. We address the development of two levels of control: articulation of individual speech sounds (defined here as phonemes, syllables, or words for which there is an optimized motor program) and production of sound sequences such as phrases…

This article discusses how increasing diversity within a community requires health care professionals to reassess the developmental assessment tools being used, or at the least, what implications one can derive from resultant identification of delays. The author describes a culture clash between her training and developmental expectations as a…

A pioneer in the infant/family field in the United States, Magda Gerber was the founding director of Resources for Infant Educarers (RIE), known for its unique two-generation approach to the care and education of young children. This paper offers a summary of Gerber's teachings from the late twentieth century with citations pointing to their…

Reaching and grasping skills have been described to emerge from a dynamic interaction between intrinsic and extrinsic factors. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the interaction between such an intrinsic factor, Down syndrome, and extrinsic factors, such as different object properties. Seven infants with Down syndrome and seven…

Research over the past three decades has shown that early intervention in infants biologically at risk of developmental disorders, irrespective of the presence of a brain lesion, is associated with improved cognitive development in early childhood without affecting motor development. However, at present it is unknown whether early intervention is…

Concurrent with recommendations to place infants to sleep in supine, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of infants with positional plagiocephaly (PP). Recent evidence suggests that infants who have decreased exposure to prone position may have a higher incidence of PP and may be at risk for a delay in the acquisition of certain motor…

This study investigates the relationship between having an older sibling and early goal-directed motor development. In a longitudinal study, infants were filmed playing with their mother and were observed at 5 and 12 months of age. After each observation, they were assessed with the Mental Bayley Scale. From the mother-child interaction, playing…

How do infants learn to perceive the backs of objects that they see only from a limited viewpoint? Infants' 3-dimensional object completion abilities emerge in conjunction with developing motor skills--independent sitting and visual-manual exploration. Infants at 4.5 to 7.5 months of age (n = 28) were habituated to a limited-view object and tested…

The aim of this study was to examine the responsiveness of the Test of Basic Motor Skills for Children with Down Syndrome (BMS). Forty-one children with Down Syndrome, 3 to 36 months of age, participated in the study. Gross motor skills were assessed three times using the BMS and the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM) before and after a baseline…

Methamphetamine (meth) exposure during fetal development has the potential to adversely affect the development of multiple organ systems. An interdisciplinary case study of a 4-year 11-month-old child born to a mother addicted to meth revealed significant cognitive and communicative delays. Possible meth-related consequences for these delays…

Ethnic origin is one factor that may influence the rate or sequence of infant motor development, interpretation of screening test results, and decisions regarding early intervention. The primary purpose of this study is to compare motor development screening test scores from infants of Asian and European ethnic origins. Using a cross-sectional…

Purpose: The ontogeny of mandibular control is important for understanding the general neurophysiologic development for speech and alimentary behaviors. Prior investigations suggest that mandibular control is organized distinctively across speech and nonspeech tasks in 15-month-olds and adults and that, with development, these extant forms of…

These experiments explored the role of prior experience in 12- to 18-month-old infants' tool-directed actions. In Experiment 1, infants' use of a familiar tool (spoon) to accomplish a novel task (turning on lights inside a box) was examined. Infants tended to grasp the spoon by its handle even when doing so made solving the task impossible (the…

While motor dominance appears to drive limb selection for reaching movements at the midline and ipsilateral (dominant) side, this study examined the possible determinants associated with what drives the programming of movements in response to stimuli presented in contralateral space. Experiment 1 distinguished between object proximity and a…

In this study we examined early motor, vocal, and communicative development in a group of younger siblings of children diagnosed with autism (Infant Siblings). Infant Siblings and no-risk comparison later-born infants were videotaped at home with a primary caregiver each month from 5 to 14 months, with follow-up at 18 months. As a group, Infant…