Infants diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (autism) have difficulty engaging in social communication and interactions with others and often experience language impairment. The use of infant-directed speech (IDS), which is the speech register used when interacting with infants, is associated with infant language and socio-communicative…

Background: Infants, children, and youth in foster care have frequently experienced prenatal substance exposure (PSE), neglect, and maltreatment as well as disruptions in their relationships with families. They also have great capacity for overcoming early adversities. In this synthesis of two previously conducted scoping reviews, we aimed to…

The current study reviewed all prior studies conducted on family home movies of infants who would be later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Out of 41 original reports found since 1975, we retained 18 studies (317 films, maximum), sorted according to their methodological design using a quality grid. In the first 2 years of life, signs…

Childhood-onset schizophrenia is an exceedingly rare mental illness whose complex, multifaceted behavioral presentation can disrupt child development and raise diagnostic and treatment difficulties for attending clinicians. The disorder, affecting one in 30,000 children, shares the same diagnostic criteria and symptoms as its adult counterpart,…

Research findings on articulatory and acoustic characteristics of infant noncry/nondistress vocalization are applied to the clinical assessment of infant noncry vocal activity. Discussed are differentiation and definitions of cry and noncry productions, stages of vocalization, a protocol for developmental vocal assessment, and interpretation of…

The author discusses the question of whether problems during infancy associated with organic impairment are substantially different from those related to social-emotional deprivation. Five factors which have a significant impact for both organically impaired and environmentally deprivated infants are addressed: prenatal intensive care, very early…

Discusses the reasons that newborns and young infants cry, the communicative effect and perception of crying, crying in sick and healthy infants, the sound spectograph, and crying for the use of clinical diagnostics. (RJC)

Reviews a variety of folk remedies such as coining (Southeast Asia), cupping (primarily Russia), and moxibustion (Asia), which may be confused with child abuse. It especially considers the Hispanic folk illness "caida de mollera" (fallen fontanelle) but rejects the idea in the literature that folk treatment can cause the injuries seen in…

In order for the sociological study of disability to enable, then it must be ready to conceptualize complex terrains of knowledge and activism. Research has to work alongside disabled people, their allies, their practices, their resistances and their theorizing. This paper makes a case for a framework of understanding that situates such work.…

In a study by Toshiaki Hashimoto and colleagues (EC 611 142), 10 infants with developmental delay, poor eye contact, and poor facial expression underwent magnetic resonance brain imaging and were later diagnosed with autism. This offered direct evidence of abnormality of the cerebellar vermis and the brainstem at the beginning stages of behavioral…

Discusses the history, epidemiology, biomechanics, diagnosis, treatment, outcomes, long-term management, and prevention of shaken baby syndrome. It presents medical-legal issues as well as a discussion of programs aimed at prevention of physical abuse. (Author/DB)

This article presents five models of early intervention used in Budapest. Diagnostic and treatment methods used by the Pediatric Institute and the Conductive Education System are described, along with the Deveny Special Manual Technique and Gymnastic Method, the Gezenguz method and techniques used in the Early Developmental Center. (CR)

Critically reviews the concept of "bonding," exploring its empirical basis and the implications that follow from its application in practice. Among the conclusions reached are that there is a tendency to oversimplify attachment phenomena and that the notion of a sensitive period for attachment has no direct empirical support. (RH)

This article discusses the nature of joint attention, its measurement, and why this behavior domain is important for diagnosis and research with individuals with autism. Criteria in the current nosology related to the assessment of joint attention skills are reviewed and recommendations are made for assessment and intervention. (Contains…

This article reviews studies of early diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Disorder. It discusses diagnostic criteria, reliability of early diagnosis, and the need for a comprehensive evaluation. Currently, there are no objective measures that can be used for accurate diagnosis, and the diagnosis remains clinical. Guidelines for evaluation are provided.…