Evaluation of the speech of five Dutch-speaking adolescent girls with Down's syndrome found that speech errors tended to be identical to the error patterns in young normal children supporting the view that misarticulations in Down's syndrome subjects are mainly the result of a delay in speech development. (Author/DB)

Tested the hypothesis that focusing attention on relative performance will promote ego involvement and undermine intrinsic motivation in school-age children but not in preschoolers who do not have a normative conception of ability. (PCB)

Reading improvement in school-age children is the focus of the 10 articles within this supplement. Topics include recent research findings, classroom activities, teaching methods, computer-based instruction, literature-based programs, home-based activities, stages of reading development, and reading resource materials. (IAH)

Tests a model of the factors that influence groups to follow various paths as they make decisions. Uses three panels of contingency variables to predict properties of the group's developmental path. Finds that group decision paths and their properties can be predicted as a function of task and relational contingencies. (MS)

Descriptions and implications of five stages of professional development of science teachers are provided. Behavioral characteristics for each stage are stressed. (CW)

Studies two nonidentical twin boys with severe, specific developmental language disorders with respect to their linguistic, neurolinguistic and pragmatic development. Finds that, in spite of poor linguistic awareness, the boys acquired normal reading/spelling skills; however, the boys differed considerably in some aspects of reading and spelling…

Developmental differences in behavior and self-perception were examined in 44 children suspected of having been sexually abused and 41 comparison children. Results suggest that subjects' self-perception varied by their developmental level, and that some preschool children responded to abuse with elevated perceptions of themselves. No group…

Supervisors representing different levels of experience viewed videotape vignettes of counselors demonstrating the first three developmental levels of Stoltenberg's (1981) Counselor Complexity Model and assessed each counselor. Results indicated that supervisor experience did not influence the assessment of developmental level or ability to make…

Suggests study by Kuhn and others (PS 524 345) is too ambitious and that the processes described are not wholly representative of developmental stages. Argues the methodology of study was progressive problem solving, and that experimenter's questions resulted in contrived stages. (JW)

Examines how three and four year olds assert identity, connection to family and peers, and power through early writing skills. (HTH)

Investigated birth-order differences in children's early vocabulary development. Compared the composition and age of acquisition of the first 50 and 100 words of 9 firstborns and their younger siblings, using a longitudinal maternal diary methodology. A small but significant birth-order effect was found for the age at which the 50-word milestone…

Spelling instruction for students with deafness is examined in the context of the whole-language approach. Stages in the development of spelling ability are identified, and five strategies for young writers are suggested. (DB)

Two experiments examined causal links among age, processing time, articulation time, and memory span in elementary school children. Found that age was correlated posssitively with memory span but negatively with processing and articulation times and that age-related change in processing time was associated with a decrease in the time required to…

This study examined Quick Incidental Learning (QUIL) of novel vocabulary by 88 primary school-age children with and without specific language impairment (SLI). Among normally developing children, results documented a robust ability to learn words in the early school years. Children with SLI demonstrated significantly less word-learning ability…

Addresses importance of planned motor skill development, providing specific guidelines for adults working with three-, four-, and five-year olds. Describes the influence of motor development on cognitive, language, emotional, and social development. Suggests using verbal feedback, visual assistance, and demonstration for teaching motor skills.…