Background: Children's numerical and arithmetic skills differ greatly already at an early age. Although research focusing on accounting for these large individual differences clearly demonstrates that mathematical performance draws upon several cognitive abilities, our knowledge concerning key abilities underlying mathematical skill development is…

Deferred imitation and early social communication skills were compared among speaking and nonspeaking children with autism and children developing typically. Overall, the children with autism showed a lower frequency on measures of deferred imitation and social communication compared with typically developing children. Deferred imitation was…

There is uncertainty about the proportion of children with autism spectrum disorders who do not develop phrase speech during the preschool years. The main purpose of this study was to examine this ratio in a population-based community sample of children. The cohort consisted of 165 children (141 boys, 24 girls) with autism spectrum disorders aged…

Assessed the quality of home and out-of-home care environments, child temperament, and the development of verbal abilities among infants at 18 months and then at 8 years of age. Found that both tested and rated cognitive abilities at age 8 were related to earlier measures of verbal ability and to paternal involvement during preschool years. (MOK)

This longitudinal study examined the experiences of out-of-home preschool child care to performance and adjustment in elementary school. Subjects were 145 children in Goteborg, Sweden, who were on average 16 months of age when they were enrolled in this study. Within 4 weeks of enrollment in the study, 54 children began center-based day care, 36…