Partner sensitivity to communication behaviors of 24 presymbolic children (ages 16-35 months) with developmental disabilities was examined. Communication partners provided information regarding recognition of the children's communicative cues, and consistency of cue recognition and descriptions across partners. Results indicated wide individual…

Parents of 25 infants/toddlers with handicaps were surveyed to gain perspectives on easing the transition from home-based infant programs to preschool programs. Analysis of the results led to 4 major recommendations and a series of steps that infant program staff can follow to facilitate transition to preschool program options. (JDD)

This research review examines the link between etiology of child maltreatment and developmental outcomes. The review points to a strong association between child maltreatment and attachment insecurity in infant-parent relations, as well as child maltreatment and dysfunctional child-peer relations during toddlerhood. (Author/JDD)

Investigates the relationship between 24 children's experiences in their second year, their mental and emotional disposition before and after the second year, and their motivational competence. Type and quality of experience were related to mental and emotional disposition. (RJC)

Test-retest reliability of the Q-Sort Inventory of Parenting Behaviors was obtained with a sample of 30 mothers of 3-year-olds. The within-subject correlation, with 2 weeks between test administrations, for sorting the test statements was 0.72. Reliable differences among the respondents were responsible for 35% of the variance. (SLD)

Observed social interactions of 110 Embu children in rural Kenyan community bimonthly between 15 and 30 months of age. Found children who talked frequently, and whose vocalizations were responded to, performed better on assessment measures and showed more positive affect than children who had fewer social interactions or were carried a great deal.…

The article examines effects of implementation of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1986, Part H, Handicapped Infants and Toddlers, including goals and expectations for family support, a comprehensive family support program, and assessment and service options. (DB)

Notes that toddler environments should take into account the behaviors and skills characteristic of this age. Discusses toddlers' physical and motor skills, affective development, and cognitive development. Offers suggestions for toddler environments, and for routines and schedules, such as arrival and departure, naptime, diapering and toileting,…

Results of a longitudinal study of seven children under age two suggest that variation in children's early word combinations can be explained in terms of different routes to multiword speech; and a strategy involving the breaking down of originally unanalyzed phrases may be used by all children in varying degrees. (Contains 22 references.)…

Study assessed compliance and internalization for 99 preschoolers previously studied as toddlers. Compliance and internalization were assessed in multiple observational contexts using maternal reports. Found that committed and situational compliance had distinct developmental trajectories, and only committed compliance was associated with…

Presents Attachment Q-Set (AQS), consisting of 90 individual statements descriptive of the behavior of infants and young children observed during periods of interaction with primary caregivers. Items selected are intended to provide a comprehensive characterization of the secure-base behavior of the child as observed over a period of two to six…

Used a teacher rating scale and coded videotaped observations to examine 30 toddlers' emerging social competence in an unfamiliar peer group during a 4-week summer camp. Found a correlation between the prosocial component of the teacher rating scale and observations of children's interactive-functional play and overall rate of interactive play…

Fundamental frequency, duration, and amplitude measures were extracted from stressed and unstressed syllables in interword and intraword comparisons. Analysis of target stress patterns revealed no difference between acoustic marking of stress by 6 adults and 22 toddlers. Findings indicate that children generally control these variables to derive…

Presents a quantitative study of children's noun plural overregularizations on recent comparisons of connectionist and symbolic models of language. The speech of 10 English-speaking children aged 1;3 to 5;2 were analyzed. Results pose challenges to connectionist models, but are consistent with the blocking-and-retrieval-failure model in which…

The MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories (CDIs) represent a breakthrough in measuring early language production. Nevertheless, the CDIs' word comprehension component may not be a valid measure, because parents report too high a word comprehension ability for their children. Suggests that administering the CDIs to parents in an interview…