This paper describes the use of drama with severely socially challenged children, especially children with autistic spectrum disorders. This approach stresses the importance of early make-believe and the use of drama to help children explore social narratives from the inside and thus improve social competence. (Contains references.) (DB)

This study examined characteristics of human figures representing the self as drawn by 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds and the presence of age or gender differences. A total of 150 children who were selected randomly from day care centers drew themselves on paper with crayons. There were equal numbers of boys and girls in each age group. Human figure…

This report describes the second year of the longitudinal study (year 3 of the program) of Georgia's Prekindergarten children and families and presents kindergarten results, 1 year after program attendance. The sample was comprised of 534 kindergartners and families, half of whom had a full school year of the prekindergarten program. The…

This study examined parents' and children's affect regulation skills and constructive behavior to test whether a modeling mechanism or a parent-child interaction mechanism best accounted for children's behavior. Thirty-six married couples and their 4- to 7-year-old children participated in the study. The families were asked to play a board game…

This study was designed to enhance understanding of individuals' and couples' emotional regulation processes, and the psychological mechanisms that connect work and family spheres for men and women. Forty-three couples and their eldest child participated in this study. On three consecutive days the parents completed several measures of work stress…

Two theoretical frameworks, which underlie education programs for young Limited-English-Proficient (LEP) children, are explored: cognitive/developmental and maturational/linguistic theories. The cognitive/developmental view supports the idea that intellectual and language growth and learning are action oriented and variable among young children…

This study examined the relation between mothers' epistemological perspectives and their use of communication strategies with their children. A total of 47 mothers raising young children in rural and social isolation and economic poverty participated. The Ways of Knowing interview was used to assess mothers' epistemological assumptions.…

The claim that children's early word combinations are best described in terms of semantic categories such as agent, rather than abstract categories such as subject, rests on the assumption that 2-year-olds have a notion of agency that acts as a springboard for knowledge of more formal categories. The literature of developmental psychology suggests…

Differences in 4- and 6-year-old children's perceptions of their inner social circle, their major sources of emotional and problem solving support, their reasons for choosing a particular source of support, and the types of behaviors they view as supportive in various stressful situations were studied. Mother, father, siblings, grandparents,…

Word and nonword vocalizations produced by two groups of children aged 8-28 months were studied. The first group included six children whose speech was recorded monthly for 12 months. The second group contained 21 children. In both, only spontaneous vocalizations were recorded. Each sample was examined for frequency of word and nonword forms. A…

Large-scale cases of child sexual abuse in settings such as day care centers have received a great deal of public and legal attention. This attention has complicated attempts to research the effects of such victimization on child development. Described in this paper are difficulties encountered by a Michigan group investigating the effects of…

This study tested the hypothesis that maternal drinking early in pregnancy affects the development of the child's central auditory processing. A follow-up study of 167 children took place 6 years after their mothers participated in a survey concerning health and drinking practices during the early stages of pregnancy. Indications of problem…

A pictorial interview with indirect questioning techniques was used to examine the effects of family structure on children's perceptions of parental roles. A total of 121 4-year-olds participated. Interviews focused on caregiving, companionship, and housekeeping, and compared families headed by single custodial mothers, single custodial fathers,…

The paper describes the 26-unit program called "Let's Be Social Home Program" intended to encourage parents to teach social skills to young handicapped children. The program was developed to supplement the "Let's Be Social" preschool program. The home program allows parents a choice in the amount and type of teaching activities…

In learning a language as a means of communication, children must first coin new word-forms to express meanings for words they do not yet know. Children learn at an early age that lexicon can be used creatively, and that creativity is not simply a matter of learning which word-paradigms are available in the language, but also learning adult…