Presents a conceptual framework that can be used to estimate the costs of prenatal exposure to tobacco, alcohol, and illegal drugs. Cost estimates that have been made are presented. It is obvious that preventing drug use or smoking should be a first priority of public policymakers. (SLD)

Describes a Department of Human Services project to research and recommend appropriate strategies to address the needs of boarder babies, infants prenatally exposed to substance abuse, and children living in substance abusing environments in the District of Columbia. Training seminars and the five project objectives are reviewed. (SLD)

Defines UNESCO's place in the United Nations system. Outlines new situations that have arisen in recent years for the world's children, noting that the major problem for international organizations is not children's survival but their development. Presents an early childhood development programing model which takes into account research and the…

Investigated interactions among 18 African American mother-infant pairs participating in an early intervention program for infants with developmental delays or at risk for developmental disabilities. The hypothesis that mothers would become less responsive to infants over time as a function of drug addiction, poverty, or serious developmental…

A survey of 397 parents of infants and toddlers with disabilities and 226 early intervention service coordinators (SCs) was conducted to identify necessary factors for successful SC-parent collaboration. Surveys indicated that interpersonal skills were critical for successful collaboration. A microcounseling model involving behavioral consultation…

This article reviews resources that offer personal insights and lessons from families of children with disabilities. Five books are reviewed that offer perspectives from fathers and mothers on raising and coping with a child with a disability, along with three Web sites for families of children with disabilities or premature infants. (CR)

This article examines the effects of 13 experimental welfare and employment programs on single parents' use of different types of child care for toddlers, preschool-age, and young school-age children. Policies designed to increase employment (e.g., earnings supplements and mandated participation) did so, and consequently increased parents' use of…

This article describes the Pathways to Prevention (PTP) infant mental health initiative conducted by Early Head Start (EHS). The authors note that staff members who want to build their early childhood programs' capacity in infant mental health are often at a loss about how to do it. They suggest establishing an intensive, ongoing relationship with…

This study looks at how the environment in an infant child care setting can have an impact on young children's humourous experiences and therefore their learning and development. With the use of multiple qualitative methods, participant and non-participant observations, journal writing, videotaping, interviewing, and document review this study…

Background: Autism is rarely diagnosed before three years of age despite evidence suggesting prenatal abnormalities in neurobiological processes. Little is known about when or how development becomes disrupted in the first two years of life in autism. Such information is needed to facilitate early detection and early intervention. Methods: This…

Aims: To compare siblings of children with autism (SIBS-A) and siblings of children with typical development (SIBS-TD) at 4 and 14 months of age. Methods: At 4 months, mother-infant interactional synchrony during free play, infant gaze and affect during the still-face paradigm, and infant responsiveness to a name-calling paradigm were examined (n…

Background: Previous empirical studies of the cognitive sequelae of failure to thrive in infancy have led to apparently inconsistent conclusions. Methods: Studies of cognitive abilities in failure to thrive were located through published bibliographies, supplemented by a search through MEDLINE. They were classified (a) into those in which the…

The PLS-4 (Preschool Language Scale, 4th edition) is a psychometrically sound instrument constructed to assess language skills in children from birth to 6 years 11 months. It is a useful diagnostic and research tool that can be used to identify current comprehension and expressive language skills and can measure changes in language skills over…

The authors used the Fagan Test of Infant Intelligence (J. F. Fagan, L. T. Singer, J. E. Montie, & P. A. Shepherd, 1986) to examine preferences for novelty and to evaluate several indicators of attention (off- and on-task indexes and durations) in 6- and 9-month-old infants who had been prenatally exposed to cigarette smoke only or to cocaine plus…

Healthy Families America is a national, voluntary, home visiting program model designed to help expectant and new parents get their children off to a safe and healthy start. Since 1992, it has been successfully replicated in over 440 communities in the U.S. and Canada. This article describes the program's reflective, relationship-based model and…