This dissertation examined the role of maternal input in word order acquisition of Mandarin-speaking children from the one-word to multi-word stages. Four questions about the role of maternal input were addressed: frequency effects, age-related changes, utterance type effects, and verb diversity effects. Predictions for each question were made…

Content analysis of a large-scale (N = 920) qualitative data set with MAXQDA12 from a nationwide questionnaire of nursery practitioners in Hungary was able to demonstrate various types of rules during free play: social, health and safety, and environment-related rules. Environment-related rules, which govern space utilisation in toddler groups,…

Electrodermal activity was examined as a measure of physiological arousal within a naturalistic play context in 2-year-old toddlers (N = 27) with and without autism spectrum disorder. Toddlers with autism spectrum disorder were found to have greater increases in skin conductance level than their typical peers in response to administered play…

The relationships between early maternal social support, maternal psychological well-being, the home learning environment, and children's language skills at age 3 in Korean families were examined. We hypothesized that maternal social support would predict children's language development through its effect on maternal psychological well-being and…

This study investigated whether vocabulary delays in toddlers with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) can be explained by a cognitive style that prioritizes processing of detailed, local features of input over global contextual integration--as claimed by the weak central coherence (WCC) theory. Thirty toddlers with ASD and 30 younger,…

The objective is to examine the prevalence and health-care costs associated with asthma, epilepsy, hypertension, food allergies, and diabetes in children aged 0-18 years. Prevalence was calculated using 2005-2012 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) data, a population-based, nationally representative sample. Using MEPS, two-part models…

Considerable evidence on autism spectrum disorder emergence comes from longitudinal high-risk samples (i.e. younger siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder). Diagnostic stability to age 3 is very good when diagnosed as early as 18-24 months, but sensitivity is weaker, and relatively little is known beyond toddlerhood. We examined…

For children with moderate or severe cerebral palsy (CP), a foundational early goal is independent sitting. Sitting offers additional opportunities for object exploration, play and social engagement. The achievement of sitting coincides with important milestones in other developmental areas, such as social engagement with others, understanding of…

This article describes some of the extraordinary accomplishments of the second cohort of states to participate in the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Financing Policy Project (IECMH-FPP). The purpose of the IECMHFPP is to support states' advancement of IECMH assessment, diagnosis, and treatment policies that will contribute to the healthy…

This is the "41st Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2019." Section 664(d) of the "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act" ("IDEA"), as reauthorized in 2004, requires that the Department of Education report annually on the progress made toward the…

Created as part of the Every Student Succeeds Act, the Preschool Development Grant Birth Through Five (PDG B-5) program is a competitive, federal grant designed to strengthen states' early childhood systems and improve transitions between programs and services -- such as home visits, early intervention settings, child care and pre-K education --…

To determine whether the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) in conjunction with the routine 18-month health check-up identifies Japanese toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Two-stage screening using the M-CHAT was conducted with 1,851 children attending the check-up. Final ASD diagnosis was confirmed at age =3 years.…

Background: Obesity affects nearly 17% of US children and youth 2-19?years old and 10% of infants and toddlers under the age of 2?years. One strategy for addressing obesity is to discourage sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption. Compared with their older school-aged counterparts, children =5?years depend largely on parents for the purchase…

Early detection of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is a prerequisite for early intervention. Questionnaires may offer a cost-effective alternative to clinician-led screening in identifying toddlers and preschoolers in primary-care settings requiring specialized ASD assessment. Parents of 97 children aged 16-60 months attending childcare centers…

From preschool age to adulthood, most humans prefer to help someone who has treated others well over helping someone who has treated others badly. Researchers have recently made opposing predictions about whether such observation-based preferential helping is present when children begin to help in the second year of life. In the present study, 84…