This Massachusetts Kids Count report details the current condition of child care in the state of Massachusetts, discussing the importance of quality child care and the need to improve the affordability, access, and quality of Massachusetts child care. The report describes difficulties in finding child care and presents data on demand for child…

This study examined relations between grandmothers' and mothers' memories of caregiving in their childhoods; grandmothers' and mothers' current relationships with each other; and mothers' patterns of caregiving with their infants. Subjects included 49 families across three generations. Grandmothers and mothers completed a questionnaire assessing…

This study examined changes in infants' performance in detecting tones as a funtion of time. Stimuli were presented in blocks of fixed frequency and intensity, rather than in random order. The findings of earlier studies that an observer can reliably tell from a 1-month-old's behavior when a pure tone is being presented, and that reinforcement of…

A home based infant stimulation program for handicapped preschoolers in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, has been successful and cost effective. Home teachers help parents implement a precise, individualized curriculum. Physical and speech therapists are available as well. Other program emphases include providing emotional support to parents and…

To determine whether toddlers who experienced mutually responsive patterns of interchange with their mothers would be more likely to respond to the need of a peer than those who did not experience such interchange, 20 children with a mean age of 32 months were observed in pairs, with their mothers present, in structured and unstructured settings.…

The third in a series of three booklets intended for parents of young handicapped children addresses cognition. The development of cognition is discussed and milestones charted from birth to age five. Learning processes are enumerated (using the senses, attending, exploring, adapting, imitating, and asking questions). Suggestions are given for…

Comments on some of the persistent problems that are encountered in the study of the transition from prespeech communication to early language. Topics are: 1) inference of communicative intent, 2) nature of early reference, 3) use of language in the regulation of joint action, and 4) the precursors of predication. (RC)

Reports three experiments in infant visual perception which studied the processes underlying infants' shifts of fixation from one object to another. (JMB)

An experiment was performed to determine if unfamiliar laboratory conditions can affect infant research results. (JMB)

Two experiments were conducted to explore infant responsiveness to color and temperature novelty under bimodal conditions. In experiment 1, a total of 48 infants of 26-31 weeks were familiarized with a warm-red, warm-blue, cool-red, or cool-blue object, and assigned to one of three experimental groups. Each group was stimulated by a novel test…

The paper reviews 16 studies on the effectiveness of active early intervention for Down's Syndrome children. An introductory chapter explains the nature and etiology of Down's Syndrome and reviews terms such as development and intervention. Chapter 2 analyzes studies in terms of influence of various types of intervention on developmental outcome…

The study, involving 15 nonhandicapped and 15 handicapped infants, investigated parental estimates of infant developmental functioning as a function of parental attitudes. Examined was the relationship between source of evaluation (mother, father, diagnostician), infant temperament category, and factors of maternal attitude (such as appropriate…

A study of 37 middle-class families examined infant temperament in terms of stability over time, agreement between parents, and relations to mother-infant attachment. Results showed stability of activity level, orienting, and smiling from 6 weeks to 4 months of age, and a trend toward stability of soothability during this period. Stability was…