Background: Using longitudinal data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, we examined behavior problems and social and academic outcomes from ages 9 through 12 in children classified into five trajectories of physical aggression, on the basis of maternal ratings obtained from 24 months through 9 years (N = 1195). Methods:…

This text is on transdisciplinary team assessment of infants and toddlers at developmental risk and emphasizes both the dynamics (interpersonal strategies) and the mechanics (team assessment strategies) of teamwork. Emphasis is on assessment for the development of Individualized Family Service Plans. Chapter 1 reviews major developmental…

This study compared 17 toddlers identified as prenatally exposed to cocaine (along with marijuana, alcohol, or nicotine), with another group of 10 toddlers with no prenatal exposure. All subjects were African-American, 1-3 years of age, and in foster care. Toddlers were age- and gender-matched and compared on measures of temperament, development,…

This final report summarizes the objectives, activities and outcomes of a federally funded program that was designed to provide parent training and early intervention services to children and families in 4 counties of north Alabama. A total of 61 children were enrolled in the project over three years. All were less than 36 months of age and had…

Many children who are born into poverty face increased challenges. But different factors can ameliorate such risks and some findings on resilience and protective factors are reported in this paper. The data are based on the Parent-Child Project, a 22-year study of high-risk children. The focus is on protective factors identified in the first three…

This article reviews research showing that high-quality parent-infant interaction is important in the promotion of child resiliency and should be emphasized in family-centered early intervention programs. Research on risk factors that threaten the quality of parent-infant interaction and thus resiliency in infants and young children is also…

This article reviews early intervention resources for supporting infants and toddlers in intensive care units (ICUs) and their families. The resources cost $50 or less and include a video, three books, two Web sites, and a publication listing assessment tools, guidelines for family-centered practice, participatory exercises, and a bibliography.…

Examined the cognitive development of 79 surviving high-risk, low birth weight children at 1, 2, and 3.6 years. Found that children at high biological risk were able to catch up on their cognitive delay in highly stimulating home environments; those at both low and high biological risk in less stimulating home environments showed a decline in…

Early communication was examined for 3 children (ages 20 to 27 months) who had been tracheostomized during their first year and were still cannulated. Communication means and intentions and rate of communication were examined. Potential contributions of social, cognitive, and language skills to the onset of early words were assessed. (Author/SW)

This study examined each of Kansas's 40 local interagency coordinating councils, which were established to coordinate services to infants and toddlers with special needs and their families under Part H of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1990. The study looked at council scope, productivity, membership, governance, training…

Examined children's visual self-recognition. Lower-SES maltreated children did not differ from lower- or middle-SES comparison children in the development of self-recognition. Differences between the samples in the quality of affective reactions to mirror self-images were observed. (BC)

An intervention program designed for 62 adolescent mothers and their children (ages 3-39 months) that included a curriculum focused on improving mother-child interaction skills and the mothers' knowledge of child development, resulted in the children making significantly greater gains on selected developmental skills than did their peers.…

A study of 3 mothers and their 12- to 18-month-old at-risk children found mothers engaged in more physical play, used a directive interaction style, and needed a high number of bids to keep their child's attention. Talk and play improved when mothers used pictures in books to talk to children. (Author/CR)

The relationship between late-talkers' language development and reading and spelling outcomes was examined in children with and without familial risk for dyslexia. The late-talking subgroups were defined using parent- and test-based assessments of receptive and expressive vocabulary and grammar at 2 and 2.5 years as intake criteria. The language…

This Kids Count special report examines brain development during infancy and early childhood in order to provide a basis for an informed discussion about the need for preventive programs to foster healthy child development. The report summarizes information on early brain development and how experience shapes neural connections. It focuses on the…