Delayed language development may be an early indicator of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Early intervention is critical for children with ASD, and the present study presents pilot data on a clinical trial of omega-3 and -6 fatty acid supplementation and language development, a secondary trial outcome, in children at risk for ASD. We randomized 31…

Humans are motivated to connect with others and are sensitive to social exclusion--intentionally leaving out others. This ability to detect social exclusion is suggested to be evolutionarily adaptive, biologically hardwired, and an important feature of social-cognitive development. Yet it is unclear when children start to independently detect…

Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) is an evidence-based mental health intervention for infants and toddlers as well as their adult caregivers. Families with young children in foster care benefit most when it is offered along with an array of other supportive measures (e.g., housing, medical attention). As a core component of the Safe Babies Court…

This study examines possible relations between early mathematical skills and motor life skills in 450 toddlers aged two years and nine months. The study employs baseline data from the longitudinal Stavanger Project--The Learning Child. The children's mathematical skills and motor life skills were assessed by structured observation in the natural…

Joint attention has been extensively studied in the developmental literature because of overwhelming evidence that the ability to socially coordinate visual attention to an object is essential to healthy developmental outcomes, including language learning. The goal of this study was to understand the complex system of sensory-motor behaviors that…

Standards for early learning (e.g., children ages 0-5; prekindergarten, preschool, and younger) vary widely in their technical quality and specificity. The Center on Standards and Assessment Implementation (CSAI) recently conducted a literature review to determine the landscape in early learning standards and science, specifically centered on the…

Previous research indicates that features of speech during mother-toddler interactions are dependent on the situational context. In this study, we explored language samples of 69 mother-toddler dyads collected during standardized toy play and book-reading situations across two countries, Germany and the United States (US). The results showed that…

This study examined the quantity and quality of parental linguistic input to toddlers with moderate hearing loss (MHL) compared with toddlers with normal hearing (NH). The linguistic input to eighteen toddlers with MHL and twenty-four toddlers with NH was examined during a 10-minute free-play activity in their home environment. Results showed that…

The aim of this study is to investigate whether maternal spatial support during two types of joint manipulative toy play tasks with 2-year-old children was longitudinally associated with math screening test scores in second grade. The interaction between spatial support and maternal education was explored as well. We also investigated predictions…

In 2014, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) granted funds to establish Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships (EHS-CCPs) to expand access to high-quality child care. Through these partnerships, EHS grantees partnered with center-based and family child care providers to implement EHS Program Performance Standards and provide…

The Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships (EHS-CCP) were developed to expand access to quality early childhood care and education programs for infant, toddlers, and their families. The EHS-CCP model includes partnering with child care centers and family child care homes to offer Early Head Start (EHS) "slots" for infants and toddlers…

How do young children learn about causal structure in an uncertain and variable world? We tested whether they can use observed probabilistic information to solve causal learning problems. In two experiments, 24-month-olds observed an adult produce a probabilistic pattern of causal evidence. The toddlers then were given an opportunity to design…

Previous work reveals that toddlers can accommodate a novel accent after hearing it for only a brief period of time. A common assumption is that children, like adults, cope with nonstandard pronunciations by relying on words they know (e.g. "this person pronounces sock as 'sack', therefore by 'black' she meant 'block'"). In this paper,…

Children living in low-resource settings are at risk for failing to reach their developmental potential. While the behavioral outcomes of growing up in such settings are well-known, the neural mechanisms underpinning poor outcomes have not been well elucidated, particularly in the context of low- and middle-income countries. In this study, we…

High rates of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) comorbidity have been described in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study searched for predictors at toddlerhood of the severity of ADHD symptoms at adolescence. The study included 65 participants, (mean age = 13:8 year), diagnosed with ASD at toddlerhood. Participants underwent a…