A survey of state agencies found that early intervention services to visually impaired children, aged birth-two and three-five years, were permissive or mandated in the 29 respondents' states or territories. All respondents used definitions of visual impairment similar to the federal definition, and all required a medical diagnosis. (JDD)

Analysis of negative utterances from English-, French-, and Korean-speaking one- through three-year-olds identified nine distinct semantic/pragmatic categories with a similar developmental order in all three languages. Different patterns were found in the form-function relationship for the different categories. (Author/CB)

This case study describes an intervention program with a 20-month-old hearing child with deaf parents. The child was diagnosed as having a significant delay in both spoken and sign language. A home-based intervention program resulted in the child's increased use of sign and spoken vocabulary and the mother's improved interaction style. (Author/DB)

Presents reasons and specific "how to" information for increasing the comfort level and learning possibilities for toddlers. Notes that toddler-sensitive child care recognizes that toddlers are distinct from infants and from preschoolers in terms of developmental characteristics. Lists characteristics of toddlers, ways to make child-care…

Notes that the differences between infant/toddler care and preschool care have been ignored in all but the best programs and day care homes. Examines child care policies and practices from the perspective of their influence on infant/toddler identity formation, including continuity of care and curricula that are responsive rather than…

The interactions of Efe infants and toddlers in Zaire with their parents, other adults, and other children were observed. Efe children experienced a pattern of simultaneous and multiple relationships, rather than a pattern that initially focuses on one person and then progresses to other relationships. (BC)

Children's attachment to their mother, measured by the Strange Situation procedure, reunion behavior at four years of age, and the Attachment Q-Set, was stable from infancy through preschool. The quality of teacher-child relationships, measured by the Attachment Q-Set, was stable if the teacher remained the same. (BC)

This paper presents a decision model illustrating the role of values in influencing choices between policy options in implementing Part H of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The paper discusses value assumptions, the role of conflicting values in decision making, the concept of an individual hierarchy of values, and implications…

Describes how one child care center staff helps infants make the transition to the toddler group. Transition occurs over a period of several weeks, involving parent-staff consultation and continual adult support. The child manages the change in small steps, resulting in a smooth transition and allowing the child the independence and support…

Describes the use of activity boxes with 43 young children with blindness, deaf-blindness, or severe learning disabilities and visual impairments. Discusses the contribution such boxes make to intellectual development, particularly the development of voluntary hand function from the integration of the primitive grasp-and-release instincts shown by…

The utility of cost-benefit analysis in program evaluation is illustrated using hypothetical examples of the consequences of natural environments service provision. Areas for further research related to cost and benefit implications are presented. Early intervention programs can use the cost-benefit framework to evaluate the social impact of…

Notes that working parents of preschoolers find it difficult to schedule time for direct involvement in their child's education or care program without special arrangements with employers, who frequently are unwilling to make arrangements. Presents ways schools or centers can create a community climate in which employers are encouraged and…

Describes the phoneme repertoires and phonological error patterns used by Cantonese-speaking children, as well as a longitudinal study of tone acquisition by four children. The developmental error patterns used by more than 10% of children are reported as common in other languages. Specific rules associated with Cantonese phonology are identified.…

Investigates children's early lexical development in English and Korean and compares caregivers' linguistic input in the two languages. Results indicate that young Korean children use verbs productively with appropriate inflections and that, unlike in English, both verbs and nouns in Korean are dominant categories from the single-word stage. (39…

Examined language differentiation in bilingual toddlers prior to the emergence of functional categories. The children were observed with each parent separately and both together. Results indicate that while these children did code mix, they were able to differentiate between their two languages. There was some evidence that language dominance…