Analyzed data on 437 handicapped infants and toddlers referred for services between 1988 and 1989. Findings provide a realistic view of the type and intensity of services often needed by this age group, frequency of specific handicapping conditions, and types of recommendations made. Findings provide information useful to future planning related…

A total of 41 hearing-impaired toddlers, 41 toddlers who could hear, and their mothers, all of whom could hear, were observed in Ainsworth's Strange Situation and during free play. Results suggest that development of a secure attachment and a good mother-toddler relationship does not depend on normal language development during the toddler years.…

Assessed effects of maternal employment on socioemotional development of young children. After controlling for differences at time of child's birth, found that children whose mothers worked full-time beginning in child's first or second year scored more poorly on composite measure of adjustment than did children of mothers who were not employed…

A group of 111 2- and 3-year olds were tested on 3 phonological memory (PM) measures to ascertain whether PM skills could be assessed in children younger than 4 years of age. Results indicated that PM skills can be reliably assessed in very young children by using conventional serial span and repetition procedures. (MDM)

Examined 2-, 2.5-, and 3-year-olds' reasoning while searching for a ball that had been rolled behind an occluder. Found only 3-year-olds were able to reliably select the correct door; all children could retrieve a toy hidden in the same apparatus if it was hidden from the front by opening a door; and younger children used a variety of strategies.…

Four studies examined 2- and 3-year olds' word order and verb morphology productivity. Findings indicated that younger children neither used nor comprehended word order with novel transitive verbs. Older children comprehended and used word order to mark verbs' agents and patients. Children as young as 25 months added "-ing" but not…

This study analyzed the quality and quantity of intentional communication in four toddlers with Down Syndrome (DS) and eight subjects matched for either chronological or developmental age. Analysis of Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scale scores indicated that DS subjects expressed different communicative functions and used different…

Investigates the role of performance limitations in children's early acquisition of verb-argument structure. Tested Valian's (1991) claims that intransitive frames are easier for children to produce early in development than transitive frames, because they do not require a direct object argument. (Author/VWL)

Assessed 2-year olds' ability to use semantic context to infer meanings of novel nouns and to retain those meanings. Found that children learned majority of novel words; however, they occasionally failed to choose the correct corresponding picture for a novel noun even when they understood the verb; also found a significant retention of newly…

Explains how older siblings can teach and motivate toddlers while they play. Parents can augment traditional parenting by making the most of their children's playtime activities. This paper describes how to create fun learning experiences for toddlers and their siblings and discusses the role of older siblings who are in elementary school,…

Examined influence of object labels and shape similarity on 16- to 21-month-olds' inferences. Found that infants generalized non-obvious property of unlabeled objects to test objects with highly similar shapes. For objects labeled with novel nouns, infants relied on shape similarity and shared labels to generalize properties. For objects labeled…

Three experiments tested 21- and 27-month olds' ability to construct a path to a mentally re-presented goal. After seeing the goal-state configuration of problems, both age groups evinced planning. Demonstration of initial solution step was less effective than goal-state exposure. Even with specification of a greater proportion of the goal path,…

Social workers have become increasingly involved in providing family-centered services to families with infants and toddlers who have developmental delays. This study examined the perceptions of barriers to family-centered services of 22 family members and 20 services providers in one local services delivery system. A family-centered approach…

A random sample of 967 early intervention providers in 33 different states completed a telephone survey that was conducted with computer-assisted telephone interview technology. The survey solicited information about the service providers' views of assistive technology (AT) for infants and toddlers with disabilities. In particular, questions…

During the toddler years, nonverbal communication becomes more prominent and developmental differences for children who would later be diagnosed with autism become more distinct. One difference concerns joint attention, a critical milestone that typically emerges during the last quarter of the first year of life and is consolidated at around 18…