A range of demographic variables influences how much speech young children hear. However, because studies have used vastly different sampling methods, quantitative comparison of interlocking demographic effects has been nearly impossible, across or within studies. We harnessed a unique collection of existing naturalistic, day-long recordings from…

In early 2017, Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) was awarded $2 million in funding from the governor of Georgia to be used for infant/toddler (I/T) language and literacy activities. DECAL used this funding to create Project LITTLE (Lifting Infants and Toddlers Through Language-rich Environments). Project…

The Mother and Infant Home Visiting Program Evaluation (MIHOPE) is the national evaluation of the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program. MIECHV was authorized by Congress in 2010 and started a major expansion of evidence-based home visiting programs for families living in at-risk communities. The study is being…

Purpose: The aim of this study was to develop an ordinal prediction model for diagnosing middle ear dysfunction in 10- to 16-month-old infants using wideband absorbance. Method: Wideband absorbance, tympanometry, and distortion product otoacoustic emissions were measured in 358 ears of 186 infants aged 10-16 months (M = 12 months). An ordinal…

Iron consumption among mothers has recently been found to decrease the risk of autism in offspring. However, epidemiological evidence of an increasing iron deficiency among mothers or infants is lacking, and evidence within an individual-level framework of iron deficiency confers doubt upon iron's role as a direct cause of autism. We attempt to…

"Where Mathematics Comes From" (Lakoff & Núñez 2000) proposed that mathematical concepts such as arithmetic and counting are constructed cognitively from embodied metaphors of actions on physical objects, and four actions, or 'grounding metaphors' in particular: collecting, stepping, constructing and measuring. This article argues…

Given its importance in children's development and learning, researchers have rigorously studied play, and many teachers have used it as a classroom tool. Music researchers have observed that music regularly accompanies children's play because music is part of their culture, and "playing with music" is the most natural form of expression…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of an intervention in which childcare providers (CCPs) are coached to support toddlers' gesture use during every day classroom routines. Method: This study uses a multiple-baseline across strategies single-case experimental design to examine the impact of a coaching intervention on three…

Limited literature exists documenting mealtime challenges and evidence for early intervention for children with visual impairment (VI). The objective of this pilot study was to determine whether a mealtime routines intervention for children with VI from 6 to 24 months would affect food texture, variety, and healthy food choices. The intervention…

Maternal depression and anxiety are potential risk factors to children's language environments and development. Though existing work has examined relations between these constructs, further work is needed accounting for both depression and anxiety and using more direct measures of the home language environment and children's language development.…

Primary attachment plays a fundamental role in children's social and emotional development and psychological well-being. Secure attachment correlates strongly with better social competence, self-regulation, well-being and school achievement. There is no full agreement among researchers investigating attachment as to what extent primary attachment…

Background: To advance early identification efforts, we must detect and characterize neurodevelopmental sequelae of risk among population-based samples early in development. However, variability across the typical-to-atypical continuum and heterogeneity within and across early emerging psychiatric/neurodevelopmental disorders represent fundamental…

The visual context in which an object or face resides can provide useful top-down information for guiding attention orienting, object recognition, and visual search. Although infants have demonstrated sensitivity to covariation in spatial arrays, it is presently unclear whether they can use rapidly acquired contextual knowledge to guide attention…

In this article, we endeavour to think spatially about the texture of infants' everyday lives and their ways of 'doing' belonging in the babies' room in an Australian early childhood education and care centre. Drawing on data from a large, multiple case-study project, and on theorisations of space that reject Euclidean notions of space as empty,…

This article discusses why and how states are integrating "DC:0-5™: Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood" (DC:0-5) into state policy and systems; provides state examples to highlight some of the strategies that states have used to allow, promote, or require the use of…