Suggests that testing developmental ordering hypotheses is difficult because rare use of ratio scales prevents direct comparison of measures. Demonstrates that the observed data pattern is constrained by the underlying relationship--although observed data pattern may not reflect the exact relationship, it limits possible relationships. Shows the…

A study assessed the relationship between play and adaptive behavior among 13 preschool children with developmental disabilities. Children were assessed every six months over a three-year period. While adaptive behavior increased by almost one standard deviation, appropriate play showed little overall change over the three-year period. (Author/CR)

Discusses play in children with severe and profound disabilities. The focus is on toys and play material and the role of adults, such as parents, caregivers, and teachers. Theoretical aspects of children's play are also briefly described. (Author/CR)

Investigates the difference between children's drawings from two- and three-dimensional models, specifically, the influence of color and line, the difference between multicolor and monochrome material, and gender differences. Finds that children's drawings present detailed information about the subject first, then simple proportions, and finally…

Discusses the controversy concerning "The Nurture Assumption," a book that suggests children are shaped by their peers more than their parents. The message runs counter to decades of child development research and recent findings that parents are crucial in children's emotional and intellectual development. This paper examines criticism of the…

Describes two projects aimed at improving child development. Both the "School-Age Child Care" project and the "Parenting the First Year" project were replicated over 50 times as a means of moving 100 communities to action for child development. The diffusion model of outreach is contrasted with the knowledge generation process…

Examines first graders' existing knowledge in relation to what they are expected to learn, by: (1) listing music vocabulary words appearing in music textbooks; (2) comparing oral vocabulary with vocabulary listed for music instruction; and (3) comparing frequency of selected music terms with frequency of same terms in general oral vocabulary. (DSK)

In discussing cognitive development in infants, the article focuses on how the infant brain is taught to learn, what the learning mechanisms are (events that happen at synaptic contacts between nerve cells that lead to learning and memory), what causes mental retardation, and what can be done to prevent or reverse mental retardation. (SM)

Two studies investigated developmental changes, and inter-linguistic and inter-individual variations, in the expansion and composition of young French children's early lexicons. Results indicated that lexical productivity strongly increased with age, whereas lexical diversity showed little developmental progression. Inter-individual variability in…

Twenty-two Spanish-speaking children ages 3 to 6 years participated in an elicited production study designed to test whether children's ability to produce subjunctive relative clauses related to their ability to pass a false-belief task. Results indicated a strong correlation between children's ability to use the subjunctive mood in relative…

Compared expressive vocabulary data from a systematic diary study of one child's early language development with data from longitudinal administration of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories spoken vocabulary checklist (CDI). The CDI underestimated the number of words in the diary study. Logistic curves were the best-fitting model…

Reports on a study designed to resolve debates regarding whether phonemic awareness is acquired naturally as part of phonological awareness, or whether it is an artifact of reading tuition. Describes a study of preliterate children, presents results of multiyear observations of students' literacy, and discusses implications for the developmental…

This study sought to differentiate pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDDNOS) from similar nonautistic disorders on the basis of a cognitive deficit, theory of mind (ToM), which is the ability to infer mental states in others, a deficit highly prevalent in autism, a disorder similar to PDDNOS. Results suggest that children…

Reviews the role of mentors and rites of passage in the lives of children. Presents suggestions on how to mentor today's youth. Argues that sons and daughters do not need gender-specific rituals to help them reach adulthood but rather should be taught together to share in the condition of being human. (Author/JDM)

A 13-month study investigated phonological abilities and reading acquisition in six 7-year-old Finnish nonreaders. Results found gradual progress at the group level; however, analysis of the individual profiles indicated large interindividual variations in the rate of improvement and in the relationship between different phonological manipulation…