Examined whether newborns were able to discriminate different stress patterns in multisyllabic stressed Italian words that varied both in consonants and in number of syllables. Found that newborns were sensitive to words' rhythm, as carried by stress patterns, and that this prosodic information was salient even in the presence of substantial…

An Australian comparison study of 26 children (mean age=10) with mild intellectual disabilities, 26 typical children of approximately the same mental age, and 26 children of approximately the same chronological age, found no mean differences on problem-solving abilities between the children with intellectual disabilities and children of comparable…

Examined whether 30-month olds appreciate that their communicative signals are being understood by another. Separated listener comprehension from obtaining a material goal in communication. Children clarified their signal more when the experimenter misunderstood compared with when she understood. Regardless of achieving overt goal, children…

Spoken word recognition was compared in 39 reading-disabled and 61 normally achieving elementary school students on a speech gaiting task, and relationships among speech recognition, phonemic awareness, and reading were examined. Results support the argument that spoken word recognition may be developmentally delayed in those with reading…

A framework is presented for analyzing discourse during parent-child interaction about moral matters, using speech genres and registers. This analysis considers social, cultural, and historical influences on moral development and locates the origins of moral sensibilities and differences in moral functioning in the discourse parents and children…

Presents information on the participation of children in effecting change in their lives and their communities in The Concerned for Working Children rural project in Karnataka, India. Discusses the concept of a children's trade union and the nature of community participation in empowering children to lead self-reliant lives. (AIM)

This article presents a developmental perspective on language acquisition that can serve as a framework for understanding and treating the language and communication challenges faced by children with autism. Profiles of five children (ages 3-7) with autism spectrum disorders are discussed to illustrate the application of a Developmental…

The Autism Spectrum Disorders Outcome Study is tracking the educational progress of 67 students (ages 2-6) with autism. Initial results, based on the first 16 months of the study, indicate the majority of children have made significant progress in social interaction, expressive speech, and use of language concepts. (Contains references.)…

This article explains the benefits of portfolio usage for students with autism spectrum disorder and details what to include and how to organize the portfolio. Suggested portfolio divisions include artifacts addressing socialization, communication, behavior, academic, functional skills, and fine and gross motor development. Sharing student…

This article reviews literature on the development of children with autism under 3 years. Findings on affective development, sensory processing and attention, praxis and imitation, communication, play, motor features and stereotyped behaviors are discussed, as are interrelationships among these aspects of development. Screening and diagnostic…

Examined drawings and transcripts of accompanying narratives made by 3- to 7-year-old children in a preschool setting. Analyzed the symbolism of the pictures and the children's stories about them that formed a background or explanation of each picture, noting developmental differences between the age groups. (JPB)

Explains how problems in urban schools mirror problems in U.S. society and how this affects disadvantaged and minority children, discussing one professor's experiences with racial bias in his own educational experiences. Describes the creation of the Comer School Development Program, questioning reform projects and programs that do not take child…

Contends that cultural practices such as carrying the baby on the mother's back for prolonged periods can impact negatively on development of visual integration during the sensorimotor stage pathways by preventing adequate or enough crawling. Maintains that crawling is essential for cross- modality integration and that higher mental functions may…

In response to a paper on risk and resilience models in learning disabilities (LD) research, this article supports the author and suggests areas of research, especially identification of risk and protective factors in children with LD. Application to analysis of friendship strategies is described. Also noted is longitudinal research to identify…

A study examined the relationships among 109 children's creative performances in three domains and the relationships between those children's general creative thinking skills and their creative performances. Three case studies also examined domain-specificity of creativity. Results found considerable intra-individual variation in creativity…