Theoretically, interventions initiated with at-risk infants prior to the point in time a definitive autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis can be made will improve outcomes. Pursuing this idea, we tested the efficacy of a parent-mediated early intervention called Adapted Responsive Teaching (ART) via a randomized controlled trial with 87…

The present article proposes a new developmental model of how young infants adapt and respond to complex contingencies in their environment, and how this influences development. The model proposes that typically developing infants adjust to an increasingly complex environment in ways that make it easier for them to allocate limited attentional…

Throughout their 1st year, infants adeptly detect statistical structure in their environment. However, little is known about whether statistical learning is a primary mechanism for event segmentation. This study directly tests whether statistical learning alone is sufficient to segment continuous events. Twenty-eight 7- to 9-month-old infants…

In previous infant studies on statistics-based word segmentation, the unit of statistical computation was always aligned with the syllabic edge, which had a consonant onset. The current study addressed whether the learning system imposes a constraint that favors word forms beginning with a consonant onset over those beginning with an onsetless…

Typically, the point vowels [i,?,u] are acoustically more peripheral in infant-directed speech (IDS) compared to adult-directed speech (ADS). If caregivers seek to highlight lexically relevant contrasts in IDS, then two sounds that are contrastive should become more distinct, whereas two sounds that are surface realizations of the same underlying…

Six experiments explored Parisian French-learning infants' ability to segment bisyllabic words from fluent speech. The first goal was to assess whether bisyllabic word segmentation emerges later in infants acquiring European French compared to other languages. The second goal was to determine whether infants learning different dialects of the same…

This study investigated maternal prenatal docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) intake and infant cognitive development at 22 months. Estimates for second- and third-trimester maternal DHA intake levels were obtained using a comprehensive Food Frequency Questionnaire. Infants (n = 67) were assessed at 22 months on a novel object search task. Mothers'…

Evidence indicates that the nature of adult-infant attachments will impact on the quality of care the infant receives, although findings are often couched in outcomes for children rather than adult concerns. In this article, the argument is made that the adult's experience of caregiving is also an important area for investigation.…

The idea that infant participation in research is achievable by researchers "voicing" infants' experiences and "perspectives" is a central feature of current moves towards participatory research. In this article we offer an alternative. Specifically, we suggest a different point of reference than infants' own…

The Sustainable Development Goals mandate that by 2030, all children should have access to quality early child development opportunities, healthcare and pre-primary education. Yet validated measures of ECD in low and middle income countries (LMICs) are rare. To address this gap, a Systematic Review (SR) of measures available to profile the…

This qualitative study explores how a group of preservice teachers, all of whom had been well prepared to become primary-grade teachers, made a transition into infant/toddler group care settings. The authors used the teachers' daily journal entries, individual interview, document analysis (course syllabus, weekly planning sheets), and weekly team…

A pioneer in the infant/family field in the United States, Magda Gerber was the founding director of Resources for Infant Educarers (RIE), known for its unique two-generation approach to the care and education of young children. This paper offers a summary of Gerber's teachings from the late twentieth century with citations pointing to their…

Reading ability is profoundly important, for individuals and for the societies of which they are a part. Research indicates that we should be successfully teaching 95% of children to read, yet, in reality, high rates of reading failure are common in western, industrialized nations. In large part, this reflects a failure to translate into practice…

This American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) Services Snapshot summarizes key data on demographics and services for children from birth to age five and pregnant women served by all American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) programs. The data in this Snapshot is a subset of the annual Program Information Report (PIR) submission to the Office of…

Background: Preterm infants are at high risk for adverse neurodevelopmental and behavioral outcomes. Family Nurture Intervention (FNI) in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is designed to counteract adverse effects of separation of mothers and their preterm infants. Here, we evaluate effects of FNI on neurobehavioral outcomes. Methods: Data…