This final report describes the activities and outcomes of Promoting Learning through Active Interactions, a research-to-practice 4-year project that developed, implemented, and validated a five-module curriculum with 25 infants (ages 6-30 months) who are deaf-blind, their parents, and early interventionists. The project had the following…

Addresses how affective facial expression interacts with the linguistic forms in American Sign Language (ASL) motherese. The article presents data from both cross-sectional and longitudinal interaction from 15 deaf mothers signing with their deaf toddlers. Findings indicate a shift from affect to grammar at about the child's second birthday. (59…

Surveyed parents' knowledge and beliefs about early development, information and support sources, and receptivity to new information. Found that parents learn about development after becoming parents, feel most able to impact emotional development, do not see the full significance of early childhood, are concerned about caregiver continuity and…

Describes the value of nonparental adult-child relationships for infants and toddlers and outlines specific steps that American and Italian educators from relationship-oriented programs rely on to expand on children's relationship dances with their parents. Suggests that educators should initially take the initiative to become attuned to the child…

Data on 3,449 children (ages 0-3) indicate children at risk because of low income, minority status, or lack of insurance were 3 to 12 times more likely to be without a usual source of care and 2 to 30 times more likely to have unmet needs for health care. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

This article discusses the importance of early intervention advocacy and provides vignettes that illustrate sample early intervention advocacy issues from the perspectives of parents, teachers, and program administrators. Quick tips are provided for professionals as self-advocates and for family advocacy, along with legislative Web site resources.…

Cross-sectional and longitudinal study of one- to six-year-olds in full-time child care assessed sequences and individual differences in development of social competence with peers. Study collects most extensive and varied data to date. Findings concern stability of individual differences, social classifications, influences of variations in…

Reviews research on influences on children's symbolic play. Finds little support for the effects of child-adult symbolic play interactions on child solitary play. Discusses three theoretical perspectives that should support these effects: attachment, ethological, and scaffolding theories. Reconsiders the essence of specific variables affecting…

Response to article by Bornstein and Tamis-LeMonda in this same issue. Delimits the faults of the ethological, scaffolding, and attachment theories in assessing maternal effects on children's symbolic play. Concludes that environmental influences are important to, but are not necessarily the sole cause of, child behavior. (JW)

The effects of disability, age grouping, and adult involvement on interactions of preschool children with disabilities (n=16) and children without disabilities (n=32) were studied in sessions of free play or adult involvement. Children with disabilities spent more time passively nonengaged. Even when controlling for developmental age, intergroup…

The East Coast Migrant Head Start Project, a federal grantee providing Head Start services to migrant families, has developed a continuity system to ensure that comprehensive service delivery occurs for each child and family enrolled. The system focuses on centralized and parent-held documentation, advocacy training for staff and parents, and…

This follow-up study examined effects (in grades two through five) of a two-year parent-child education program for low-income Mexican-American families of children ages one through three. There were no program effects on school grades, retention, or referrals, but program children achieved significantly higher on tests of reading, language, and…

Twenty socioeconomically middle-class mother/toddler dyads (half White and half African American) were video recorded during joint book-reading activities. Unlike an earlier study, most book-reading behaviors were similar between the two groups, although the White group used significantly more labeling than the African-American group. Results…

Introduces this special journal issue by outlining previous research on early peer relationships. Explains that the articles in this issue provide a backdrop for identifying the early precursors of individual patterns of success versus failure with peers. (JS)

A review of 36 social interaction measures found that there are no measures available to evaluate infants and preschool children's basic capacity for social interaction. The available measures are described and grouped into parent-child interaction, social skills, social competence, play, adaptive behavior, communication, general development, and…