Forty children under three years of age referred for early childhood special education evaluation were randomly assigned to either a multidisciplinary, standardized assessment or a transdisciplinary, play-based assessment. Play-based assessments took less time to complete, resulted in favorable parent and staff perceptions, provided useful…

This article describes one gifted child's social and emotional adjustment over time, as an interaction among many factors including his own personality, his family, and his school situation. The article demonstrates the child's difficulties in elementary school adjustment and describes the changes that occurred which enhanced his self-esteem and…

The potential benefits of massage for infants are discussed, including the role of touch on attachment and bonding and implications of massage for special needs infants. Research results on the benefits of massage for the infant and caregiver are covered, including increased bonding and enhanced growth and development. Historical information on…

Presents theory and research to help preschool teachers understand literacy-enriched play centers, in terms of their purposes and outcomes. Describe a pilot project using play centers in a preschool classroom and provides guidelines for planning and using such a center. (ET)

Evaluated hypotheses examining the role of family characteristics prior to child-care placement in determining child-care use and later child adjustment with a sample of 189 infants and toddlers and their parents. Results provided preliminary support for the hypothesis that parent and child psychological, social, and health characteristics may…

Home interviews conducted with 102 families of children with developmental delays assessed ecocultural family resources, values, goals, and proactive adaptive efforts. Factor analyses on the ecocultural measures revealed 12 salient factors. Some factors were unique and statistically independent of traditional home environment measures. Significant…

Examination of the profiles and developmental trajectories of adaptive behavior of 80 children with Down's syndrome indicated a significant weakness in communication skills (especially expressive language), relative to daily living and socialization skills. Children ages 1-6 showed significant age-related gains in adaptive functioning, but older…

Discussion of children in single-parent families focuses on contributions fathers make to children's development; proposes a model for viewing fathers' roles in literacy; and suggests programs for libraries and schools to involve fathers and compensate for fathers' absences, including a bibliography of children's literature with positive male role…

Discusses costume play as a means for children to safely become other beings, cultivate their own style, experience culture, experiment with new materials, and escape their anxieties. Notes characters from children's literature who used or wanted costumes, and provides a creative activities sampler. (AEF)

Presents a two-tiered approach to classifying the acts and conditions of caregiving, based on the conception of caregiving as a regulator of human behavior and development. The first tier deals with the structural and functional aspects of caregiving inputs, and the second tier deals with the dynamic aspects of caregiving inputs. (TJQ)

Critiques the new taxonomy to describe proximal aspects of the caregiving environment proposed by Bradley and Caldwell in this issue (PS 523 016). Offers three concerns, but also concludes that the system integrates existing research on the caregiving environment and advances understanding of environmental theory from the objective, if not from…

A growing body of research focuses on resilient children--those who have persevered in the wake of terrible experiences and gone on to do well in school. Researchers suggest that school boards should become committed to raising academic standards; encouraging volunteers to serve as mentors; and keeping extracurricular activities. (MLF)

Examined students' self-descriptions of situations, individuals, and incidents that evoked feelings of guilt to determine developmental and gender differences in guilt. Content analysis revealed changes in percentage of students at three grade levels who spontaneously mentioned a situation as guilt producing. Striking and distinctive patterns in…

Examined the spontaneous pretend play of mothers and children from the inception of pretend play in late infancy through its elaboration during the preschool years. Suggests that although mothers and young children had different primary motives for initiating pretend play, they both capitalized upon the others' interests in, or support of, pretend…

Reports on a study of young children's abilities to discriminate between two chords played as the accompaniment of a melody and played alone with no melody. Finds that age, type of stimulus, and the interaction of these two variables affected children's performance significantly. (CFR)