The article reports the methodology and results of a two-year program evaluation effort to determine effectiveness of an early intervention program for disabled infants and preschool children. Overall, the results indicated the intervention program had a positive impact on participating children and their parents. (Author/CL)

Examines, in two experiments, 5-month-old infants' sensitivity to auditory-visual specification of distance and direction of movement. One experiment presented two films with soundtracks in either a match or mismatch condition; the second showed the two films side-by-side with a single soundtrack appropriate to one. Infants demonstrated visual…

Examines rural-urban differences in mortality over time in North Carolina. Finds greatest risks of dying in urban areas, but the differential is not as strong as in the past; infant and neonatal mortality reversal and increase in residence differential over time; and residence differentials generally hold for Whites and non-Whites. (NEC)

Compares social and private uses of language in 12 children 23 to 25 months of age. Based on videotapes of children's free play with an adult, results showed that regulatory, attentional, and informative uses of language appeared in speech addressed to another, while self-regulation, description of one's own activity, and expressive functions…

A mother reflects on the ordeals faced by her infant son who has heart and intestinal disorders and discusses the characteristics needed by mothers of disabled and chronically ill children. (CL)

Life expectancy in the USSR declined from 71 years in 1964 to 70 years in 1970, and to an estimated 68 years in 1983. Decline was due to increase in infant mortality and increase in mortality among middle aged and elderly, and reflects public health problems. (NRB)

Ten children with a history of prematurity and respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) were matched with 101 full-term controls in the single-word stage of language. Control subjects demonstrated superior performance on all receptive language and child verbosity measures despite their younger age. (Author/CL)

Replies to argument presenting evidence against a model of habituation during early infancy which was based on the selective adaptation of feature detectors. (Author/BB)

Examines the psychometric properties of two procedures for reducing data from the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale: factor and cluster analysis. The sample consisted of 85 male and 77 female newborns. (RH)

A response to the article about special education in England and Wales suggests historical similarities with U.S. practices and notes the values of Britian's socialized health systems in identifying newborns with handicaps and of their teacher training/selection procedures. (CL)

The paper describes a study on language interactions between young, newly verbal, language handicapped children and mothers. Components of a project are delineated and data from the original study are reported. Implications for using the approach combined with traditional speech therapy are discussed. (Author/CL)

Presents a case study of the babbling monologues produced by a Dutch child in the six weeks following acquisiton of the first word, which shows that this child's word production and his concurrent babbling are very much related. Concludes that word production influences the course of babbling and vice versa. (SED)

Measures of prenatal exposure in 123 infants to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), cord serum PCB level, and maternal report of contaminated fish consumption predicted less preference for a novel stimulus on Fagan's test of visual recognition memory (VRM) at 7 months. Preference for novelty decreased in a dose-dependent fashion and postnatal…

Early temperament was assessed at ages six, 13, and 24 months via mother ratings on age-appropriate versions of the Infant Characteristics Questionnaire (ICQ). Home observations of mother-toddler interactions at age 24 months were made, and behavior sequence variables were analyzed. The 24-month form of the ICQ was developed in this study.…

Both risk groups experienced marked difficulty with the proximal feedback and distal contingency tasks. With proximal feedback, 6-month-old CNS-related risk and non-CNS-related risk groups failed to learn to control the contingency, whereas at 12 months all groups learned. The distal feedback task also differentiated between the normal and…