Describes Improvised Musical Play (IMP), a teaching strategy that uses simple rhythms, chanting, and singing to make participation in social play with nondelayed peers easier for developmentally delayed children. (BB)

The environment of commercial video game parlors and determinants of their use were studied through interviews with three parlor managers and informal observation. Environment varies considerably across parlors, and parlor traffic is found to be a function of temporal and ecological variables. (SLD)

A total of 403 black, inner-city infants born to women recruited prenatally on basis of their alcohol consumption during pregnancy were assessed on a battery of tests focusing on information processing and complexity of play. Increased prenatal alcohol exposure was associated with longer fixation duration, a result indicative of less efficient…

Presents interview with Dr. Violent Oaklander, experienced child therapist and author of "Windows to Our Children: A Gestalt Therapy with Children and Adolescents." Discusses critical components of successful therapy with children. Explains how developmental stage of child affects therapeutic process, and provides specific examples of working with…

Provides an overview of technology solutions for young children who have developmental concerns. Discusses the rationale for developmentally appropriate assistive technology and the use of high-tech computer-based solutions. Issues related to selecting appropriate hardware and software applications and a review of play-based software options are…

Discusses the ambivalence felt by early-childhood teachers about young children's sexual behaviors. Focuses on the importance of context in understanding normal sexual development in young children and specific behaviors that might signal an underlying problem. Presents a continuum of young children's sexual behaviors, ranging from normal to…

A study evaluated whether the availability of particular types of toys would influence the level of interactive play achieved by eight preschool children with disabilities in an inclusive preschool classroom. Results indicated that cooperative play was significantly more likely when social toys were available. (Author/CR)

Reviews the literature on the role of play in a young child's development and describes the development of a preschool play-based curriculum for children with disabilities. Distinguishes types of play and discusses important play spaces in the physical environment, adult/child interactions, accommodations to meet individual needs, and assessment.…

Opportunities for teaching a young child with autism to request more play were created at multiple points on the playground by momentarily interrupting the child's ongoing play using the behavior chain interruption strategy. The intervention resulted in high rates of correct requesting which were maintained with a new teacher and generalized to a…

Discusses the significance of play in culture; quotes an old proverb "a lesson taught with an entertaining facet is a lesson retained." Presents 13 children's games that are currently being used in management-training and development programs. Describes the purpose, activity, preparation and debriefing involved for each game. (Author/AEF)

Studied social interaction among a sample of children at risk for the development of later and more severe behavioral-control difficulties. Observed 121 children in pairs. Found that children in the high-risk group displayed significantly and consistently more aggressive behavior than did the children in the low-risk group. (JS)

Compared French and American preschoolers' behavior on playgrounds with parents and peers. Found that American parents watched and touched their children less than did French parents. American children played with, talked with, and touched their parents less and were more aggressive toward them than were French children; with peers, they showed…

Used discourse analysis to examine outcomes of enriching preschoolers' play with artifacts emphasizing number symbols and to examine aspects of talk significant for early mathematical understanding in classrooms. Found that introducing the artifacts was associated with general increase in talk and activity involving the materials, with evidence…

Describes the use of unit blocks with young children in early childhood education (ECE) settings to expand all areas of the curriculum. Discusses the origin of blocks in ECE programs, presents developmental stages of block play, describes children's building styles, and makes recommendations for getting started in block play for children of…

Describes the contexts and learning processes which contributed to change in the theories of play and the associated classroom practice of nine early childhood teachers in England. Data from surveys, interviews, and observations indicated that all participants were engaged in an ongoing process of professional learning. A three-stage model of…