Teachers' perceptions about children's movement and learning in early childhood education programmes.

Science.gov (United States)

Gehris, J S; Gooze, R A; Whitaker, R C

2015-01-01

Efforts to improve the academic skills of preschool-aged children have resulted in approaches that tend to limit children's movement. However, movement experiences have long been considered important to children's learning and have received increased attention because of the obesity epidemic. Early childhood educators are important sources of information about if and how to promote learning and school readiness through movement, but little effort has been made to understand teachers' views on this topic. We conducted six focus groups with 37 teachers from a Head Start programme with centres in three cities in eastern Pennsylvania. We inquired about: (1) how movement influences children's learning; (2) what types of movement experiences are most beneficial for children; (3) what settings best support children's movement; and (4) challenges related to children's movement. To identify key themes from the focus groups, transcripts were analysed using an inductive method of coding. Teachers' views were expressed in four major themes. First, young children have an innate need to move, and teachers respond to this need by using movement experiences to prepare children to learn and to teach academic concepts and spatial awareness. However, teachers wanted more training in these areas. Second, movement prepares children for school and for life by building children's confidence and social skills. Third, teachers and children benefit from moving together because it motivates children and promotes teacher-child relationships. Finally, moving outdoors promotes learning by engaging children's senses and promoting community interaction. More training may be required to help early childhood educators use movement experiences to teach academic concepts and improve children's spatial awareness. Future interventions could examine the impacts on children's movement and learning of having teachers move with children during outdoor free play and including more natural features in the

Canadian Early Childhood Educators' Perceptions of Young Children's Gender-Role Play and Cultural Identity

Science.gov (United States)

Servos, Jennifer E.; Dewar, Brandy A.; Bosacki, Sandra L.; Coplan, Robert J.

2016-01-01

This article investigates early childhood educators' perceptions of children's gender-role play and the impact their cultural background plays in their gender identity and play behaviors. Through qualitative in-depth interviews, early childhood educators in Canada (n = 40) were asked questions relating to their experiences with children from…

Mothers' experience of caring for a child with early onset scoliosis: A qualitative descriptive study.

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Lauder, Bonnie; Sinclair, Peter M; Maguire, Jane

2018-04-01

This study aimed to identify and describe the experience of parents of children diagnosed with early onset scoliosis living in Australia. Chronic childhood disease has a major impact on health-related quality of life. Caring for a child with a chronic illness is well documented but the specific experiences of parents who care for children with early onset scoliosis, a rare but devastating illness, has not been explored. Numerous studies have described the interrelated psychological, financial, social, physical and logistical factors that impact the experience of the caregiver role with various diseases, but in the case of early onset scoliosis, limited studies have been conducted about the parental experience. A qualitative descriptive design was used. A snowball sampling technique assisted in the recruitment. Parents invited to the study included mothers, fathers and guardians. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were analysed thematically. Data collection complied with the Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research guidelines. Twelve mothers of children with early onset scoliosis were interviewed, as only mothers consented to participate. Four major themes emerged: emotional rollercoaster ride, a lack of resources, money talks and pervasive burden. Factors that impacted on the participants' ability to confront, manage and endure caring for a child with early onset scoliosis emerged from the data. The findings suggest there are multiple factors that influence the experience of mothers' caring for a child with early onset scoliosis. The recognition and appropriate management of these factors by healthcare professionals have the potential to improve the quality of life of parents who care for a child with early onset scoliosis. Healthcare professionals have first-line contact with parents of children with early onset scoliosis and are well placed to provide parents with evidence-based education

Holographic interferometry for early diagnosisof children flat foot

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oleg Petrovich Bolshakov

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The article presents the first experience ofthe use of holographic interferometr y for earlydiagnosis of the flat foot in 4-5 years old children.13 patients were examined. The results of the clinicalexamination, plantography, and of the graphicalreconstruction of the form of the foot arch basedon the interferogramms of the prints on Pedilen areanalyzed. We revealed typical differences betweenthe form of the foot arches in children with flat foot and children with normal status. The use of the proposed method for early detection of congenital pes valgus and of the signs of “flexible flat” foot is being suggested.

One Head Start Classroom's Experience: Computers and Young Children's Development.

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Fischer, Melissa Anne; Gillespie, Catherine Wilson

2003-01-01

Contends that early childhood educators need to understand how exposure to computers and constructive computer programs affects the development of children. Specifically examines: (1) research on children's technology experiences; (2) determining best practices; and (3) addressing educators' concerns about computers replacing other developmentally…

Early constipation and toilet training in children with encopresis.

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Fishman, Laurie; Rappaport, Leonard; Cousineau, Dominique; Nurko, Samuel

2002-04-01

To evaluate the frequency of predisposing factors for encopresis before and during toilet training, comparing children with primary and secondary encopresis. In this retrospective study, questionnaires from the initial evaluation at an encopresis clinic at a tertiary care pediatric hospital were reviewed for the presence or absence of factors in the first 2 years of life, for toilet training practices, and for disruptive events during the training process. Children younger than 48 months or those with organic defecation disorders were excluded. In 411 children with encopresis, the reported frequency of predisposing factors included constipation in 35%, and previous treatment for constipation in 24%. Toilet training was initiated before age 2 years in 26% and after age 3 years in 14%. Interruption of toilet training and punishment were seen more in primary encopresis than in secondary encopresis (50% versus 23%; P encopresis as was fear of the toilet (47% versus 10%; P encopresis, early difficult defecation, previous treatment for constipation, and early initiation of toilet training were less common than expected. Children with primary encopresis did not have an increased incidence of early constipation or invasive treatments compared with those with secondary encopresis. However, children with primary encopresis did have more difficult and disruptive toilet training experiences.

Effects of early auditory experience on the spoken language of deaf children at 3 years of age.

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Nicholas, Johanna Grant; Geers, Ann E

2006-06-01

By age 3, typically developing children have achieved extensive vocabulary and syntax skills that facilitate both cognitive and social development. Substantial delays in spoken language acquisition have been documented for children with severe to profound deafness, even those with auditory oral training and early hearing aid use. This study documents the spoken language skills achieved by orally educated 3-yr-olds whose profound hearing loss was identified and hearing aids fitted between 1 and 30 mo of age and who received a cochlear implant between 12 and 38 mo of age. The purpose of the analysis was to examine the effects of age, duration, and type of early auditory experience on spoken language competence at age 3.5 yr. The spoken language skills of 76 children who had used a cochlear implant for at least 7 mo were evaluated via standardized 30-minute language sample analysis, a parent-completed vocabulary checklist, and a teacher language-rating scale. The children were recruited from and enrolled in oral education programs or therapy practices across the United States. Inclusion criteria included presumed deaf since birth, English the primary language of the home, no other known conditions that interfere with speech/language development, enrolled in programs using oral education methods, and no known problems with the cochlear implant lasting more than 30 days. Strong correlations were obtained among all language measures. Therefore, principal components analysis was used to derive a single Language Factor score for each child. A number of possible predictors of language outcome were examined, including age at identification and intervention with a hearing aid, duration of use of a hearing aid, pre-implant pure-tone average (PTA) threshold with a hearing aid, PTA threshold with a cochlear implant, and duration of use of a cochlear implant/age at implantation (the last two variables were practically identical because all children were tested between 40 and 44

Impact of Early Intervention on Expressive and Receptive Language Development among Young Children with Permanent Hearing Loss

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Meinzen-Derr, Jareen; Wiley, Susan; Choo, Daniel I.

2011-01-01

Along with early detection, early intervention (EI) is critical for children identified with hearing loss. Evidence indicates that many children with sensorineural hearing loss experience improved language abilities if EI services were initiated at an "early" age. The present study's objectives were to determine the impact of a state EI program on…

Starting Smart: How Early Experiences Affect Brain Development. Second Edition.

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Hawley, Theresa

Based on recent research, it is now believed that brain growth is highly dependent upon children's early experiences. Neurons allow communication and coordinated functioning among various brain areas. Brain development after birth consists of an ongoing process of wiring and rewiring the connections among neurons. The forming and breaking of…

Paediatric early warning scores on a children's ward: a quality improvement initiative.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Ennis, Linda

2014-09-09

The aim of this quality improvement initiative was to incorporate a paediatric early warning score (PEWS) and track and trigger system in the routine care of children in an acute general children\\'s ward at a regional hospital in the Republic of Ireland. In the absence of a nationally recommended specific PEWS strategy, a local plan was developed. The experience of structuring and implementing the PEWS and track and trigger system is presented in this article. Data from the first year of use were collected to evaluate the clinical utility and effectiveness of this system. In the busy acute children\\'s service, the PEWS initiative was found to benefit processes of early detection, prompt referral and timely, appropriate management of children at potential risk of clinical deterioration. Nursing staff were empowered and supported to communicate concerns immediately and to seek rapid medical review, according to an agreed PEWS escalation plan. Outcomes were significantly improved.

Social conversational skills development in early implanted children.

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Guerzoni, Letizia; Murri, Alessandra; Fabrizi, Enrico; Nicastri, Maria; Mancini, Patrizia; Cuda, Domenico

2016-09-01

Social conversational skills are a salient aspect of early pragmatic development in young children. These skills include two different abilities, assertiveness and responsiveness. This study investigated the development of these abilities in early implanted children and their relationships with lexical development and some language-sensitive variables. Prospective, observational, nonrandomized study. Participants included 28 children with congenital profound sensorineural hearing loss. The mean age at device activation was 13.3 months (standard deviation [SD] ±4.2). The Social-Conversational Skills Rating Scale was used to evaluate assertiveness and responsiveness. The MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory (Words and Sentences form) was used to analyze the lexical development. The device experience was 12 months for each child, and the mean age at testing was 25.9 months (SD ±4.6). Assertiveness and responsiveness scores were within the normal range of normal-hearing age-matched peers. Age at cochlear implant activation exerted a significant impact, with the highest scores associated to the youngest patients. The residual correlations between assertiveness and responsiveness with the lexical development were positive and strongly significant (r = 0.69 and 0.73, respectively). Preoperative hearing threshold demonstrated an associated significant coefficient on the assertiveness score. Age at diagnosis and maternal education level were not correlated with the social conversational skills. Early-implanted children developed social conversational skills that are similar to normal-hearing peers matched for age 1 year after device activation. Social conversational skills and lexical development were strongly correlated, but the present study design cannot specify the direction of this relationship. Children with better preoperative residual hearing exhibited better assertive ability. 4 Laryngoscope, 126:2098-2105, 2016. © 2015 The American Laryngological

Early Adverse Caregiving Experiences and Preschoolers' Current Attachment Affect Brain Responses during Facial Familiarity Processing: An ERP Study.

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Kungl, Melanie T; Bovenschen, Ina; Spangler, Gottfried

2017-01-01

When being placed into more benign environments like foster care, children from adverse rearing backgrounds are capable of forming attachment relationships to new caregivers within the first year of placement, while certain problematic social behaviors appear to be more persistent. Assuming that early averse experiences shape neural circuits underlying social behavior, neurophysiological studies on individual differences in early social-information processing have great informative value. More precisely, ERP studies have repeatedly shown face processing to be sensitive to experience especially regarding the caregiving background. However, studies on effects of early adverse caregiving experiences are restricted to children with a history of institutionalization. Also, no study has investigated effects of attachment security as a marker of the quality of the caregiver-child relationship. Thus, the current study asks how adverse caregiving experiences and attachment security to (new) caregivers affect early- and mid-latency ERPs sensitive to facial familiarity processing. Therefore, pre-school aged foster children during their second year within the foster home were compared to an age matched control group. Attachment was assessed using the AQS and neurophysiological data was collected during a passive viewing task presenting (foster) mother and stranger faces. Foster children were comparable to the control group with regard to attachment security. On a neurophysiological level, however, the foster group showed dampened N170 amplitudes for both face types. In both foster and control children, dampened N170 amplitudes were also found for stranger as compared to (foster) mother faces, and, for insecurely attached children as compared to securely attached children. This neural pattern may be viewed as a result of poorer social interactions earlier in life. Still, there was no effect on P1 amplitudes. Indicating heightened attentional processing, Nc amplitude responses

Early Adverse Caregiving Experiences and Preschoolers' Current Attachment Affect Brain Responses during Facial Familiarity Processing: An ERP Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melanie T. Kungl

2017-12-01

Full Text Available When being placed into more benign environments like foster care, children from adverse rearing backgrounds are capable of forming attachment relationships to new caregivers within the first year of placement, while certain problematic social behaviors appear to be more persistent. Assuming that early averse experiences shape neural circuits underlying social behavior, neurophysiological studies on individual differences in early social-information processing have great informative value. More precisely, ERP studies have repeatedly shown face processing to be sensitive to experience especially regarding the caregiving background. However, studies on effects of early adverse caregiving experiences are restricted to children with a history of institutionalization. Also, no study has investigated effects of attachment security as a marker of the quality of the caregiver-child relationship. Thus, the current study asks how adverse caregiving experiences and attachment security to (new caregivers affect early- and mid-latency ERPs sensitive to facial familiarity processing. Therefore, pre-school aged foster children during their second year within the foster home were compared to an age matched control group. Attachment was assessed using the AQS and neurophysiological data was collected during a passive viewing task presenting (foster mother and stranger faces. Foster children were comparable to the control group with regard to attachment security. On a neurophysiological level, however, the foster group showed dampened N170 amplitudes for both face types. In both foster and control children, dampened N170 amplitudes were also found for stranger as compared to (foster mother faces, and, for insecurely attached children as compared to securely attached children. This neural pattern may be viewed as a result of poorer social interactions earlier in life. Still, there was no effect on P1 amplitudes. Indicating heightened attentional processing, Nc

Early Adverse Caregiving Experiences and Preschoolers' Current Attachment Affect Brain Responses during Facial Familiarity Processing: An ERP Study

Science.gov (United States)

Kungl, Melanie T.; Bovenschen, Ina; Spangler, Gottfried

2017-01-01

When being placed into more benign environments like foster care, children from adverse rearing backgrounds are capable of forming attachment relationships to new caregivers within the first year of placement, while certain problematic social behaviors appear to be more persistent. Assuming that early averse experiences shape neural circuits underlying social behavior, neurophysiological studies on individual differences in early social-information processing have great informative value. More precisely, ERP studies have repeatedly shown face processing to be sensitive to experience especially regarding the caregiving background. However, studies on effects of early adverse caregiving experiences are restricted to children with a history of institutionalization. Also, no study has investigated effects of attachment security as a marker of the quality of the caregiver-child relationship. Thus, the current study asks how adverse caregiving experiences and attachment security to (new) caregivers affect early- and mid-latency ERPs sensitive to facial familiarity processing. Therefore, pre-school aged foster children during their second year within the foster home were compared to an age matched control group. Attachment was assessed using the AQS and neurophysiological data was collected during a passive viewing task presenting (foster) mother and stranger faces. Foster children were comparable to the control group with regard to attachment security. On a neurophysiological level, however, the foster group showed dampened N170 amplitudes for both face types. In both foster and control children, dampened N170 amplitudes were also found for stranger as compared to (foster) mother faces, and, for insecurely attached children as compared to securely attached children. This neural pattern may be viewed as a result of poorer social interactions earlier in life. Still, there was no effect on P1 amplitudes. Indicating heightened attentional processing, Nc amplitude responses

ADULT STATUS OF CHILDREN WITH CONTRASTING EARLY LIFE EXPERIENCES, A FOLLOW-UP STUDY.

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SKEELS, HAROLD M.

TO STUDY EFFECTS OF EARLY INTERVENTION ON CHILDREN, AN EXPERIMENTAL GROUP OF 13 SUBJECTS (AGED 7 TO 30 MONTHS, IQ 35 TO 89) WAS TRANSFERRED FROM AN ORPHANAGE TO THE INTENSE STIMULATION OF A MOTHER SURROGATE AT AN INSTITUTION FOR THE MENTALLY HANDICAPPED. A CONTRAST GROUP OF 12 SUBJECTS (AGED 11.9 TO 21.8 MONTHS, IQ 50 TO 103) REMAINED AT THE…

Effects of bombing after five years: Development of early maladaptive cognitive schemas in children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nikoloski-Končar Nataša

2006-01-01

Full Text Available The main aim of the study is to examine effects of bombing on development of early maladaptive schemas in children who live in directly bombed towns in comparison with children who live in towns not directly exposed to bombing. The subjects were twelve years old at the moment of testing (February 2005 meaning that they were at the age of seven during the bombing. Additional aim was to examine gender differences in development of early maladaptive schemas. The theory of Young (1990 provided framework for the study. According to the theory, early maladaptive cognitive schemas, which present basis for psychological disorder later in life, begin to develop in childhood in connection with traumatic experiences and/or other aversive circumstances. The results showed that the early maladaptive schemas are more frequent in children from directly exposed towns; and in male subjects comparing with females.

Home Environment Quality Mediates the Effects of an Early Intervention on Children's Social-Emotional Development in Rural Pakistan

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Finch, Jenna E.; Obradovic, Jelena; Yousafzai, Aisha

2016-01-01

Over 200 million children under the age of 5 are not fulfilling their developmental potential due to poverty, poor health, and lack of cognitive stimulation. Experiences in early childhood have long term-effects on brain development and thus the cognitive and social-emotional skills that promote children's school success. Further, early childhood…

Latin American immigrant parents and their children's teachers in U.S. early childhood education programmes.

Science.gov (United States)

Crosnoe, Robert; Ansari, Arya

2015-12-01

For many immigrants, their children's schools offer their first sustained interaction with the major societal institutions of their new countries, and so exploring the ways in which immigrant parents manage their children's educational experiences offers insight into how they adapt to new cultural norms, customs and expectations and how they are treated in return. This study delved into the involvement of Latin American immigrant parents in U.S. education, shifting the traditional focus down from elementary and secondary school to early childhood education. Statistical analysis of nationally representative data revealed that Latina immigrants had lower frequencies of most home- and community-based involvement behaviours than U.S.-born and foreign-born parents of varying racial/ethnic backgrounds but higher frequencies of involvement behaviours requiring participation in early childhood education programmes. As a window into these national patterns, qualitative data from an early childhood programme in an immigration-heavy state revealed that Latina immigrant mothers and their children's teachers often talked about each other as partners in supporting children's educational experiences but that their actual interactions tended to socialise mothers into being more passive recipients of teachers' directives. © 2015 International Union of Psychological Science.

Bullying Mediates Between Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Childhood and Psychotic Experiences in Early Adolescence.

Science.gov (United States)

Hennig, Timo; Jaya, Edo S; Lincoln, Tania M

2017-09-01

Although a childhood diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is known to be linked to psychotic experiences and psychotic disorders in later life, the developmental trajectories that could explain this association are unknown. Using a sample from the prospective population-based Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) (N = 8247), we hypothesized that the previously reported association of ADHD combined subtype in childhood and psychotic experiences in early adolescence is mediated by traumatic events and by involvement in bullying. Moreover, we expected this mediation to be specific to ADHD and tested this by comparison with specific phobia. Children with ADHD combined subtype at age 7 were more often involved in bullying at age 10 (OR 3.635, 95% CI 1.973-6.697) and had more psychotic experiences at age 12 (OR 3.362, 95% CI 1.781-6.348). Moreover, children who were involved in bullying had more psychotic experiences (2.005, 95% CI 1.684-2.388). Bullying was a significant mediator between ADHD and psychotic experiences accounting for 41%-50% of the effect. Traumatic events from birth to age 11 were also significantly associated with ADHD combined subtype and psychotic experiences; however, there was no evidence of mediation. Specific phobia was significantly associated with psychotic experiences, but not with bullying. To conclude, bullying is a relevant translating mechanism from ADHD in childhood to psychotic experiences in early adolescence. Interventions that eliminate bullying in children with ADHD could potentially reduce the risk of having psychotic experiences in later life by up to 50%. Clinicians should thus screen for bullying in routine assessments of children with ADHD. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Making the Case for Early Identification and Intervention for Young Children at Risk for Learning Disabilities

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Steele, Marcee M.

2004-01-01

The early identification of children with learning disabilities (LD) is difficult but can be accomplished. Observation of key behaviors which are indicators of LD by preschool and kindergarten teachers can assist in this process. This early identification facilitates the use of intervention strategies to provide a positive early experience for…

The Impact of Early Visual Deprivation on Spatial Hearing: A Comparison between Totally and Partially Visually Deprived Children

Science.gov (United States)

Cappagli, Giulia; Finocchietti, Sara; Cocchi, Elena; Gori, Monica

2017-01-01

The specific role of early visual deprivation on spatial hearing is still unclear, mainly due to the difficulty of comparing similar spatial skills at different ages and to the difficulty in recruiting young blind children from birth. In this study, the effects of early visual deprivation on the development of auditory spatial localization have been assessed in a group of seven 3–5 years old children with congenital blindness (n = 2; light perception or no perception of light) or low vision (n = 5; visual acuity range 1.1–1.7 LogMAR), with the main aim to understand if visual experience is fundamental to the development of specific spatial skills. Our study led to three main findings: firstly, totally blind children performed overall more poorly compared sighted and low vision children in all the spatial tasks performed; secondly, low vision children performed equally or better than sighted children in the same auditory spatial tasks; thirdly, higher residual levels of visual acuity are positively correlated with better spatial performance in the dynamic condition of the auditory localization task indicating that the more residual vision the better spatial performance. These results suggest that early visual experience has an important role in the development of spatial cognition, even when the visual input during the critical period of visual calibration is partially degraded like in the case of low vision children. Overall these results shed light on the importance of early assessment of spatial impairments in visually impaired children and early intervention to prevent the risk of isolation and social exclusion. PMID:28443040

Children's early child care and their mothers' later involvement with schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Crosnoe, Robert; Augustine, Jennifer March; Huston, Aletha C

2012-01-01

Theory and policy highlight the role of child care in preparing children for the transition into school. Approaching this issue in a different way, this study investigated whether children's care experiences before this transition promoted their mothers' school involvement after it, with the hypothesized mechanism for this link being the cultivation of children's social and academic skills. Analyses of 1,352 children (1 month-6 years) and parents in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development revealed that mothers were more involved at their children's schools when children had prior histories of high-quality nonparental care. This pattern, which was fairly stable across levels of maternal education and employment, was mediated by children's academic skills and home environments. © 2012 The Authors. Child Development © 2012 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Early Children's Literature and Aging

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McGuire, Sandra L.

2016-01-01

Increased longevity is a worldwide phenomenon placing emphasis on the need for preparation for life's later years. Today's children will be the older adults of tomorrow. A resource that can help to educate them about aging and prepare them for the long life ahead is early children's literature (Preschool-Primary). This literature can provide…

Brachytherapy in early prostate cancer--early experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Jose, B O; Bailen, J L; Albrink, F H; Steinbock, G S; Cornett, M S; Benson, D C; Schmied, W K; Medley, R N; Spanos, W J; Paris, K J; Koerner, P D; Gatenby, R A; Wilson, D L; Meyer, R

1999-01-01

Use of brachytherapy with radioactive seeds in the management of early prostate cancer is commonly used in the United States. The early experience has been reported from the prostate treatment centers in Seattle for the last 10 years. In this manuscript we are reporting our early experience of 150 radioactive seed implantations in early stage prostate cancer using either Iodine 125 or Palladium 103 seeds. The average age of the patient is 66 years and the median Gleason score is 5.4 with a median PSA of 6. A brief description of the evolution of the treatment of prostate cancer as well as the preparation for the seed implantation using the volume study with ultrasound of the prostate, pubic arch study using CT scan of the pelvis and the complete planning using the treatment planning computers are discussed. We also have described the current technique which is used in our experience based on the Seattle guidelines. We plan a follow-up report with the results of the studies with longer follow-up.

Supporting Language in Schools: Evaluating an Intervention for Children with Delayed Language in the Early School Years

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Wendy; Pring, Tim

2016-01-01

Extensive evidence exists that many children who experience early socio-economic disadvantage have delayed language development. These delays have been shown to exist when children start school and appear to persist through their education. Interventions that can help these children are desirable to ease the difficulties they have in school and to…

Early Sprouts: Cultivating Healthy Food Choices in Young Children

Science.gov (United States)

Kalich, Karrie; Bauer, Dottie; McPartlin, Deirdre

2009-01-01

Plant lifelong healthy eating concepts in young children and counteract the prevalence of childhood obesity with "Early Sprouts." A research-based early childhood curriculum, this "seed-to-table" approach gets children interested in and enjoying nutritious fruits and vegetables. The "Early Sprouts" model engages…

Early Taste Experiences and Later Food Choices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valentina De Cosmi

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Background. Nutrition in early life is increasingly considered to be an important factor influencing later health. Food preferences are formed in infancy, are tracked into childhood and beyond, and complementary feeding practices are crucial to prevent obesity later in life. Methods. Through a literature search strategy, we have investigated the role of breastfeeding, of complementary feeding, and the parental and sociocultural factors which contribute to set food preferences early in life. Results. Children are predisposed to prefer high-energy, -sugar, and -salt foods, and in pre-school age to reject new foods (food neophobia. While genetically determined individual differences exist, repeated offering of foods can modify innate preferences. Conclusions. Starting in the prenatal period, a varied exposure through amniotic fluid and repeated experiences with novel flavors during breastfeeding and complementary feeding increase children’s willingness to try new foods within a positive social environment.

Formal and informal home learning activities in relation to children's early numeracy and literacy skills: the development of a home numeracy model.

Science.gov (United States)

Skwarchuk, Sheri-Lynn; Sowinski, Carla; LeFevre, Jo-Anne

2014-05-01

The purpose of this study was to propose and test a model of children's home numeracy experience based on Sénéchal and LeFevre's home literacy model (Child Development, 73 (2002) 445-460). Parents of 183 children starting kindergarten in the fall (median child age=58 months) completed an early home learning experiences questionnaire. Most of the children whose parents completed the questionnaire were recruited for numeracy and literacy testing 1 year later (along with 32 children from the inner city). Confirmatory factor analyses were used to reduce survey items, and hierarchical regression analyses were used to predict the relation among parents' attitudes, academic expectations for their children, reports of formal and informal numeracy, and literacy home practices on children's test scores. Parental reports of formal home numeracy practices (e.g., practicing simple sums) predicted children's symbolic number system knowledge, whereas reports of informal exposure to games with numerical content (measured indirectly through parents' knowledge of children's games) predicted children's non-symbolic arithmetic, as did numeracy attitudes (e.g., parents' enjoyment of numeracy). The home literacy results replicated past findings; parental reports of formal literacy practices (e.g., helping their children to read words) predicted children's word reading, whereas reports of informal experiences (i.e., frequency of shared reading measured indirectly through parents' storybook knowledge) predicted children's vocabulary. These findings support a multifaceted model of children's early numeracy environment, with different types of early home experiences (formal and informal) predicting different numeracy outcomes. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Exploring reasons for late identification of children with early-onset hearing loss.

Science.gov (United States)

Fitzpatrick, Elizabeth M; Dos Santos, Johnny Cesconetto; Grandpierre, Viviane; Whittingham, JoAnne

2017-09-01

hearing loss (n = 1) and the remaining three children had isolated reasons related to family follow-up (n = 1) or mild hearing loss (n = 2). Despite the progress made in the early detection of pediatric hearing loss since UNHS, a substantial number of children referred for early assessment can experience late confirmation and intervention. In particular, infants with developmental and/or medical issues including middle ear disorders are at particular risk for longer time to confirmation of hearing loss. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Early Education for Asian American Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Kitano, Margie K.

1980-01-01

A review of early education for Asian American children (Japanese, Chinese, Filipinos, Vietnamese, Koreans, Hawaiians, and Samoans) focuses on the 1975 Asian American Education Project, a study of the learning characteristics of preschool age children and its educational implications. (CM)

Early experience with the cochlear ESPrit ear-level speech processor in children.

Science.gov (United States)

Totten, C; Cope, Y; McCormick, B

2000-12-01

The ESPrit ear-level speech processor has recently become available in the United Kingdom for use with the Nucleus CI24M multichannel cochlear implant. We report on the use of this ear-level processor with 6 children, ages 8 to 15 years. In this study, all patients were initially fitted with the SPrint body-worn processor, this being a prerequisite for programming the ESPrit. Five of the children were fitted successfully with the ESPrit and are using their devices consistently. The results show that patient experience with the ESPrit has been favorable, although there have been some device and programming difficulties. Aided threshold measures show that the ESPrit processor performs at least as well as the SPrint processor, with a trend toward improved aided thresholds for the ESPrit processor compared with the SPrint processor. Further study of the functional benefit of both of these devices may confirm these potential gains. The ESPrit device currently has a disadvantage for children in that it does not support FM radio hearing aid use. Finally, caution is advised in the fitting of the ESPrit in very young children or inexperienced listeners, because of difficulties in monitoring device function.

Children With Mild Bilateral and Unilateral Hearing Loss: Parents’ Reflections on Experiences and Outcomes

Science.gov (United States)

Fitzpatrick, Elizabeth; Grandpierre, Viviane; Durieux-Smith, Andrée; Gaboury, Isabelle; Coyle, Doug; Na, Eunjung; Sallam, Nusaiba

2016-01-01

Abstract Children with mild bilateral and unilateral hearing loss are now commonly identified early through newborn hearing screening initiatives. There remains considerable uncertainty about how to support parents and about which services to provide for children with mild bilateral and unilateral hearing loss. The goal of this study was to learn about parents’ experiences and understand, from their perspectives, the impact of hearing loss in the mild range on the child’s functioning. Parents of 20 children in Ontario, Canada, participated in the study. The median age of identification of hearing loss was 4.6 months (interquartile range: 3.6, 10.8). Parents appreciated learning early about hearing loss, but their experiences with the early process were mixed. Parents felt that professionals minimized the importance of milder hearing loss. There was substantial uncertainty about the need for hearing aids and the findings suggest that parents need specific guidance. Parents expressed concerns about the potential impact of hearing loss on their child’s development, particularly at later ages. PMID:26433195

Two functions of early language experience.

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Arshavsky, Yuri I

2009-05-01

The unique human ability of linguistic communication, defined as the ability to produce a practically infinite number of meaningful messages using a finite number of lexical items, is determined by an array of "linguistic" genes, which are expressed in neurons forming domain-specific linguistic centers in the brain. In this review, I discuss the idea that infants' early language experience performs two complementary functions. In addition to allowing infants to assimilate the words and grammar rules of their mother language, early language experience initiates genetic programs underlying language production and comprehension. This hypothesis explains many puzzling characteristics of language acquisition, such as the existence of a critical period for acquiring the first language and the absence of a critical period for the acquisition of additional language(s), a similar timetable for language acquisition in children belonging to families of different social and cultural status, the strikingly similar timetables in the acquisition of oral and sign languages, and the surprisingly small correlation between individuals' final linguistic competence and the intensity of their training. Based on the studies of microcephalic individuals, I argue that genetic factors determine not only the number of neurons and organization of interneural connections within linguistic centers, but also the putative internal properties of neurons that are not limited to their electrophysiological and synaptic properties.

Comparing early design methods for children

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sluis - Thiescheffer, R.J.W.; Bekker, M.M.; Eggen, J.H.; Robertson, J.; Skov, M.B.; Bekker, M.M.

2007-01-01

This paper describes a study which compares the outcome of two early design methods for children: brainstorming and prototyping. The hypothesis is that children will uncover more design ideas when prototyping than when brainstorming, because prototyping requires the use of a wider range of

Early Intervention for Families and Children Experiencing Homelessness

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Hurley, Jennifer J.; Looby, Winnie; Goodrum, Ashley R.; Campbell, Elizabeth M.; Bonti, Gregg K.; Raymon, Becca A.; Condon, Rebecca; Schwaeber, Sami E.; Mauceri, Melina E.; Bourne, Erin M.; Callahan, Elizabeth D.; Hardy, Danielle L.; Mathews, Pamela

2018-01-01

Early intervention (EI) services are provided for families and children at risk for or with developmental delays. Early intervention includes services that are provided in the natural environment as mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA; 2004). The natural environment is where children and families would naturally spend…

Working with Space and Shape in Early Childhood Education: Experiences in Collaboration

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Karina Luiza da Silva Fernandes

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This report shows the experience of a work conducted with the Meli-Melo puzzle in two early childhood education classes at two different schools in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. With the work’s activities as a starting point, aspects related to space and shape, as well as quantities and measures, were approached. Children from two and a half to five years old participated in the playful activities, which had the following goals: to develop spatial and geometric skills, to allow measuring actions, to favor dialogue and to boost group work experience. There were several activities, like handling the pieces, assembling images freely or according with outlines and models, assembling three-dimensional figures, and the length game. The following questions were considered in the evaluation of the work: how was the children’s participation in large groups and small groups? How did children of different age groups engage in the different proposals? Which activities were easier or more difficult for each group? Which behaviors and conversations showed us new knowledge? The fulfillment of the planned activities showed that the children had several hypotheses regarding shapes and that they were able to identify similarities and differences, use geometry vocabulary, and discuss their thoughts, particularly when working in small groups, which favored the participation of nearly all children. We believe the work reported has allowed learnings and a contact with mathematics in early childhood education.

Practitioners' Experiences of Personal Ownership and Autonomy in Their Support for Young Children's Thinking

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Robson, Sue; Fumoto, Hiroko

2009-01-01

This article reports the third phase of the Froebel Research Fellowship Project: "The Voice of the Child: ownership and autonomy in early learning". Building on the first and second phases of this study, this phase examined early years practitioners' experiences of supporting young children's thinking in relation to the personal…

Children's experiences of domestic violence

OpenAIRE

Callaghan, Jane

2016-01-01

This paper describes the key findings of a two year project focused on children's experiences of domestic violence. It draws on 107 interviews with children in Greece, Italy, Spain and the UK. The paper explores children's capacity to articulate their experiences, and highlights that they are not 'witnesses' to intimate partner violence, but experience it directly and make meaning of it, as members of a family affected by violence. I argue that children need to be recognised as direct victims...

Early experience with laparoscopic surgery in children in Ile-Ife, Nigeria

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Ademola Olusegun Talabi

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Laparoscopy is not yet routinely employed in many Paediatric Surgical Units in Nigeria despite the advantages it offers. This study describes the preliminary experience with laparoscopic procedures in a single centre. Patients and Methods: A retrospective analysis of all children who had laparoscopic surgery between January 2009 and December 2013 at the Paediatric Surgical Unit of Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex Ile-Ife was carried out. Their sociodemographic, preoperative and intraoperative data along with postoperative records were subjected to descriptive analysis. Results: Eleven (44% diagnostic and 14 (56% therapeutic procedures were performed on 25 children whose age ranged from 5 months to 15 years (Median: 84 months, Mean: 103 ± 64.1 months, including eight (32% females and 17 (68% males. Indications included acute appendicitis in 12 (48%, intra-abdominal masses in six (24%, three (12% disorders of sexual differentiation, two (8% ventriculoperitoneal shunt malfunctions and impalpable undescended testes in two (8% children. The procedures lasted 15-90 minutes (Mean = 54 (±21.6 minutes. Conversion rate was 17% for two patients who had ruptured retrocaecal appendices. No intra operative complications were recorded while three (12% patients had superficial port site infections post-operatively. All diagnostic (11 and two therapeutic procedures were done as day case surgery. The mean duration of hospital stay was 3.1 (±3.3 days for those who had appendectomies. Conclusion: Laparoscopic surgery in children is safe and feasible in our hospital. We advocate increased use of laparoscopy in paediatric surgical practice in Nigeria and similar developing settings.

Experience of Sexual Abuse in Childhood and Abortion in Adolescence and Early Adulthood

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Boden, Joseph M.; Fergusson, David M.; Horwood, L. John

2009-01-01

Objective: The present study examined the associations between the experience of sexual abuse in childhood (CSA) and the number of abortions in adolescence and early adulthood. Method: A 25-year prospective longitudinal study of the health, development, and adjustment of a birth cohort of 1,265 New Zealand children (630 females). Measures included…

Improving Early Numeracy of Young Children with Special Education Needs.

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Van Luit, Johannes E. H.; Schopman, Esther A.

2000-01-01

Sixty-two students from special needs kindergartens were given early mathematics intervention. The early numeracy program was developed for children with disabilities and early numeracy difficulties by basing instruction on perceptual gestalt theory. Children performed better at posttest than controls but failed to transfer their knowledge to…

Experiences of parents of children with intellectual disabilities in the Ashanti Region of Ghana

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Eric Badu

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Parents of children with intellectual disabilities could experience difficulties associated with their care. Yet, insight into individual experiences is inadequate to guide effective responses to the needs of parents and their sons and daughters with intellectual disability. This study sought to explore the experiences of parents of children with intellectual disability with the aim of making these experiences visible to guide the design and provision of support services for the parents and their children. In-depth interviews were conducted with 20 parents of children with intellectual disability between the ages of 4 and 15 years residing in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis to explore themes that describe the experiences of the parents. The study found that parents of intellectually disabled children encounter challenges looking after their children due to the negative perceptions associated with having such children. Financial costs and managing behavioral challenges of intellectually disabled children were also major sources of stressors for parents. Although informal support and assurances from professionals alleviated parental stress and gave them some hope about the future of their children, these support services seem inadequate. A more structured support programme that includes financial empowerment of the parents and recognizes the importance of early detection and intervention practices is needed.  Keywords: Intellectual disability, parents, caregivers, support services, health professionals

Center-Based Early Head Start and Children Exposed to Family Conflict

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Whiteside-Mansell, Leanne; Bradley, Robert; McKelvey, Lorraine; Lopez, Maya

2009-01-01

Research Findings: Family conflict is known to be associated with poor development for young children, but many children appear resilient. This study examined the extent to which high-quality center care during early childhood protects children from these negative consequences. Children participating in center-based sites of the Early Head Start…

Early support and early intervention as a support for the child and their family based on the biographies of parents of children with rare genetic diseases

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Urszula Klajmon-Lech

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Receiving information on child’s disease or disability is a very difficult and often traumatic experience for the parents. Researchers investigating this issue indicate an array of negative parental emotional reactions such as: a sense of loss, loneliness, shock, mutual blaming, uncertainty, anxiety. Early intervention, understood as interdisciplinary services provided by physiotherapists, doctors, pedagogues, psychologists, and other specialists in the first years of child’s life, is equally needed by both children themselves and their parents, who, owing to the provided education and support, mature to the role of a parent-caretaker-therapist. The paper will address the results of a research conducted among parents of children with rare genetic diseases. The respondents shared their experiences associated with early intervention, assessed the quality of the received support as well as its effects on the child and the family. The study was conducted based on qualitative research methodology. I conducted narrative interviews with the mothers and fathers of children affected by rare chromosomal disorders. The analysis of narration focused on the experiences associated with implemented or non-implemented early intervention. Some of the parents of children with rare chromosomal syndromes had no opportunity to participate in early intervention; respondents in this group complained about specialists ignoring the reported problems and described disease symptoms as well as being involved in a “therapeutic pursuit” for a long time. The other group included parents participating in early intervention programmes. The experience of a rare disease increased their need to expand their knowledge on the disease and treatment options, which certainly presented a significant challenge for specialists. However, even in such a difficult situation it is possible to implement a model early intervention programme, as

Children's early helping in action: Piagetian developmental theory and early prosocial behavior.

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Hammond, Stuart I

2014-01-01

After a brief overview of recent research on early helping, outlining some central problems, and issues, this paper examines children's early helping through the lens of Piagetian moral and developmental theory, drawing on Piaget's "Moral Judgment of the Child" (Piaget, 1932/1997), "Play, Dreams, and Imitation in Childhood" (Piaget, 1945/1951), and the "Grasp of Consciousness" (Piaget, 1976). Piaget refers to a level of moral development in action that precedes heteronomous and autonomous moral reasoning. This action level allows children to begin to interact with people and objects. In his later work, Piaget explores the gradual construction of understanding from this activity level. Taken together, these elements of Piagetian theory provide a promising conceptual framework for understanding the development of early helping.

Implicit mentalizing persists beyond early childhood and is profoundly impaired in children with autism spectrum conditions

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Tobias Schuwerk

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Implicit mentalizing, a fast, unconscious and rigid way of processing other's mental states has recently received much interest in typical social cognitive development in early childhood and in adults with autism spectrum conditions (ASC. This research suggests that already infants implicitly mentalize, and that adults with ASC have a sustained implicit mentalizing deficit. Yet, we have only sparse empirical evidence on implicit mentalizing beyond early childhood, and deviations thereof in children with ASC. Here, we administered an implicit mentalizing eye tracking task to assess the sensitivity to false beliefs to a group of 8-year-old children with and without ASC, matched for chronological age, verbal and nonverbal IQ. As previous research suggested that presenting outcomes of belief-based actions leads to fast learning from experience and false belief-congruent looking behavior in adults with ASC, we were also interested in whether already children with ASC learn from such information. Our results provide support for a persistent implicit mentalizing ability in neurotypical development beyond early childhood. Further, they confirmed an implicit mentalizing deficit in children with ASC, even when they are closely matched to controls for explicit mentalizing skills. In contrast to previous findings with adults, no experience-based modulation of anticipatory looking was observed. It seems that children with ASC have not yet developed compensatory general purpose learning mechanisms. The observed intact explicit, but impaired implicit mentalizing in ASC, and correlation patterns between mentalizing tasks and executive function tasks, are in line with theories on two dissociable mentalizing systems.

Assessing the effectiveness of Australian early childhood education and care experiences: study protocol.

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Tayler, Collette; Cloney, Daniel; Adams, Ray; Ishimine, Karin; Thorpe, Karen; Nguyen, Thi Kim Cuc

2016-04-21

In Australia, 61.5 % of children aged 3-4 attend Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) programs. Children's experiences within these programs vary widely and impact directly on educational wellbeing and social development. Research has shown that higher quality programs enhance children's learning and developmental outcomes, foster social participation and have long-lasting effects on their productivity as adults. Quality matters, yet we do not know what components of ECEC result in a quality program. Effective Early Educational Experiences (E4Kids) is a 5-year longitudinal study designed to identify and assess the impact of mainstream ECEC programs and program components on children's learning, development, social inclusion and well-being. E4Kids sets out to measure quality ECEC; identify components that add value and positively impact children's outcomes; evaluate the effects of child, family, community and environment characteristics on programs; and provide evidence on how best to invest in ECEC. E4Kids follows a sample of 2,494 children who have experienced a variety of approved care programs (long day care, kindergarten, family day care and occasional care), as well as 157 children who have not accessed such programs. Children are tracked to the first point of National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) testing at Year 3. The study presents a multi-level design in which ECEC programs were sampled from two states - Queensland and Victoria - then randomly sampled from two greater metropolitan regions and two regional and remote locations. Parents, centre directors, educators and carers complete questionnaires to provide information on demographics and children's progress. Data collected also include the make-up and organisation of ECEC programs and schools children attended. The quality of adult-child interactions is directly assessed using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) and direct testing of children's cognitive abilities

'She was a foster mother who said she didn't give cuddles': The adverse early foster care experiences of children who later struggle with adoptive family life.

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Meakings, Sarah; Selwyn, Julie

2016-10-01

Foster care remains a valuable and safe intervention for many children unable to live with their birth family. When birth family reunification is not considered possible, a small proportion of children in foster care will go on to achieve permanency by way of adoption. This article reports on some unexpected findings to emerge from two national adoption studies of previously looked after children in England and Wales. Focussing on a subset of families who had experienced or were at risk of an adoption disruption, the findings revealed that not only did children carry elevated risks for disruption due to their older age at entry to care, multiple foster care placements and traumatic early histories, but once in care, many of the children whose placements had disrupted were considered by their adoptive parents to have had very poor, even harmful fostering experiences before being placed for adoption. Possible explanations for these findings are discussed, together with the implications for social work practice. © The Author(s) 2016.

Children's early reading vocabulary: description and word frequency lists.

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Stuart, Morag; Dixon, Maureen; Masterson, Jackie; Gray, Bob

2003-12-01

When constructing stimuli for experimental investigations of cognitive processes in early reading development, researchers have to rely on adult or American children's word frequency counts, as no such counts exist for English children. The present paper introduces a database of children's early reading vocabulary, for use by researchers and teachers. Texts from 685 books from reading schemes and story books read by 5-7 year-old children were used in the construction of the database. All words from the 685 books were typed or scanned into an Oracle database. The resulting up-to-date word frequency list of early print exposure in the UK is available in two forms from a website address given in this paper. This allows access to one list of the words ordered alphabetically and one list of the words ordered by frequency. We also briefly address some fundamental issues underlying early reading vocabulary (e.g., that it is heavily skewed towards low frequencies). Other characteristics of the vocabulary are then discussed. We hope the word frequency lists will be of use to researchers seeking to control word frequency, and to teachers interested in the vocabulary to which young children are exposed in their reading material.

Early vocabulary development in children with bilateral cochlear implants.

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Välimaa, Taina; Kunnari, Sari; Laukkanen-Nevala, Päivi; Lonka, Eila

2018-01-01

Children with unilateral cochlear implants (CIs) may have delayed vocabulary development for an extended period after implantation. Bilateral cochlear implantation is reported to be associated with improved sound localization and enhanced speech perception in noise. This study proposed that bilateral implantation might also promote early vocabulary development. Knowledge regarding vocabulary growth and composition in children with bilateral CIs and factors associated with it may lead to improvements in the content of early speech and language intervention and family counselling. To analyse the growth of early vocabulary and its composition during the first year after CI activation and to investigate factors associated with vocabulary growth. The participants were 20 children with bilateral CIs (12 boys; eight girls; mean age at CI activation = 12.9 months). Vocabulary size was assessed with the Finnish version of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories (CDI) Infant Form and compared with normative data. Vocabulary composition was analysed in relation to vocabulary size. Growth curve modelling was implemented using a linear mixed model to analyse the effects of the following variables on early vocabulary growth: time, gender, maternal education, residual hearing with hearing aids, age at first hearing aid fitting and age at CI activation. Despite clear vocabulary growth over time, children with bilateral CIs lagged behind their age norms in receptive vocabulary during the first 12 months after CI activation. In expressive vocabulary, 35% of the children were able to catch up with their age norms, but 55% of the children lagged behind them. In receptive and expressive vocabularies of 1-20 words, analysis of different semantic categories indicated that social terms constituted the highest proportion. Nouns constituted the highest proportion in vocabularies of 101-400 words. The proportion of verbs remained below 20% and the proportion of function words and

School Age Outcomes of Children Diagnosed Early and Later with Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Clark, Megan Louise Erin; Vinen, Zoe; Barbaro, Josephine; Dissanayake, Cheryl

2018-01-01

Early diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder is considered best practice, increasing access to early intervention. Yet, many children are diagnosed after 3-years. The current study investigated the school age outcomes of children who received an early and later diagnosis of ASD. The cognitive and behavioural outcomes of children diagnosed early (n…

Early trauma, attachment experiences and comorbidities in schizophrenia

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Thalita Gabínio

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Objective To evaluate attachment patterns in subjects with schizophrenia and their relationships to early traumatic events, psychotic symptoms and comorbidities. Methods Twenty patients diagnosed with schizophrenia according to criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5 underwent retrospective symptom assessment and careful assessment of the number and manner of childhood caregiver changes. The Diagnostic Interview for Psychosis and Affective Disorders (DI-PAD was used to assess symptoms related to schizophrenia (positive and negative symptoms, depression and mania. Anxiety disorder comorbidities were assessed by the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS, Yale-Brown Obsessions and Compulsions Scale (Y-BOCS and Panic and Schizophrenia Interview (PaSI. Experience in Close Relationships – Relationship Structures (ECR-RS and Early Trauma Inventory Self Report-Short Form (ETISR-SF were used to assess attachment patterns and traumatic history, respectively. Results Moderate and significant correlations between attachment patterns and early trauma showed that greater severity of anxious attachment was predicted by a higher frequency of total early traumas (Spearman ρ = 0.446, p = 0.04, mainly general traumas (ρ = 0.526, p = 0.017; including parental illness and separation, as well as natural disaster and serious accidents. Among the correlations between early trauma and comorbid symptoms, panic attacks occurring before the onset of schizophrenia showed significant and positive correlations with ETISR-SF total scores and the sexual trauma subscale. Conclusion Children with an unstable early emotional life are more vulnerable to the development of psychopathology, such as panic anxiety symptoms. Traumatic events may also predict later schizophrenia.

Early Care in Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders

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Ponce-Meza, Jacqueline

2017-01-01

The article analyzes the importance of early care in child development, guiding a neuropsychological perspective of development. The early care model seeks to refer to the set of interventions aimed at children and their work in conjunction with a multidisciplinary team. It presents recommendations for the implementation of programs that allow…

Formal and Informal Early Education of Turkish-Origin Children in Germany

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Becker, Birgit; Boldin, Elena; Klein, Oliver

2016-01-01

A lack of adequate German language skills is often discussed as a major reason for the disadvantage of children of immigrants in the German educational system. This article analyses the access to formal and informal early education of Turkish-origin children in Germany and the influence of these early education contexts on the children's German…

Early intervention services of children with physical disabilities: complexity of child and family needs.

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Ziviani, Jenny; Darlington, Yvonne; Feeney, Rachel; Rodger, Sylvia; Watter, Pauline

2014-04-01

To gain insight into the special issues confronting parents when accessing early intervention for children with physical disabilities where child and/or family characteristics indicate complex needs within the unique Australian context. Qualitative interviews with families receiving early intervention for their children with physical disabilities (N=10). Families with complex circumstances such as having children with high support needs, those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and single-parent families were recruited to the study. Families where parents had mental or health issues, parents/other family members had an identified disability, and/or where families lived in regional or rural locations were also purposively sampled. Participants highlighted issues around (i) the nature of early intervention services provided; (ii) the ways in which services were structured; and (ii) managing their child's needs/planning into the future. Parents stressed the importance of having access to a variety of early intervention services aside from therapy. They also emphasised the need for greater clarity about what to expect from services, the intensity of therapy, other services they could access and how long they would be able to receive these. Despite their complex circumstances and needs, participants' experiences of accessing early intervention services were largely consistent with the broader research literature. Of the parents interviewed, those with health problems and single mothers expressed most apprehension about managing their child's needs and planning for the future. © 2013 Occupational Therapy Australia.

[EARLY MOTHER-CHILD BONDING FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH CHILDREN OBESITY].

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Vargas Martínez, Gabriela; Cruzat Mandich, Claudia; Díaz Castrillón, Fernanda; Moore Infante, Catalina; Ulloa Jiménez, Valentina

2015-11-01

The aim of this study is to describe the experience of a group of mothers with obese children, regarding how early bond affects the relationship that both have with food and this, in turn, impacts on childhood obesity. The present study has a qualitative, exploratory and descriptive design. The sample consists of five chilean women between 22 and 39 years old, with obese children between 2 and 4 years old. In-depth interviews were carried out and open coding strategy was used as method of analysis. Results show a tendency of mothers to establish insecure attachment relations, difficulties of tuning and expression of affection, and a predominance of a permissive parenting style around food. This has important implications for prevention and treatment of obesity, focusing on the attachment bond between mother and child. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

Linguistically Diverse Children and Educators (Re)Forming Early Literacy Policy

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Spencer, Tamara Glupczynski; Falchi, Lorraine; Ghiso, Maria Paula

2011-01-01

The current context of increased accountability and the proliferation of skills-based literacy mandates at the early childhood level pose particular tensions for multilingual children and educators. In this article, we draw on data from two ethnographic studies to examine how educators and children negotiate the constraints of early childhood…

Breaking cycles of risk: The mitigating role of maternal working memory in associations among socioeconomic status, early caregiving, and children's working memory.

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Suor, Jennifer H; Sturge-Apple, Melissa L; Skibo, Michael A

2017-10-01

Previous research has documented socioeconomic-related disparities in children's working memory; however, the putative proximal caregiving mechanisms that underlie these effects are less known. The present study sought to examine whether the effects of early family socioeconomic status on children's working memory were mediated through experiences of caregiving, specifically maternal harsh discipline and responsiveness. Utilizing a psychobiological framework of parenting, the present study also tested whether maternal working memory moderated the initial paths between the family socioeconomic context and maternal harsh discipline and responsiveness in the mediation model. The sample included 185 socioeconomically diverse mother-child dyads assessed when children were 3.5 and 5 years old. Results demonstrated that maternal harsh discipline was a unique mediator of the relation between early experiences of family socioeconomic adversity and lower working memory outcomes in children. Individual differences in maternal working memory emerged as a potent individual difference factor that specifically moderated the mediating influence of harsh discipline within low socioeconomic contexts. The findings have implications for early risk processes underlying deficits in child working memory outcomes and potential targets for parent-child interventions.

Differential risk for late adolescent conduct problems and mood dysregulation among children with early externalizing behavior problems.

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Okado, Yuko; Bierman, Karen L

2015-05-01

To investigate the differential emergence of antisocial behaviors and mood dysregulation among children with externalizing problems, the present study prospectively followed 317 high-risk children with early externalizing problems from school entry (ages 5-7) to late adolescence (ages 17-19). Latent class analysis conducted on their conduct and mood symptoms in late adolescence revealed three distinct patterns of symptoms, characterized by: 1) criminal offenses, conduct disorder symptoms, and elevated anger ("conduct problems"), 2) elevated anger, dysphoric mood, and suicidal ideation ("mood dysregulation"), and 3) low levels of severe conduct and mood symptoms. A diathesis-stress model predicting the first two outcomes was tested. Elevated overt aggression at school entry uniquely predicted conduct problems in late adolescence, whereas elevated emotion dysregulation at school entry uniquely predicted mood dysregulation in late adolescence. Experiences of low parental warmth and peer rejection in middle childhood moderated the link between early emotion dysregulation and later mood dysregulation but did not moderate the link between early overt aggression and later conduct problems. Thus, among children with early externalizing behavior problems, increased risk for later antisocial behavior or mood dysfunction may be identifiable in early childhood based on levels of overt aggression and emotion dysregulation. For children with early emotion dysregulation, however, increased risk for mood dysregulation characterized by anger, dysphoric mood, and suicidality--possibly indicative of disruptive mood dysregulation disorder--emerges only in the presence of low parental warmth and/or peer rejection during middle childhood.

Children's Participation Rights in Early Childhood Education and Care: The Case of Early Literacy Learning and Pedagogy

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Dunphy, Elizabeth

2012-01-01

This position article argues that educators' knowledge of young children's perspectives on aspects of early learning, including literacy learning, and subsequent interpretations of the ways that these perspectives can inform and shape pedagogy are key to promoting children's participation rights in early childhood education and care. Drawing on…

The Use of Concrete Experiences in Early Childhood Mathematics Instruction.

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Baroody, Arthur J

2017-01-01

Addressed are four key issues regarding concrete instruction: What is concrete? What is a worthwhile concrete experience? How can concrete experiences be used effectively in early childhood mathematics instruction? Is there evidence such experiences work? I argue that concrete experiences are those that build on what is familiar to a child and can involve objects, verbal analogies, or virtual images. The use of manipulatives or computer games, for instance, does not in itself guarantee an educational experience. Such experiences are worthwhile if they target and further learning (e.g., help children extend their informal knowledge or use their informal knowledge to understand and learn formal knowledge). A crucial guideline for the effective use of concrete experience is Dewey's principle of interaction-external factors (e.g., instructional activities) need to mesh with internal factors (readiness, interest). Cognitive views of concrete materials, such as the cognitive alignment perspective and dual-representation hypothesis, provide useful guidance about external factors but do not adequately take into account internal factors and their interaction with external factors. Research on the effectiveness of concrete experience is inconclusive because it frequently overlooks internal factors. © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Children's experiences of dental anxiety.

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Morgan, Annie G; Rodd, Helen D; Porritt, Jenny M; Baker, Sarah R; Creswell, Cathy; Newton, Tim; Williams, Chris; Marshman, Zoe

2017-03-01

Dental anxiety is common among children. Although there is a wealth of research investigating childhood dental anxiety, little consideration has been given to the child's perspective. This qualitative study sought to explore with children their own experiences of dental anxiety using a cognitive behavioural therapy assessment model. Face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were conducted with dentally anxious children aged 11-16 years. The Five Areas model was used to inform the topic guide and analysis. Data were analysed using a framework approach. In total, 13 children were interviewed. Participants described their experiences of dental anxiety across multiple dimensions (situational factors and altered thoughts, feelings, physical symptoms, and behaviours). Participants placed considerable value on communication by dental professionals, with poor communication having a negative influence on dental anxiety and the dentist-patient relationship. This study confirms the Five Areas model as an applicable theoretical model for the assessment of childhood dental anxiety. Children provided insights about their own dental anxiety experiences that have not previously been described. © 2016 BSPD, IAPD and John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Early Intervention for Children with Hearing Loss: Information Parents Receive about Supporting Children's Language

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Decker, Kalli B.; Vallotton, Claire D.

2016-01-01

Family-centered early intervention for children with hearing loss is intended to strengthen families' interactions with their children to support children's language development, and should include providing parents with information they can use as part of their everyday routines. However, little is known about the information received by families…

[The community-oriented experience of early intervention services in Taipei City].

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Chu, Feng-Ying

2007-10-01

The purpose of this paper is to emphasize the importance of early intervention. The purpose of early intervention in Taipei City is to help child development, promote parenting skills, and reduce educational and social costs. In order to meet these goals, parenting groups and Taipei City Council have made great efforts to make early intervention work in Taipei City. In April 1995, Taipei City Government started planning and setting up the service network. To date, Taipei City has set up one reporting and referral center?, ?six community resources centers, 22 medical assessment and intervention clinics, 12 child development centers, one early intervention training center, three non-profit foundations and more than 300 inclusion schools, such as kindergartens and day care centers. With parent participation, professional devotion and Taipei City Government's commitment, the number of assisted children has increased from 98 to 2,523 /year. By the end of 2006, Taipei had already funded 25,277 children. We estimate Taipei City early intervention services to have affected at least 75,000 persons, including development-delayed and disabled children, their parents?, ?grandparents and siblings. We found that early intervention services help the children to build up self esteem, grow their potential, learn how to socialize, and receive an education, while the most important aim is to help them to reduce their level of disability or to prevent them from getting worse. At the same time, their families get support and a diverse range of services. An integrated early intervention program should include children, families, and multidisciplinary professionals. The system should therefore be more "family-centered" and "community-oriented" to provide appropriate services to children and families through a positive and aggressive attitude.

Does early-life family income influence later dental pain experience? A prospective 14-year study.

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Ghorbani, Z; Peres, M A; Liu, P; Mejia, G C; Armfield, J M; Peres, K G

2017-12-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between early-life family income and dental pain experience from childhood to early adulthood. Data came from a 14-year prospective study (1991/1992-2005/2006) carried out in South Australia, which included children and adolescents aged 4-17 years (N = 9875) at baseline. The outcome was dental pain experience obtained at baseline, 14 years later in adulthood and at a middle point of time. The main explanatory variable was early-life family income collected at baseline. The prevalence of dental pain was 22.8% at baseline, 19.3% at 'middle time' and 39.3% at follow up. The proportion of people classified as 'poor' at baseline was 27.7%. Being poor early in life was significantly associated with dental pain at 14-year follow up (odds ratio = 1.45; 95% confidence interval = 1.27-1.66). Early-life relative poverty is associated with more frequent dental pain across the 14-year follow up and may be a key exposure variable for later dental conditions. © 2017 Australian Dental Association.

Early Childhood Trauma

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National Child Traumatic Stress Network, 2010

2010-01-01

Early childhood trauma generally refers to the traumatic experiences that occur to children aged 0-6. Because infants' and young children's reactions may be different from older children's, and because they may not be able to verbalize their reactions to threatening or dangerous events, many people assume that young age protects children from the…

Added Value of Early Literacy Screening in Preschool Children.

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Iyer, Sai Nandini; Dawson, M Zachary; Sawyer, Mark I; Abdullah, Neelab; Saju, Leya; Needlman, Robert D

2017-09-01

The Early Literacy Screener (ELS) is a brief screen for emergent literacy delays in 4- and 5-year-olds. Standard developmental screens may also flag these children. What is the value of adding the ELS? Parents of children aged 4 (n = 45) and 5 (n = 26) years completed the Ages and Stages Questionnaire-3 (ASQ-3), the Survey of Well-Being in Young Children (SWYC), and the ELS. Rates of positive agreement (PA), negative agreement (NA), and overall agreement (Cohen's κ) across the various screening tools were calculated. Early literacy delays were detected in 51% of those who passed the ASQ and 38% of those who passed the SWYC. For ELS versus ASQ, κ = 0.18, PA = 0.36 (95% CI = 0.23-0.51), and NA = 0.83 (95% CI = 0.66-0.92). For ELS versus SWYC, κ = 0.42, PA = 0.61 (95% CI = 0.45-0.75), and NA = 0.82 (95% CI = 0.65-0.92). The ELS adds value by flagging early literacy delays in many children who pass either the ASQ-3 or SWYC.

Trajectories of child externalizing problems between ages 3 and 10 years: Contributions of children's early effortful control, theory of mind, and parenting experiences.

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Olson, Sheryl L; Choe, Daniel Ewon; Sameroff, Arnold J

2017-10-01

Preventing problem behavior requires an understanding of earlier factors that are amenable to intervention. The main goals of our prospective longitudinal study were to trace trajectories of child externalizing behavior between ages 3 and 10 years, and to identify patterns of developmentally significant child and parenting risk factors that differentiated pathways of problem behavior. Participants were 218 3-year-old boys and girls who were reassessed following the transition to kindergarten (age 5-6 years) and during the late school-age years (age 10). Mothers contributed ratings of children's externalizing behavior at all three time points. Children's self-regulation abilities and theory of mind were assessed during a laboratory visit, and parenting risk (frequent corporal punishment and low maternal warmth) was assessed using interview-based and questionnaire measures. Four developmental trajectories of externalizing behavior yielded the best balance of parsimony and fit with our longitudinal data and latent class growth analysis. Most young children followed a pathway marked by relatively low levels of symptoms that continued to decrease across the school-age years. Atypical trajectories marked chronically high, increasing, and decreasing levels of externalizing problems across early and middle childhood. Three-year-old children with low levels of effortful control were far more likely to show the chronic pattern of elevated externalizing problems than changing or low patterns. Early parental corporal punishment and maternal warmth, respectively, differentiated preschoolers who showed increasing and decreasing patterns of problem behavior compared to the majority of children. The fact that children's poor effortful regulation skills predicted chronic early onset problems reinforces the need for early childhood screening and intervention services.

Technological Funds of Knowledge in Children's Play: Implications for Early Childhood Educators

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Mawson, Brent

2011-01-01

The technological knowledge the children bring with them into early childhood settings is not well documented or understood. This article discusses the technological knowledge and understanding of the nature of technology present within children's collaborative play in two New Zealand early childhood settings. The children incorporated a wide…

Migrant Preschool Children's School Readiness and Early Elementary School Performance

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Tavassolie, Tanya; López, Claudia; De Feyter, Jessica; Hartman, Suzanne C.; Winsler, Adam

2018-01-01

Little is known about the early educational performance of children in migrant farmworker families. The authors examined the school readiness and early school success of 289 four-year-old preschool children of migrant families attending Redlands Christian Migrant Association centers. Children's school readiness was assessed and public school…

Trauma-Focused Early Intensive Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (TF-EICBI) in children and adolescent survivors of suicide bombing attacks (SBAs). A preliminary study.

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Leor, Agnes; Dolberg, Orna T; Eshel, Shira Pagorek; Yagil, Yaron; Schreiber, Shaul

2013-01-01

To describe and evaluate the impact of an early intervention (Trauma-Focused Early Intensive Cognitive Behavioral Intervention, TF-EICBI) in children and adolescents who were victims of suicide bombing attacks (SBAs) in Israel. Description of an intervention and preliminary experience in its use. An acute trauma center of a Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Unit in a Department of Psychiatry of a university-affiliated medical center. Ten children and adolescents who were victims of SBAs and underwent early interventions (EIG) were compared to 11 adolescent victims who received no intervention (NEIG). The EIG included all the children and adolescent survivors of various SBAs that had occurred during 1 year who presented to our hospital after the TF-EICBI was implemented (June 2001). The NEIG comprised all adolescents girls children and adolescents after SBAs.

Children's Physic: Medical Perceptions and Treatment of Sick Children in Early Modern England, c. 1580-1720.

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Newton, Hannah

2010-12-01

Historians of medicine, childhood and paediatrics have often assumed that early modern doctors neither treated children, nor adapted their medicines to suit the peculiar temperaments of the young. Through an examination of medical textbooks and doctors' casebooks, this article refutes these assumptions. It argues that medical authors and practising doctors regularly treated children, and were careful to tailor their remedies to complement the distinctive constitutions of children. Thus, this article proposes that a concept of 'children's physic' existed in early modern England. This term refers to the notion that children were physiologically distinct, requiring special medical care. Children's physic was rooted in the ancient traditions of Hippocratic and Galenic medicine: it was the child's humoral make-up that underpinned all medical ideas about children's bodies, minds, diseases and treatments. Children abounded in the humour blood, which made them humid and weak, and in need of medicines of a particularly gentle nature.

Mother-Child Interaction and Resilience in Children with Early Developmental Risk

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Fenning, Rachel M.; Baker, Jason K.

2014-01-01

Although prenatal and genetic factors make strong contributions to the emergence of intellectual disability (ID), children's early environment may have the potential to alter developmental trajectories and to foster resilience in children with early risk. The present study examined mother-child interaction and the promotion of competence in 50 children with early developmental delays. Three related but distinct aspects of mother-child interaction were considered: maternal technical scaffolding, maternal positive-sensitivity, and mother-child dyadic pleasure. Children were classified as exhibiting undifferentiated delays at age three based upon performance on developmental assessments and the absence of known genetic syndromes. Mother-child interaction was assessed at age four through observational ratings of structured laboratory tasks and through naturalistic home observations. ID was identified at age five using the dual criteria of clinically significant delays in cognitive functioning and adaptive behavior. Maternal technical scaffolding and dyadic pleasure each uniquely predicted reduced likelihood of later ID, beyond the contributions of children's early developmental level and behavioral functioning. Follow-up analyses suggested that mother-child interaction was primarily important to resilience in the area of adaptive behavior, with scaffolding and dyadic pleasure differentially associated with particular sub-domains. Implications for theories of intellectual disability and for family-based early intervention and prevention efforts are discussed. PMID:22662771

Healthy Children, Healthy Lives: The Wellness Guide for Early Childhood Programs

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Bergen, Sharon; Robertson, Rachel

2013-01-01

Early childhood is a critical time in human development. Understanding and supporting children's wellness early on can make the greatest impact on physical, social and emotional, and cognitive health throughout childhood and adulthood. "Healthy Children, Healthy Lives" provides a comprehensive collection of checklists and research ­based…

Early parenting, represented family relationships, and externalizing behavior problems in children born preterm.

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Poehlmann, Julie; Burnson, Cynthia; Weymouth, Lindsay A

2014-01-01

Through assessment of 173 preterm infants and their mothers at hospital discharge and at 9, 16, 24, 36, and 72 months, the study examined early parenting, attachment security, effortful control, and children's representations of family relationships in relation to subsequent externalizing behavior problems. Less intrusive early parenting predicted more secure attachment, better effortful control skills, and fewer early behavior problems, although it did not directly relate to the structural or content characteristics of children's represented family relationships. Children with higher effortful control scores at 24 months had more coherent family representations at 36 months. Moreover, children who exhibited less avoidance in their family representations at 36 months had fewer mother-reported externalizing behavior problems at 72 months. The study suggests that early parenting quality and avoidance in children's represented relationships are important for the development of externalizing behavior problems in children born preterm.

Perceived Importance of ICT in Preparing Early Childhood Education Teachers for the New Generation Children

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Olowe, Peter Kayode; Kutelu, Bukola Olaronke

2014-01-01

Children of the present age are born into the world that is highly driven by Information and Communication Technology (ICT). They begin to manipulate ICT materials as soon as they grow old enough to manipulate things. There is need therefore to provide ICT-learning experiences that can aid their holistic development. To do this, early childhood…

Narrative discourse in children with early focal brain injury.

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Reilly, J S; Bates, E A; Marchman, V A

1998-02-15

Children with early brain damage, unlike adult stroke victims, often go on to develop nearly normal language. However, the route and extent of their linguistic development are still unclear, as is the relationship between lesion site and patterns of delay and recovery. Here we address these questions by examining narratives from children with early brain damage. Thirty children (ages 3:7-10:10) with pre- or perinatal unilateral focal brain damage and their matched controls participated in a storytelling task. Analyses focused on linguistic proficiency and narrative competence. Overall, children with brain damage scored significantly lower than their age-matched controls on both linguistic (morphological and syntactic) indices and those targeting broader narrative qualities. Rather than indicating that children with brain damage fully catch up, these data suggest that deficits in linguistic abilities reassert themselves as children face new linguistic challenges. Interestingly, after age 5, site of lesion does not appear to be a significant factor and the delays we have witnessed do not map onto the lesion profiles observed in adults with analogous brain injuries.

Suicide in Elementary School-Aged Children and Early Adolescents.

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Sheftall, Arielle H; Asti, Lindsey; Horowitz, Lisa M; Felts, Adrienne; Fontanella, Cynthia A; Campo, John V; Bridge, Jeffrey A

2016-10-01

Suicide in elementary school-aged children is not well studied, despite a recent increase in the suicide rate among US black children. The objectives of this study were to describe characteristics and precipitating circumstances of suicide in elementary school-aged children relative to early adolescent decedents and identify potential within-group racial differences. We analyzed National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) surveillance data capturing suicide deaths from 2003 to 2012 for 17 US states. Participants included all suicide decedents aged 5 to 14 years (N = 693). Age group comparisons (5-11 years and 12-14 years) were conducted by using the χ 2 test or Fisher's exact test, as appropriate. Compared with early adolescents who died by suicide, children who died by suicide were more commonly male, black, died by hanging/strangulation/suffocation, and died at home. Children who died by suicide more often experienced relationship problems with family members/friends (60.3% vs 46.0%; P = .02) and less often experienced boyfriend/girlfriend problems (0% vs 16.0%; P suicide note (7.7% vs 30.2%; P suicide decedents with known mental health problems (n = 210), childhood decedents more often experienced attention-deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity (59.3% vs 29.0%; P = .002) and less often experienced depression/dysthymia (33.3% vs 65.6%; P = .001) compared with early adolescent decedents. These findings raise questions about impulsive responding to psychosocial adversity in younger suicide decedents, and they suggest a need for both common and developmentally-specific suicide prevention strategies during the elementary school-aged and early adolescent years. Further research should investigate factors associated with the recent increase in suicide rates among black children. Copyright © 2016 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Performance IQ in children is associated with blood cadmium concentration in early pregnancy.

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Jeong, Kyoung Sook; Park, Hyewon; Ha, Eunhee; Hong, Yun-Chul; Ha, Mina; Park, Hyesook; Kim, Bung-Nyun; Lee, Bo-Eun; Lee, Soo-Jeong; Lee, Kyung Yeon; Kim, Ja Hyeong; Kim, Yangho

2015-04-01

To investigate whether performance IQ in children is associated with maternal blood cadmium concentration in early pregnancy. The present study is a component of the Mothers' and Children's Environmental Health (MOCEH) study, a multi-center birth cohort project in Korea that began in 2006. The study cohort consisted of 119 children whose mothers underwent testing of blood cadmium during early pregnancy. All children were evaluated using the Korean version of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, revised edition (WPPSI-R), at 60 months of age. Multivariate linear regression analysis was performed to analyze the correlation between IQ in children and maternal blood cadmium concentration in early pregnancy, after adjustment for covariates. Maternal blood cadmium concentration during early pregnancy was inversely associated with performance IQ, after adjustment for covariates such as sex, educational levels of both parents, family income, and maternal BMI. Maternal blood cadmium concentration, however, was not associated with cognitive IQ. Performance IQ in children is associated with maternal blood cadmium concentration in early pregnancy. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Early Intervention in Children with Developmental Disabilities

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Beena Johnson

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Developmental disabilities consist of conditions that delay or impair the physical, cognitive, and/or psychological development of children. If not intervened at the earliest, these disabilities will cause significant negative impact on multiple domains of functioning such as learning, language, self-care and capacity for independent living. Common developmental disabilities include autism spectrum disorders, intellectual disabilities, developmental delay and cerebral palsy. About one fourth of young children in developing countries are at risk for or have developmental delay or disabilities. Inadequate stimulation has significant negative impact on physical, socioemotional and cognitive development of children. Hence early scientific intervention programs are necessary in the management of children at risk for developmental delay.

Coping Expectancies, Not Enhancement Expectancies, Mediate Trauma Experience Effects on Problem Alcohol Use: A Prospective Study From Early Childhood to Adolescence.

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Jester, Jennifer M; Steinberg, Davia B; Heitzeg, Mary M; Zucker, Robert A

2015-09-01

The relationship between experiencing trauma and increased alcohol consumption has been well established. Exposure to childhood trauma has been linked to both early onset of drinking and problematic substance use. However, the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear. The results of early work suggested that drinking to relieve negative affect (i.e., drinking to cope) was driving this connection. However, the findings of more recent work suggest that drinking might be used to enhance positive affect as a way of addressing the aftereffects of early trauma. The current study looked at these two drinking expectancies as indirect pathways between the experience in early childhood of living in a home with parental violence and peak alcohol use in emerging adulthood. Participants were 1,064 children and their parents involved in a longitudinal community study of children at high risk for the development of alcoholism and a community contrast group of those at lower risk. Baseline assessment was at age 3-5 years, self-reports of internalizing behavior and drinking expectancies were obtained at age 12-14, and drinking measures were assessed at age 18-20. Results indicated that coping expectancy was a mediator of the relationship between early childhood trauma and later peak alcohol use, whereas enhancement expectancy was not. Children living in homes with parental violence were more likely to develop ineffective coping strategies, such as using alcohol to decrease negative affect. These results support the self-medication theory. They also demonstrate the long-term effects of early life experience on drinking behavior in early adulthood.

Conventional and Piecewise Growth Modeling Techniques: Applications and Implications for Investigating Head Start Children's Early Literacy Learning

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Hindman, Annemarie H.; Cromley, Jennifer G.; Skibbe, Lori E.; Miller, Alison L.

2011-01-01

This article reviews the mechanics of conventional and piecewise growth models to demonstrate the unique affordances of each technique for examining the nature and predictors of children's early literacy learning during the transition from preschool through first grade. Using the nationally representative Family and Child Experiences Survey…

Trajectories of Early Childhood Developmental Skills and Early Adolescent Psychotic Experiences: Findings from the ALSPAC UK Birth Cohort.

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Hameed, Mohajer A; Lingam, Raghu; Zammit, Stanley; Salvi, Giovanni; Sullivan, Sarah; Lewis, Andrew J

2017-01-01

Objective: The aim of this study was to use prospective data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) to examine association between trajectories of early childhood developmental skills and psychotic experiences (PEs) in early adolescence. Method: This study examined data from n = 6790 children from the ALSPAC cohort who participated in a semi-structured interview to assess PEs at age 12. Child development was measured using parental report at 6, 18, 30, and 42 months of age using a questionnaire of items adapted from the Denver Developmental Screening Test - II. Latent class growth analysis was used to generate trajectories over time for measures of fine and gross motor development, social, and communication skills. Logistic regression was used to investigate associations between developmental trajectories in each of these early developmental domains and PEs at age 12. Results: The results provided evidence that decline rather than enduringly poor social (adjusted OR = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.10-1.92, p = 0.044) and communication skills (adjusted OR 1.12, 95% CI = 1.03-1.22, p = 0.010) is predictive of suspected or definite PEs in early adolescence, than those with stable and/or improving skills. Motor skills did not display the same pattern of association; although gender specific effects provided evidence that only declining pattern of fine motor skills was associated with suspected and definite PEs in males compared to females (interaction OR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.09-1.97, p = 0.012). Conclusion: Findings suggest that decline rather than persistent impairment in social and communication skills were most predictive of PEs in early adolescence. Findings are discussed in terms of study's strengths, limitations, and clinical implications.

Trajectories of Early Childhood Developmental Skills and Early Adolescent Psychotic Experiences: Findings from the ALSPAC UK Birth Cohort

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Mohajer A. Hameed

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: The aim of this study was to use prospective data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC to examine association between trajectories of early childhood developmental skills and psychotic experiences (PEs in early adolescence.Method: This study examined data from n = 6790 children from the ALSPAC cohort who participated in a semi-structured interview to assess PEs at age 12. Child development was measured using parental report at 6, 18, 30, and 42 months of age using a questionnaire of items adapted from the Denver Developmental Screening Test – II. Latent class growth analysis was used to generate trajectories over time for measures of fine and gross motor development, social, and communication skills. Logistic regression was used to investigate associations between developmental trajectories in each of these early developmental domains and PEs at age 12.Results: The results provided evidence that decline rather than enduringly poor social (adjusted OR = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.10–1.92, p = 0.044 and communication skills (adjusted OR 1.12, 95% CI = 1.03–1.22, p = 0.010 is predictive of suspected or definite PEs in early adolescence, than those with stable and/or improving skills. Motor skills did not display the same pattern of association; although gender specific effects provided evidence that only declining pattern of fine motor skills was associated with suspected and definite PEs in males compared to females (interaction OR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.09–1.97, p = 0.012.Conclusion: Findings suggest that decline rather than persistent impairment in social and communication skills were most predictive of PEs in early adolescence. Findings are discussed in terms of study’s strengths, limitations, and clinical implications.

Trajectories of Early Childhood Developmental Skills and Early Adolescent Psychotic Experiences: Findings from the ALSPAC UK Birth Cohort

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Hameed, Mohajer A.; Lingam, Raghu; Zammit, Stanley; Salvi, Giovanni; Sullivan, Sarah; Lewis, Andrew J.

2018-01-01

Objective: The aim of this study was to use prospective data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) to examine association between trajectories of early childhood developmental skills and psychotic experiences (PEs) in early adolescence. Method: This study examined data from n = 6790 children from the ALSPAC cohort who participated in a semi-structured interview to assess PEs at age 12. Child development was measured using parental report at 6, 18, 30, and 42 months of age using a questionnaire of items adapted from the Denver Developmental Screening Test – II. Latent class growth analysis was used to generate trajectories over time for measures of fine and gross motor development, social, and communication skills. Logistic regression was used to investigate associations between developmental trajectories in each of these early developmental domains and PEs at age 12. Results: The results provided evidence that decline rather than enduringly poor social (adjusted OR = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.10–1.92, p = 0.044) and communication skills (adjusted OR 1.12, 95% CI = 1.03–1.22, p = 0.010) is predictive of suspected or definite PEs in early adolescence, than those with stable and/or improving skills. Motor skills did not display the same pattern of association; although gender specific effects provided evidence that only declining pattern of fine motor skills was associated with suspected and definite PEs in males compared to females (interaction OR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.09–1.97, p = 0.012). Conclusion: Findings suggest that decline rather than persistent impairment in social and communication skills were most predictive of PEs in early adolescence. Findings are discussed in terms of study’s strengths, limitations, and clinical implications. PMID:29375433

Correlates of Bulimia Nervosa: Early Family Mealtime Experiences.

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Miller, Debra A. F.; And Others

1993-01-01

Examined relationship of early mealtime experiences to later bulimia in 128 female college students. Found significant group differences among bulimics, nonbulimics, and repeat dieters on early meal experience questionnaire, with bulimic group reporting most negative and unusual experiences. Found significant differences among groups on depression…

A retrospective analysis of early experience with modified complete primary repair of exstrophy bladder (CPRE in neonates and children

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Santosh B Kurbet

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: To study the problems faced during the surgery and follow-up of modified complete primary repair of exstrophy (CPRE technique. Initial experience with CPRE and its short- and long-term outcomes with respect to continence status and psychosocial impact are reported. Materials and Methods: A retrospective review of the hospital case records from March 2008 to September 2012 was performed. Data of patients with bladder exstrophy managed by a single paediatric surgeon using modified CPRE technique were analysed. Quality of life and psychosocial impact of the surgery were assessed using Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL 4.0 and compared with those of typical peers. Results: Eight children (age 4 days-12 years underwent CPRE using modified Mitchell′s technique. Two patients (25% experienced early postoperative complications, with infection and fistula developing in one each. All the patients were doing well on follow-up, with variable continence rates and good cosmesis. Mean duration of follow-up was 18.5 months (range 6 months-4 years. Five out of seven (71% children were continent or partially continent. One case was lost to follow-up. PedsQL scores were comparable with those of age-matched peers in all domains except the social functioning domain in 8-12 years age group (83.53 ± 9.70 vs. 77.86 ± 10.22, P < 0.05. Conclusion: Our preliminary results with modified CPRE in neonates and children have been encouraging. No major complications were observed. Continence rate was satisfactory and cosmetic results were good. Though the technique is being practiced at several Indian centres, there is a paucity of comprehensive Indian data on CPRE.

Early numerical foundations of young children's mathematical development.

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Chu, Felicia W; vanMarle, Kristy; Geary, David C

2015-04-01

This study focused on the relative contributions of the acuity of the approximate number system (ANS) and knowledge of quantitative symbols to young children's early mathematical learning. At the beginning of preschool, 191 children (Mage=46 months) were administered tasks that assessed ANS acuity and explicit knowledge of the cardinal values represented by number words, and their mathematics achievement was assessed at the end of the school year. Children's executive functions, intelligence, and preliteracy skills and their parents' educational levels were also assessed and served as covariates. Both the ANS and cardinality tasks were significant predictors of end-of-year mathematics achievement with and without control of the covariates. As simultaneous predictors and with control of the covariates, cardinality remained significantly related to mathematics achievement, but ANS acuity did not. Mediation analyses revealed that the relation between ANS acuity and mathematics achievement was fully mediated by cardinality, suggesting that the ANS may facilitate children's explicit understanding of cardinal value and in this way may indirectly influence early mathematical learning. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Implementing Children's Rights in Early Education

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Te One, Sarah

2011-01-01

Recent research (Te One, 2009) investigated perceptions of children's rights in a New Zealand early childhood care and education service (the Creche) for under-two-year-olds. Focus group interviews, interviews with teachers, observational field notes, photographs and a researcher's journal were used to generate data. Findings revealed that…

Selected executive functions in children with ADHD in early school age

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Aneta Rita Borkowska

2010-09-01

Full Text Available The study was aimed at finding out whether at the early school age the effectiveness of executive functions distinguishes children with ADHD from those of the control group. Besides, the aim was to check to what extent the use of diagnostic methods evaluating executive functions in children at the early school age is justified. The analysis comprised cognitive flexibility, sustained attention, interference control and planning ability. Those methods of neuropsychological evaluation were used which are mostly applied to characterize executive functions: Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, interference task based on the Stroop Interference Test, and tests of verbal fluency and Tower of London. The examined group consisted of 50 children aged 7-10: 25 children with hyperactivity of combined type and 25 children of the control group. Each group consisted of 23 boys and 2 girls. The average age in the criterial group was 8 years and 10 months (SD=10 months, whereas in the control group – 8 years and 6 months (SD=11 months. According to the obtained results, children with ADHD at early school age do not exhibit a wide spectrum of executive functions deficits, which is probably associated with immaturity of executive processes in all children of that age. The findings comprised only difficulties in inhibition of response, monitoring of activity, and ability of executive attention to intentional guidance of the mental effort depending on the task’s requirements. In investigations of children with ADHD at early school age the use of neuropsychological tests and trials designed for evaluation of executive functions is justified only in limited degree. They do not significantly distinguish between children with ADHD and children without this disorder, therefore the results may be mainly of descriptive, and not explanatory, value.

Early rising children are more active than late risers

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Jun Kohyama

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Jun KohyamaDepartment of Pediatrics, Tokyo Kita Shakai Hoken Hospital, Tokyo, JapanBackground: A low level of physical activity impacts mental as well as physical health. This study investigated the daily lifestyle habits that affect physical activity in young children.Methods: The relationship between physical activity, assessed by means of a Mini-Mitter Actiwatch device, and observed daily lifestyle habits was analyzed for 204 children, aged 12 to 40 months (average: 22.6 months, for whom 6-consecutive-day data from both the Actiwatch and sleep log were obtained.Results: An older age, male gender, and early waking time showed significant positive correlations with physical activity level. Multiple regression analysis revealed that these three variables were significant predictors of physical activity.Conclusion: Promoting an early rising time is suggested to be an important element of cultivating good health in young children.Keywords: physical activity, children, actigraphy, morning light

Improving Early Identification and Intervention for Children at Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder.

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Rotholz, David A; Kinsman, Anne M; Lacy, Kathi K; Charles, Jane

2017-02-01

To provide an example of a successful, novel statewide effort to increase early identification of young children at risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) using a 2-tiered screening process with enhanced quality assessment, interagency policy collaboration and coordination. The South Carolina Act Early Team (SCAET) provided focused collaboration among leaders representing state agencies, universities, health care systems, private organizations, and families to improve quality of life for children with ASD. Specific focus was on implementing policy changes and training to result in earlier identification and home-based behavioral intervention for young children at risk for ASD. Policy changes, training, and modified state agency practices were accomplished. Presumptive eligibility, on the basis of a 2-tiered screening process was implemented by BabyNet (South Carolina's Early Intervention Program) in collaboration with the lead agency for developmental disability services. There was a fivefold increase in children eligible for early intensive behavioral intervention without waiting for a diagnosis of ASD, avoiding long waits for diagnostic evaluations. Only 16 children (2.5%) were later found not to have ASD from a comprehensive evaluation. Improvements in early identification and intervention are feasible through collaborative policy change. The South Carolina Act Early Team and its key stakeholders committed to improving outcomes for this population used existing tools and methods in new ways to improve early identification of children with ASD and to make available evidence-based intervention services. This example should be replicable in other states with key stakeholders working collaboratively for the benefit of young children with ASD. Copyright © 2017 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Remedial early numeracy education: can children identified as having a language deficiency benefit?

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Van Luit, Johannes E H; Toll, Sylke W M

2015-01-01

Growing attention has been paid to the possibility of supporting early numeracy in at-risk kindergartners. Furthermore, it is assumed that language proficiency is an important prerequisite in early maths skills. To examine whether remedial early numeracy education in kindergarten, which has been proven to be effective in general, is also beneficial for children with a language deficiency. Based on intensive selection, four different conditions were included: two groups received remedial education, one consisting of children being language proficient (N = 86) and one of children with a language deficiency (N = 26), and two groups followed the regular curriculum, one consisting of children being language proficient (N = 51) and one of children with a language deficiency (N = 24). Remedial education was for 1.5 school years (90 sessions, 30 min per session, twice per week), following the programme 'The Road to Mathematics'. During this period, the children receiving remedial education did not attend the regular maths lessons in the classroom, which were offered for at least 1 h per week. Effects were assessed for early numeracy and mathematical skills (operationalized as basic calculation fluency) in kindergarten and first grade. Three analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) revealed that, when accounting for achievement at pre-test, children with a language deficiency who received remedial numeracy education performed better on early numeracy skills in kindergarten and first grade than kindergartners with a language deficiency that followed the regular curriculum. Furthermore, they were able to catch up with their language proficient peers in early numeracy. However, children with a language deficiency who received remedial numeracy education did not differ from children who followed the regular curriculum on mathematical skills, suggesting that benefits for numeracy did not generalize to more advanced skills of addition and subtraction. Since, in general, it can be

Children's experiences of war: handicapped children in England during the Second World War.

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Wheatcroft, Sue

2008-01-01

The experiences of children during the Second World War have attracted considerable attention, both scholarly and popular. Not all children however, have received equal attention. Handicapped children are conspicuous by their absence from all types of literature, both on evacuation and on children's experiences of the Second World War. This article restores these children to the story of wartime England and assesses their experiences. It examines the plans that were made for their evacuation and how they were carried out, and compares their lives, both individually and institutionally (i.e. in the various types of 'special' school) with those who, for various reasons, were not evacuated. It also compares their experiences, to a lesser degree, with those of their non-handicapped counterparts. The article argues that for many handicapped children it was a positive experience but one which depended on specific aspects, such as the attitudes of the authorities and of the general public, and perhaps more importantly, the attitudes and quality of the teaching and nursing staff, who were responsible for the children on a daily basis.

Early Childhood Special Education for Children with Visual Impairments: Problems and Solutions

Science.gov (United States)

Kesiktas, A. Dolunay

2009-01-01

Studies showing developmental delays in infants and children with visual impairments have triggered early childhood special education studies for this population. Early childhood special education guidelines for visually impaired infants and children range from individualized services to personnel preparation issues while all display certain…

Parent-directed approaches to enrich the early language environments of children living in poverty.

Science.gov (United States)

Leffel, Kristin; Suskind, Dana

2013-11-01

Children's early language environments are critical for their cognitive development, school readiness, and ultimate educational attainment. Significant disparities exist in these environments, with profound and lasting impacts upon children's ultimate outcomes. Children from backgrounds of low socioeconomic status experience diminished language inputs and enter school at a disadvantage, with disparities persisting throughout their educational careers. Parents are positioned as powerful agents of change in their children's lives, however, and evidence indicates that parent-directed intervention is effective in improving child outcomes. This article explores the efficacy of parent-directed interventions and their potential applicability to the wider educational achievement gap seen in typically developing populations of low socioeconomic status and then describes efforts to develop such interventions with the Thirty Million Words Project and Project ASPIRE (Achieving Superior Parental Involvement for Rehabilitative Excellence) curricula. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Sleep Problems and Early Developmental Delay: Implications for Early Intervention Programs

Science.gov (United States)

Bonuck, Karen; Grant, Roy

2012-01-01

Sleep disorders negatively impact behavior, cognition, and growth--the same areas targeted by early intervention. Conversely, developmental delays and disabilities may themselves precipitate sleep disorders. Young children with developmental delays experience sleep disorders at a higher rate than do typically developing children; the most common…

How early do children understand gesture-speech combinations with iconic gestures?

Science.gov (United States)

Stanfield, Carmen; Williamson, Rebecca; Ozçalişkan, Seyda

2014-03-01

Children understand gesture+speech combinations in which a deictic gesture adds new information to the accompanying speech by age 1;6 (Morford & Goldin-Meadow, 1992; 'push'+point at ball). This study explores how early children understand gesture+speech combinations in which an iconic gesture conveys additional information not found in the accompanying speech (e.g., 'read'+BOOK gesture). Our analysis of two- to four-year-old children's responses in a gesture+speech comprehension task showed that children grasp the meaning of iconic co-speech gestures by age three and continue to improve their understanding with age. Overall, our study highlights the important role gesture plays in language comprehension as children learn to unpack increasingly complex communications addressed to them at the early ages.

Experiences of Daycare Children of Divorce

Science.gov (United States)

Storksen, Ingunn; Thorsen, Arlene Arstad; Overland, Klara; Brown, Steven R.

2012-01-01

Research shows that children of divorce are at risk of adjustment problems and school problems. In previous studies of young children of divorce, most often parents or teachers have supplied data. In this study, we explore the children's own feelings and experiences through Q methodology with visual images. The study includes 17 children of…

Learning History in Early Childhood: Teaching Methods and Children's Understanding

Science.gov (United States)

Skjaeveland, Yngve

2017-01-01

This article discusses the teaching of history in early childhood education and care centres and children's understanding of history. Based on interviews with eight Norwegian early childhood education and care teachers and on interpretative phenomenological analysis, the article shows how the early childhood education and care centres teach…

Do early care and education services improve language development for maltreated children? Evidence from a national child welfare sample.

Science.gov (United States)

Merritt, Darcey H; Klein, Sacha

2015-01-01

Young children under 6 years old are over-represented in the U.S. child welfare system (CWS). Due to their exposure to early deprivation and trauma, they are also highly vulnerable to developmental problems, including language delays. High quality early care and education (ECE) programs (e.g. preschool, Head Start) can improve children's development and so policymakers have begun calling for increased enrollment of CWS-supervised children in these programs. However, it is not a given that ECE will benefit all children who experience maltreatment. Some types of maltreatment may result in trauma-related learning and behavior challenges or developmental deficits that cause children to respond to ECE settings differently. The current study uses data from a nationally representative survey of children in the U.S. child welfare system, the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being II, to assess whether young CWS-supervised children (N=1,652) who were enrolled in ECE had better language development outcomes 18 months later than those not enrolled in ECE. We also explore whether the type of maltreatment that brought children to the CWS' attention moderates the relationship between ECE and children's language development. After controlling for children's initial scores on the Preschool Language Scale (PLS-3), type(s) of maltreatment experienced, and child and caregiver demographics, we found that ECE participation predicted better PLS-3 scores at follow-up, with a positive interaction between ECE participation and supervisory neglect. ECE seems to be beneficial for CWS-involved children's early language development, especially for children referred to the CWS because they lack appropriate parent supervision at home. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An Early Mathematical Patterning Assessment: identifying young Australian Indigenous children's patterning skills

Science.gov (United States)

Papic, Marina

2015-12-01

This paper presents an Early Mathematical Patterning Assessment (EMPA) tool that provides early childhood educators with a valuable opportunity to identify young children's mathematical thinking and patterning skills through a series of hands-on and drawing tasks. EMPA was administered through one-to-one assessment interviews to children aged 4 to 5 years in the year prior to formal school. Two hundred and seventeen assessments indicated that the young low socioeconomic and predominantly Australian Indigenous children in the study group had varied patterning and counting skills. Three percent of the study group was able to consistently copy and draw an ABABAB pattern made with coloured blocks. Fifty percent could count to six by ones and count out six items with 4 % of the total group able to identify six items presented in regular formations without counting. The integration of patterning into early mathematics learning is critical to the abstraction of mathematical ideas and relationships and to the development of mathematical reasoning in young children. By using the insights into the children's thinking that the EMPA tool provides, early childhood educators can better inform mathematics teaching and learning and so help close the persistent gap in numeracy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children.

Roles of attachment and self-esteem: impact of early life stress on depressive symptoms among Japanese institutionalized children

OpenAIRE

Suzuki, Hanako; Tomoda, Akemi

2015-01-01

Background Although exposure to early life stress is known to affect mental health, the underlying mechanisms of its impacts on depressive symptoms among institutionalized children and adolescents have been little studied. Methods To investigate the role of attachment and self-esteem in association with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and depressive symptoms, 342 children (149 boys, 193 girls; age range 9-18 years old, mean age?=?13.5???2.4) living in residential foster care facilities i...

The life-world of mothers who care for mentally retarded children: the Katutura township experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Ntswane, A M; van Rhyn, L

2007-03-01

This article reports on a research study done in Katutura Township, near Windhoek. A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual design was followed to answer the research question investigating experiences of mothers caring for mentally retarded children at home. Phenomenological interviews were conducted with a purposefully selected sample of twelve mothers. The meaning of their experiences was analysed by using Teschxs method (1990 in Creswell, 1994:155) of analysing qualitative data. The results indicated various emotions and challenges experienced by these mothers during the care of their children. Feelings of shock, despondency and sadness dominated the early stages when the retarded children were still young. During later years, as the children were growing up, the mothers felt shame, fear, frustration, anger, disappointment and worry. However, acceptance followed, as the children grew older. Stigma seemed to affect all the respondents. Support in any form or lack thereof seemed to be the decisive factor-positioning mothers along a continuum of two extremes, namely despairing isolation and integrated happiness. Recommendations were made regarding the improvement of heath care services and education of the mothers and their families.

Early growth patterns are associated with intelligence quotient scores in children born small-for-gestational age.

Science.gov (United States)

Varella, Marcia H; Moss, William J

2015-08-01

To assess whether patterns of growth trajectory during infancy are associated with intelligence quotient (IQ) scores at 4 years of age in children born small-for-gestational age (SGA). Children in the Collaborative Perinatal Project born SGA were eligible for analysis. The primary outcome was the Stanford-Binet IQ score at 4 years of age. Growth patterns were defined based on changes in weight-for-age z-scores from birth to 4 months and 4 to 12 months of age and consisted of steady, early catch-up, late catch-up, constant catch-up, early catch-down, late catch-down, constant catch-down, early catch-up & late catch-down, and early catch-down & late catch-up. Multivariate linear regression was used to assess associations between patterns of growth and IQ. We evaluated patterns of growth and IQ in 5640 children. Compared with children with steady growth, IQ scores were 2.9 [standard deviation (SD)=0.54], 1.5 (SD=0.63), and 2.2 (SD=0.9) higher in children with early catch-up, early catch-up and later catch-down, and constant catch-up growth patterns, respectively, and 4.4 (SD=1.4) and 3.9 (SD=1.5) lower in children with early catch-down & late catch-up, and early catch-down growth patterns, respectively. Patterns in weight gain before 4 months of age were associated with differences in IQ scores at 4 years of age, with children with early catch-up having slightly higher IQ scores than children with steady growth and children with early catch-down having slightly lower IQ scores. These findings have implications for early infant nutrition in children born SGA. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Impacts of a Literacy-Focused Preschool Curriculum on the Early Literacy Skills of Language-Minority Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Goodrich, J Marc; Lonigan, Christopher J; Farver, Jo Ann M

Spanish-speaking language-minority (LM) children are at an elevated risk of struggling academically and display signs of that risk during early childhood. Therefore, high-quality research is needed to identify instructional techniques that promote the school readiness of Spanish-speaking LM children. The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention that utilized an experimental curriculum and two professional development models for the development of English and Spanish early literacy skills among LM children. We also evaluated whether LM children's proficiency in one language moderated the effect of the intervention on early literacy skills in the other language, as well as whether the intervention was differentially effective for LM and monolingual English-speaking children. Five hundred twenty-six Spanish-speaking LM children and 447 monolingual English-speaking children enrolled in 26 preschool centers in Los Angeles, CA participated in this study. Results indicated that the intervention was effective for improving LM children's code-related but not language-related English early literacy skills. There were no effects of the intervention on children's Spanish early literacy skills. Proficiency in Spanish did not moderate the effect of the intervention for any English early literacy outcomes; however, proficiency in English significantly moderated the effect of the intervention for Spanish oral language skills, such that the effect of the intervention was stronger for children with higher proficiency in English than it was for children with lower proficiency in English. In general, there were not differential effects of the intervention for LM and monolingual children. Taken together, these findings indicate that high-quality, evidence-based instruction can improve the early literacy skills of LM children and that the same instructional techniques are effective for enhancing the early literacy skills of LM and monolingual

What do children need to know about dementia? The perspectives of children and people with personal experience of dementia.

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, Jess R; Jeon, Yun-Hee; Goodenough, Belinda; Low, Lee-Fay; Bryden, Christine; Hutchinson, Karen; Richards, Laura

2017-10-02

The vision for dementia-friendly communities is challenged by limited public awareness and stigma about dementia. The study aim was to elicit stakeholder priorities for the message content of an education program to improve dementia awareness among youth; specifically, what do children need to know about dementia? A qualitative inquiry using interviews and focus groups was used. Purposive sampling achieved maximum variation in dementia experience and participant characteristics. Focus groups with Scouts in the community aged 9-12 years old (n = 22) used innovative techniques to explore children's attitudes towards people with dementia. Participants with personal experience of dementia were five people with early-stage dementia; 12 adult primary carers; four non-primary carers; and six grandchildren of a person with dementia. They were asked what is important for children to understand about dementia and what attitudes they may like an education program to confer. Content analysis was performed using NVivo10. Strong themes to emerge were that children need to know the whole truth about dementia; that individuals with dementia are "still people," that it is "not the fault" of the person with dementia; and that dementia is different and typically unpredictable for everyone. Discussions also indicated a need to educate children about ways to relate to a person with dementia, and to appreciate "positives" within a relationship. Children are our future citizens. Developing an education program for children with this message content may be fundamental to de-stigmatizing dementia and laying the foundation to dementia-friendly communities.

Designing learning experiences together with children

OpenAIRE

Leinonen, Jonna; Venninen, Tuulikki

2012-01-01

Children’s participation in early childhood education context has attracted considerable attention in recent years. Participation means involving and enabling children to take part in decision-making processes about their everyday life. Educators are supporters and enablers of participatory practices. The process of planning activities is an important part of educator’s profession in early childhood education and it can be viewed as a designing learning process. But not only as adults designi...

Study of Different Social Rewards Used in Down's Syndrome Children's Early Stimulation

Science.gov (United States)

Sanz, Teresa; Menendez, Javier; Rosique, Teresa

2011-01-01

This article describes the results obtained with two types of social rewards used in early stimulation of Down's syndrome children. In the study we focus on the efficiency of the employment of the social rewards or reinforcements used in the early stimulation, bearing in mind that the children with Down's syndrome possess a social development…

Verbal and Academic Skills in Children with Early-Onset Type 1 Diabetes

Science.gov (United States)

Hannonen, Riitta; Komulainen, Jorma; Eklund, Kenneth; Tolvanen, Asko; Riikonen, Raili; Ahonen, Timo

2010-01-01

Aim: Basic verbal and academic skills can be adversely affected by early-onset diabetes, although these skills have been studied less than other cognitive functions. This study aimed to explore the mechanism of learning deficits in children with diabetes by assessing basic verbal and academic skills in children with early-onset diabetes and in…

Assessing the effectiveness of Australian early childhood education and care experiences: study protocol

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Collette Tayler

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In Australia, 61.5 % of children aged 3–4 attend Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC programs. Children’s experiences within these programs vary widely and impact directly on educational wellbeing and social development. Research has shown that higher quality programs enhance children’s learning and developmental outcomes, foster social participation and have long-lasting effects on their productivity as adults. Quality matters, yet we do not know what components of ECEC result in a quality program. Effective Early Educational Experiences (E4Kids is a 5-year longitudinal study designed to identify and assess the impact of mainstream ECEC programs and program components on children’s learning, development, social inclusion and well-being. E4Kids sets out to measure quality ECEC; identify components that add value and positively impact children’s outcomes; evaluate the effects of child, family, community and environment characteristics on programs; and provide evidence on how best to invest in ECEC. Methods/design E4Kids follows a sample of 2,494 children who have experienced a variety of approved care programs (long day care, kindergarten, family day care and occasional care, as well as 157 children who have not accessed such programs. Children are tracked to the first point of National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN testing at Year 3. The study presents a multi-level design in which ECEC programs were sampled from two states – Queensland and Victoria – then randomly sampled from two greater metropolitan regions and two regional and remote locations. Parents, centre directors, educators and carers complete questionnaires to provide information on demographics and children’s progress. Data collected also include the make-up and organisation of ECEC programs and schools children attended. The quality of adult-child interactions is directly assessed using the Classroom Assessment

Transition to School from Pacific Islands Early Childhood Services.

Science.gov (United States)

Sauvao, Le'autuli'ilagi M.; Mapa, Lia; Podmore, Valerie N.

Noting the need for additional information on the transition of children from Pacific Islands early childhood services to primary school, this exploratory study was designed to provide an account of the experiences of children, parents, and teachers, focusing on language and other aspects of children's move from Pacific Islands early childhood…

Parents' Lived Experiences During Their Children's Radiotherapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Gårdling, Jenny; Törnqvist, Erna; Edwinson Månsson, Marie; Hallström, Inger

The aim of radiotherapy is to provide a cure and/or symptomatic relief for children with cancer. Treatment is delivered on a daily basis, 5 days per week, over the course of 5 to 35 days. Many parents find that leaving their children alone during treatment and exposing them to radiation is a challenging experience. To gain an understanding of parents' lived experiences, 10 parents were asked to keep a diary while their children underwent radiotherapy. A descriptive inductive design with a hermeneutic-phenomenological approach was chosen to analyze the diaries. The parents were asked to write down their lived experiences while their children underwent radiotherapy. Daily notes, both short and long, were desirable. The parents described radiotherapy as a balancing act involving a constant attempt to maintain a balance between coercing and protecting their children in order to improve their children's chances of survival. Meanwhile, the parents themselves were struggling with their own despair and feelings of powerlessness. While protecting their children, they experienced a sense of hope and felt that they had gained control. Parents' daily written reflections are important for clinical practice and provide vital knowledge. Parents need support when focusing on coercing and protecting their children and help with information and routines that enable them gain control.

Characteristics of early spelling of children with Specific Language Impairment.

Science.gov (United States)

Cordewener, Kim A H; Bosman, Anna M T; Verhoeven, Ludo

2012-01-01

The present study investigated active grapheme knowledge and early spelling of 59 first grade children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI). Speed, nature, and knowledge transfer of spelling acquisition were taken into account. Four orthographic characteristics that influence early spelling, namely, 'Type of Grapheme', 'Grapheme Position', 'Number of Graphemes', and 'Word Structure' were examined at the middle and at the end of first grade. At the beginning of first grade when children were between 71 and 97 months, they performed well below national norms on assessment of active grapheme knowledge. The delay in word spelling persisted, but decreased between the middle and the end of first grade. Despite this delay, the findings suggest that characteristics of early spelling for children with SLI are rather similar to those of children with typical language development. For example, children with SLI represented more graphemes at the end of first grade than at the middle of first grade, found it easier to represent the initial grapheme in words than the final or medial grapheme (Grapheme Position), were more successful spelling shorter than longer words (Number of Graphemes), and spelled words with simple structures (CVC) more accurately than those with complex structures (CVCC and CCVC; Word Structure). Finally, participants demonstrated that they can use known graphemes to spell words, but the transfer between active grapheme knowledge and word spelling was not always stable. As a result of this activity, readers will be able to explain the speed and the nature of spelling acquisition of children with SLI. As a result of this activity, readers will be able to explain what skills are most important for teachers to practice with children with SLI to improve the spelling skills of these children. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Early and Later Experience with One Younger Sibling Affects Face Processing Abilities of 6-Year-Old Children

Science.gov (United States)

Cassia, Viola Macchi; Proietti, Valentina; Pisacane, Antonella

2013-01-01

Available evidence indicates that experience with one face from a specific age group improves face-processing abilities if acquired within the first 3 years of life but not in adulthood. In the current study, we tested whether the effects of early experience endure at age 6 and whether the first 3 years of life are a sensitive period for the…

Parental experiences of early postnatal discharge

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nilsson, Ingrid; Danbjørg, Dorthe B.; Aagaard, Hanne

2015-01-01

that included both parents, having influence on time of discharge, and getting individualised and available support focused on developing and recognising their own experiences of taking care of the baby. Conclusions and implications for practice the new parents׳ experiences of early discharge and becoming...

Early appendectomy reduces costs in children with perforated appendicitis.

Science.gov (United States)

Church, Joseph T; Klein, Edwin J; Carr, Benjamin D; Bruch, Steven W

2017-12-01

Perforated appendicitis can be managed with early appendectomy, or nonoperative management followed by interval appendectomy. We aimed to identify the strategy with the lowest health care utilization and cost. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of all children ≤18 years old with perforated appendicitis admitted to a single institution between January 2009 and March 2016. After excluding immunosuppressed patients and transfers from outside hospitals, we grouped the remaining patients by early or interval appendectomy. Cost accounting data were obtained from our institutional database. The primary outcome was total hospital cost over 2 y from initial admission for appendicitis. Other outcomes analyzed included initial admission costs, number of admissions, emergency room and clinic visits, percutaneous procedures, cross-sectional and overall imaging studies, and length of stay. A total of 203 children with perforated appendicitis were identified. After exclusion of immunosuppressed patients and outside hospital transfers, 94 patients were included in the study. Thirty-nine underwent early appendectomy and 55 initial nonoperative management; of these, 54 underwent elective interval appendectomy. Five of 55 patients (9%) failed initial nonoperative management and required earlier-than-planned appendectomy. Total cost over 2 y was significantly lower with early appendectomy than initial nonoperative management ($19,300 ± 14,300 versus $26,000 ± 17,500; P = 0.05). Early appendectomy resulted in fewer hospital admissions, clinic visits, invasive procedures, and imaging studies. Early appendectomy results in lower hospital costs and less health care utilization compared with initial nonoperative management with elective interval appendectomy. A prospective study will shed more light on this question and can assess the role of nonoperative management without interval appendectomy in children with perforated appendicitis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier

Thought-Experiments about Gravity in the History of Science and in Research into Children's Thinking

Science.gov (United States)

Blown, E. J.; Bryce, T. G. K.

2013-01-01

This article examines the main strands of thinking about gravity through the ages and the continuity of thought-experiments, from the early Greeks, through medieval times, to Galileo, Newton and Einstein. The key ideas are used to contextualise an empirical study of 247 children's ideas about falling objects carried out in China and New Zealand,…

Early Reading Development in Chinese-Speaking Children with Hearing Loss

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Yi-Chih; Yang, You-Jhen

2018-01-01

This study aims to explore early reading comprehension in Chinese-speaking children with hearing loss (HL) by examining character recognition and linguistic comprehension. Twenty-five children with HL received three measures relevant to character reading: phonological awareness (PA), morphological awareness (MA), and character recognition; two…

Early Care and Education for Young Children Experiencing Homelessness. Best Practices in Homeless Education Brief Series

Science.gov (United States)

National Center for Homeless Education at SERVE, 2013

2013-01-01

Given the number of young children experiencing homelessness and its devastating impacts on development, preschool programs play a critical role in meeting these children's need for quality early care and education; yet, most young homeless children do not receive early childhood services. Many barriers limit access to early childhood programs for…

Constructions and experiences of motherhood in the context of an early intervention for Aboriginal mothers and their children: mother and healthcare worker perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Ussher, Jane M; Charter, Rosie; Parton, Chloe; Perz, Janette

2016-07-22

The colonisation of Australia has been associated with traumatic consequences for Aboriginal health and wellbeing, including the breakdown of the traditional family unit and negative consequences for the mother/child relationship. Early-intervention programs have been developed to assist families to overcome disadvantage and strengthen mother/child attachment. However, there is no research examining Aboriginal women's subjective experiences and constructions of motherhood in the context of such programs, and no research on the perceived impact of such programs, from the perspective of Aboriginal mothers and healthcare workers (HCWs), with previous research focusing on child outcomes. Researchers conducted participant observation of an early intervention program for Aboriginal mothers and young children over a 6 month period, one-to-one interviews and a focus group with 10 mothers, and interviews with nine HCWs, in order to examine their perspectives on motherhood and the intervention program. Thematic analysis identified 2 major themes under which subthemes were clustered. Constructions of motherhood: 'The resilient mother: Coping with life trauma and social stress' and 'The good mother: Transformation of self through motherhood'; Perspectives on the intervention: '"Mothers come to life": Transformation through therapy'; and '"I know I'm a good mum": The need for connections, skills and time for self'. The mothers constructed themselves as being resilient 'good mothers', whilst also acknowledging their own traumatic life experiences, predominantly valuing the peer support and time-out aspects of the program. HCWs positioned the mothers as 'traumatised', yet also strong, and expressed the view that in order to improve mother/child attachment a therapeutic transformation is required. These results suggest that early interventions for Aboriginal mothers should acknowledge and strengthen constructions of the good and resilient mother. The differing perspectives of

Constructions and experiences of motherhood in the context of an early intervention for Aboriginal mothers and their children: mother and healthcare worker perspectives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jane M. Ussher

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The colonisation of Australia has been associated with traumatic consequences for Aboriginal health and wellbeing, including the breakdown of the traditional family unit and negative consequences for the mother/child relationship. Early-intervention programs have been developed to assist families to overcome disadvantage and strengthen mother/child attachment. However, there is no research examining Aboriginal women’s subjective experiences and constructions of motherhood in the context of such programs, and no research on the perceived impact of such programs, from the perspective of Aboriginal mothers and healthcare workers (HCWs, with previous research focusing on child outcomes. Method Researchers conducted participant observation of an early intervention program for Aboriginal mothers and young children over a 6 month period, one-to-one interviews and a focus group with 10 mothers, and interviews with nine HCWs, in order to examine their perspectives on motherhood and the intervention program. Results Thematic analysis identified 2 major themes under which subthemes were clustered. Constructions of motherhood: ‘The resilient mother: Coping with life trauma and social stress’ and ‘The good mother: Transformation of self through motherhood’; Perspectives on the intervention: ‘“Mothers come to life”: Transformation through therapy’; and ‘“I know I’m a good mum”: The need for connections, skills and time for self’. Conclusions The mothers constructed themselves as being resilient ‘good mothers’, whilst also acknowledging their own traumatic life experiences, predominantly valuing the peer support and time-out aspects of the program. HCWs positioned the mothers as ‘traumatised’, yet also strong, and expressed the view that in order to improve mother/child attachment a therapeutic transformation is required. These results suggest that early interventions for Aboriginal mothers should

Children's Cortisol Patterns and the Quality of the Early Learning Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Sajaniemi, Nina; Suhonen, Eira; Kontu, Elina; Rantanen, Pekka; Lindholm, Harri; Hyttinen, Sirpa; Hirvonen, Ari

2011-01-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of early educational quality on children's cortisol levels. It was hypothesised that the environmental stressors might load children's immature stress regulative systems thus affecting their diurnal cortisol levels. The study sample consisted of 146 preschool-aged children. Cortisol was measured…

The life-world of mothers who care for mentally retarded children: the Katutura township experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A.M. Ntswane

2007-09-01

Full Text Available This article reports on a research study done in Katutura Township, near Windhoek. A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual design was followed to answer the research question investigating experiences of mothers caring for mentally retarded children at home. Phenomenological interviews were conducted with a purposefully selected sample of twelve mothers. The meaning of their experiences was analysed by using Teschxs method (1990 in Creswell, 1994:155 of analysing qualitative data. The results indicated various emotions and challenges experienced by these mothers during the care of their children. Feelings of shock, despondency and sadness dominated the early stages when the retarded children were still young. During later years, as the children were growing up, the mothers felt shame, fear, frustration, anger, disappointment and worry. However, acceptance followed, as the children grew older. Stigma seemed to affect all the respondents. Support in any form or lack thereof seemed to be the decisive factor-positioning mothers along a continuum of two extremes, namely despairing isolation and integrated happiness. Recommendations were made regarding the improvement of heath care services and education of the mothers and their families.

Children's experiences of parental mental illness: a literature review.

Science.gov (United States)

Gladstone, Brenda M; Boydell, Katherine M; Seeman, Mary V; McKeever, Patricia D

2011-11-01

This paper provides a review of published qualitative research on children's experiences of parental mental illness. We undertook a comprehensive search of Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online, PsycINFO, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Sociological Abstracts and Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts databases, as well as citation searches in Web of Science and manual searches of other relevant journals and reference lists of primary papers. Although 20 studies met the search criteria, only 10 focused exclusively on children's descriptions of their experience--the remainder elicited adults' perspectives on children's experiences of parental mental illnesses. Findings are organized under three themes: the impact of illness on children's daily life, how children cope with their experiences and how children understand mental illness. Despite references to pervasive knowledge gaps in the literature, significant information has been accumulated about children's experiences of parental mental illness. Considerable variability in research findings and tensions remain unresolved. For example, evidence is mixed as to children's knowledge and understanding of mental illnesses and how best to deploy resources to help them acquire optimal information. Furthermore, children's desire to be recognized as important to their parents' well-being conflicted with adults' perceptions that children should be protected from too much responsibility. Nevertheless, the cumulative evidence remains a key reason for advocating for psychoeducation and peer-support group interventions for children, which are endorsed by child and adult study participants alike. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Modeling children's early grammatical knowledge

Science.gov (United States)

Bannard, Colin; Lieven, Elena; Tomasello, Michael

2009-01-01

Theories of grammatical development differ in how much abstract knowledge they attribute to young children. Here, we report a series of experiments using a computational model to evaluate the explanatory power of child grammars based not on abstract rules but on concrete words and phrases and some local abstractions associated with these words and phrases. We use a Bayesian procedure to extract such item-based grammars from transcriptions of 28+ h of each of two children's speech at 2 and 3 years of age. We then use these grammars to parse all of the unique multiword utterances from transcriptions of separate recordings of these same children at each of the two ages. We found that at 2 years of age such a model had good coverage and predictive fit, with the children showing radically limited productivity. Furthermore, adding expert-annotated parts of speech to the induction procedure had little effect on coverage, with the exception of the category of noun. At age 3, the children's productivity sharply increased and the addition of a verb and a noun category markedly improved the model's performance. PMID:19805057

Residential Mobility Across Early Childhood and Children's Kindergarten Readiness.

Science.gov (United States)

Mollborn, Stefanie; Lawrence, Elizabeth; Root, Elisabeth Dowling

2018-04-01

Understanding residential mobility in early childhood is important for contextualizing family, school, and neighborhood influences on child well-being. We examined the consequences of residential mobility for socioemotional and cognitive kindergarten readiness using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort, a nationally representative longitudinal survey that followed U.S. children born in 2001 from infancy to kindergarten. We described individual, household, and neighborhood characteristics associated with residential mobility for children aged 0-5. Our residential mobility indicators examined frequency of moves, nonlinearities in move frequency, quality of moves, comparisons between moving houses and moving neighborhoods, and heterogeneity in the consequences of residential mobility. Nearly three-quarters of children moved by kindergarten start. Mobility did not predict cognitive scores. More moves, particularly at relatively high frequencies, predicted lower kindergarten behavior scores. Moves from socioeconomically advantaged to disadvantaged neighborhoods were especially problematic, whereas moves within a ZIP code were not. The implications of moves were similar across socioeconomic status. The behavior findings largely support an instability perspective that highlights potential disruptions from frequent or problematic moves. Our study contributes to literature emphasizing the importance of contextualizing residential mobility. The high prevalence and distinct implications of early childhood moves support the need for further research.

Early Maternal Employment and Children's School Readiness in Contemporary Families

Science.gov (United States)

Lombardi, Caitlin McPherran; Coley, Rebekah Levine

2014-01-01

This study assessed whether previous findings linking early maternal employment to lower cognitive and behavioral skills among children generalized to modern families. Using a representative sample of children born in the United States in 2001 (N = 10,100), ordinary least squares regression models weighted with propensity scores assessed links…

Adverse childhood experiences in children with autism spectrum disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoover, Daniel W; Kaufman, Joan

2018-03-01

Recent years have shown an uptick in studies assessing bullying and other adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This article reviews extant findings, and points to gaps in the literature. Children with ASD are bullied by peers at a rate three to four times that of nondisabled peers with negative impacts on academic functioning and mental health symptoms, including increased risk for suicidality. Children with ASD are also at enhanced risk for other ACES, particularly parental divorce and income insufficiency, and as observed in the general population, children with ASD who experience an increased number of ACES are at elevated risk for comorbid psychiatric and medical health problems. Children with ASD with an elevated number of ACES also experience a delay in ASD diagnosis and treatment initiation. There is no evidence of increased risk of child maltreatment within the ASD population. As bullying and other adverse experiences are common and associated with deleterious outcomes in children with ASD, there is a need for additional research on intervention strategies to prevent and mitigate the impact of these experiences. Ongoing work on the assessment of trauma experiences and PTSD symptoms in children on the spectrum is also needed.

Early life exposures and risk of atopy among Danish children

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thomsen, SF; Ulrik, Charlotte Suppli; Porsbjerg, C

2006-01-01

A large proportion of atopy develops in childhood and early life exposures are suspected to play a considerable role in the inception. The aim of this study was to examine the association between early life exposures and development of atopic disease in children. We performed a case-cohort study...... to be independent of familial predisposition to atopic disease and significantly increases the likelihood for development of atopy in genetically susceptible individuals. Parental knowledge of atopic heredity significantly influences smoking and breast-feeding habits....... of a random population-based sample of children (n = 480) 7-17 years of age, living in urban Copenhagen, Denmark. Information on breast-feeding, supplementation, wheezy bronchitis, use of antibiotics, and parental smoking during pregnancy and in early life was obtained retrospectively by questionnaire. Skin...

Early psychological intervention in accidentally injured children ages 2–16: a randomized controlled trial

OpenAIRE

Kramer, Didier N.; Landolt, Markus A.

2014-01-01

Background: Road traffic accidents (RTA) and burns are frequent events in children. Although many children recover spontaneously, a considerable number develop long-term psychological sequelae. Evidence on early psychological interventions to prevent such long-term problems is still scarce for school-age children and completely lacking for pre-school children.Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of an early two-session cognitive-behavioral intervention in 108 children ages 2–16 after RTAs and...

Results of early thyroidectomy for medullary thyroid carcinoma in children with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2.

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Telander, R L; Zimmerman, D; van Heerden, J A; Sizemore, G W

1986-12-01

Children with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN2) often develop medullary carcinoma of the thyroid (MCT) or its precursor, C-cell hyperplasia. Survival results are improved if malignancy is diagnosed early from the results of plasma immunoreactive calcitonin (iCT) measurement. The effect of early detection and thyroidectomy in children with MEN2 syndrome was determined by reviewing the experience between 1975 and 1985. Seventeen children with MEN2 who were 12 years old or younger underwent a total thyroidectomy for MCT or C-cell hyperplasia. iCT was measured in all patients preoperatively and postoperatively. Of the 17 children, 14 (82%) had MEN2a and 3 (18%) had MEN2b. There were 14 (82%) female and three (18%) male patients; their mean age was 6.97 years (range 1.5 to 12 years). In all patients, the diagnosis of MCT was made from initial elevated levels of iCT after stimulation with pentagastrin. Three patients had clinical evidence of disease preoperatively. All patients underwent a total thyroidectomy and lymph nodes were removed from the central zone; a neck dissection was performed in the three with clinically obvious disease. MCT with C-cell hyperplasia was found in 11 children and C-cell hyperplasia alone in six. Of the 11 with carcinoma, eight had bilateral disease and three unilateral. Six children had bilateral C-cell hyperplasia. All 17 children were alive and feeling well at the time of this report; however, three had evidence of metastatic disease according to iCT measurements. None of the children had recurrent nerve injuries; one had evidence of hypoparathyroidism.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Early social experience predicts referential communicative adjustments in five-year-old children

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stolk, A.; Hunnius, S.; Bekkering, H.; Toni, I.

2013-01-01

A large body of work has focused on children's ability to attribute mental states to other people, and whether these abilities are influenced by the extent and nature of children's social interactions. However, it remains largely unknown which developmental factors shape children's ability to

Activity Settings and Daily Routines in Preschool Classrooms: Diverse Experiences in Early Learning Settings for Low-Income Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Fuligni, Allison Sidle; Howes, Carollee; Huang, Yiching; Hong, Sandra Soliday; Lara-Cinisomo, Sandraluz

2012-06-01

This paper examines activity settings and daily classroom routines experienced by 3- and 4-year-old low-income children in public center-based preschool programs, private center-based programs, and family child care homes. Two daily routine profiles were identified using a time-sampling coding procedure: a High Free-Choice pattern in which children spent a majority of their day engaged in child-directed free-choice activity settings combined with relatively low amounts of teacher-directed activity, and a Structured-Balanced pattern in which children spent relatively equal proportions of their day engaged in child-directed free-choice activity settings and teacher-directed small- and whole-group activities. Daily routine profiles were associated with program type and curriculum use but not with measures of process quality. Children in Structured-Balanced classrooms had more opportunities to engage in language and literacy and math activities, whereas children in High Free-Choice classrooms had more opportunities for gross motor and fantasy play. Being in a Structured-Balanced classroom was associated with children's language scores but profiles were not associated with measures of children's math reasoning or socio-emotional behavior. Consideration of teachers' structuring of daily routines represents a valuable way to understand nuances in the provision of learning experiences for young children in the context of current views about developmentally appropriate practice and school readiness.

Early cognitive development in children born to women with epilepsy: a prospective report.

Science.gov (United States)

Bromley, Rebecca L; Mawer, George; Love, Jenna; Kelly, James; Purdy, Laura; McEwan, Lauren; Briggs, Maria; Clayton-Smith, Jill; Shi, Xin; Sin, Xin; Baker, Gus A

2010-10-01

In this prospective study the early cognitive development of children born to women with epilepsy (n = 198) was assessed and compared to a group of children representative of the general population (n = 230). The children were assessed when younger than the age of 2 years using the Griffiths Mental Development Scales, either in their local participating hospital or in their home. The assessments were completed by an assessor who was blinded to whether the child's mother had epilepsy and to antiepileptic drug type. Children exposed to sodium valproate had a statistically significant increased risk of delayed early development in comparison to the control children. Linear regression analysis showed a statistically significant effect of sodium valproate exposure on the child's overall developmental level that was not accounted for by confounding variables. Delayed early development is also noted for children within an ad hoc group of less commonly utilized antiepileptic drugs, although conclusions cannot be drawn due to the size of this group (n = 13). Children exposed to either carbamazepine or lamotrigine in utero did not differ significantly in their overall developmental ability. Differences noted in specific developmental areas for these two groups were not statistically significant after the control for confounders such as socioeconomic status and maternal IQ. Women with epilepsy should be informed of the risks posed to their potential offspring prior to pregnancy to allow for informed decisions regarding treatment. Children exposed in utero to antiepileptic drugs should be monitored throughout childhood to allow for early intervention when necessary. Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2010 International League Against Epilepsy.

Early Childhood Dental Caries. Building Community Systems for Young Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Platt, Laurence J.; Cabezas, Maritza C.

As part of a series of reports designed to support the implementation of Proposition 10: The California Children and Families Act and to provide comprehensive and authoritative information on critical issues concerning young children and families in California, this report describes the scope and severity of early childhood caries (ECC), a…

Educating Latino Children: International Perspectives and Values in Early Education

Science.gov (United States)

Souto-Manning, Mariana

2009-01-01

To implement culturally responsive early education that is developmentally appropriate for Latino children, it is important to look at values that permeate education in Latin America. Therefore, the author draws on ethnographic data (interviews, observations, artifacts, and field notes) from early childhood centers and schools in Mexico, Brazil…

Confronting Invisibility: Early Childhood Pre-Service Teachers' Beliefs toward Homeless Children

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jinhee

2013-01-01

Children make up half of the homeless population in the US, and of those, almost 50 percent are under age six. Homeless children face many different challenges in school. These children and their families have been invisible in school due to the indifference and stereotypes about them. This article focuses on early childhood pre-service teachers'…

Working memory and fine motor skills predict early numeracy performance of children with cerebral palsy.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Rooijen, Maaike; Verhoeven, Ludo; Steenbergen, Bert

2016-01-01

Early numeracy is an important precursor for arithmetic performance, academic proficiency, and work success. Besides their apparent motor difficulties, children with cerebral palsy (CP) often show additional cognitive disturbances. In this study, we examine whether working memory, non-verbal intelligence, linguistic skills, counting and fine motor skills are positively related to the early numeracy performance of 6-year-old children with CP. A total of 56 children (M = 6.0, SD = 0.61, 37 boys) from Dutch special education schools participated in this cross-sectional study. Of the total group, 81% of the children have the spastic type of CP (33% unilateral and 66% bilateral), 9% have been diagnosed as having diskinetic CP, 8% have been diagnosed as having spastic and diskinetic CP and 2% have been diagnosed as having a combination of diskinetic and atactic CP. The children completed standardized tests assessing early numeracy performance, working memory, non-verbal intelligence, sentence understanding and fine motor skills. In addition, an experimental task was administered to examine their basic counting performance. Structural equation modeling showed that working memory and fine motor skills were significantly related to the early numeracy performance of the children (β = .79 and p working memory and early numeracy (β = .57, p working memory for early numeracy performance in children with CP and they warrant further research into the efficacy of intervention programs aimed at working memory training.

Optics and children

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Costa, Manuel F M; De Campos, J Ayres; Lira, Madalena; Franco, Sandra [Centro de Fisica da Universidade do Minho (Portugal); Vazquez-Dorrio, Jose B, E-mail: mfcosta@fisica.uminho.pt [Universidad de Vigo, EIM, Departamento de Fisica (Spain)

2011-01-01

Light and Optics are subjects that 'naturally' attracts the interest and sympathy of children even from very early ages. In this communication, we present a series of experiments and support material designed in this hands-on perspective, to be used to introduce the study of light and optics to kindergarten and early basic school students. Our hands-on investigative approach leads the students, aged 4 to 10 years, to observe the experiment and discover themselves, in a critical and active way, different aspects of light and optics. Preparing funny eye catching situations and experiments predispose the children to work, effectively, enjoying themselves while building up their self-confidence.

Optics and children

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Costa, Manuel F M; De Campos, J Ayres; Lira, Madalena; Franco, Sandra; Vazquez-Dorrio, Jose B

2011-01-01

Light and Optics are subjects that 'naturally' attracts the interest and sympathy of children even from very early ages. In this communication, we present a series of experiments and support material designed in this hands-on perspective, to be used to introduce the study of light and optics to kindergarten and early basic school students. Our hands-on investigative approach leads the students, aged 4 to 10 years, to observe the experiment and discover themselves, in a critical and active way, different aspects of light and optics. Preparing funny eye catching situations and experiments predispose the children to work, effectively, enjoying themselves while building up their self-confidence.

Experience of family members providing care for HIV-exposed children: beginning of the trajectory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Willyane de Andrade Alvarenga

Full Text Available During and after pregnancy, mothers with HIV can undergo treatment that is capable of preventing vertical transmission (VT to their babies. The purpose of this study was to analyze the experience of family members that provide care for children whose mothers have HIV, to reduce the risk of VT, with emphasis on the beginning of this trajectory. This study was based on the qualitative approach and Symbolic Interactionism was adopted as a theoretical framework. A total of 36 family members participated in the study, all of whom were carers of children aged up to 18 months and waiting for confirmation of the HIV diagnosis. Data were collected in a hospital in north-eastern Brazil, between December 2012 and February 2013, and examined by means of content analysis. Child care began during pregnancy, when the possibility of the child having HIV was expected. Some had previous experience in providing care for exposed children. Understanding the early trajectory of care will help find ways to provide better support for carers during the trajectory of diagnosis confirmation.

Mothers with gestational diabetes are more likely to give birth to children who experience early weight problems.

Science.gov (United States)

Hakanen, T; Saha, M T; Salo, M K; Nummi, T; Harjunmaa, U; Lipiäinen, L; Vuorela, N

2016-10-01

We tracked the body mass index (BMI) of children born to mothers with or without gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) or type 1 diabetes from birth to 12 years of age and examined the trends in both diseases. Antenatal and postnatal health survey data were collected from 6909 Finnish children born at six time points between 1974 and 2004. We compared the BMI trajectory between the offspring of mothers with and without GDM or type 1 diabetes, and the association between GDM and overweight offspring was analysed. The prevalence of GDM and type 1 diabetes increased markedly over the study period. The BMI trajectory in the GDM or type 1 diabetes offspring differed significantly from the nondiabetic offspring. The timing of adiposity rebound occurred significantly earlier in the GDM (4.8 years) and type 1 diabetes (4.4 years) groups than the nondiabetic group (5.5 years). GDM offspring were more likely to be overweight at five, seven and 12 years of age (24.6%, 28.1%, 29.4%) than nondiabetic offspring (15.6%, 18.3%, 18.1%). Children born to mothers with GDM were significantly more likely to be overweight at an early age than those born to nondiabetic mothers. ©2016 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Characteristics of Early Work Experiences and Their Association with Future Employment

Science.gov (United States)

McDonnall, Michele Capella; O'Mally, Jamie

2012-01-01

Introduction: Early work experiences are a key predictor of future employment for transition-age youths with visual impairments. We investigated how specific characteristics of early work experiences influence future employment and whether the receipt of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits is associated with early work experiences among…

Caring for children with mental retardation: The experiences of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Caring for children with mental retardation at home requires great patience and understanding. Mothers often experience difficulties adjusting to the fact that their children are mentally retarded and that it cannot be cured. This study investigated the experiences of mothers caring for children with mental retardation.

Acute extradural haematomas in children: A single neurosurgery unit's 12-year experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Enicker, B; Louw, H; Madiba, T

2016-11-01

Acute extradural haematomas (AEDHs) occur infrequently in children. This study was undertaken to review our experience with management and outcomes of this condition in children treated in the Neurosurgery Unit at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital. A retrospective review of medical records of all children (age less than or equal to (≤) 12 years) with a diagnosis of AEDH admitted from January 2003 to December 2014 was performed. Records were analyzed for demographics, mechanisms of injury, clinical presentation, neuroradiology findings, management and outcomes at discharge. A total of 150 children with AEDHs were admitted during this period. The mean age was 6.6 ± 3.8 years with a peak incidence in the 7-9 year age group. There were 84 (56%) males, (M: F= 1.3:1). Sixty AEDHs resulted from road traffic crashes (40%). On admission 104 (69.3%) children were Glasgow coma scale (GCS) 13-15, 26 (17.3%) GCS 9-12 and 20 (13.4%) GCS 3-8. Haemoglobin was less than (children and the mean hospital stay was 6.9 ± 6.1 days. Four children (2.7%) died during in-hospital stay period. One hundred and forty one (94%) children had a favourable Glasgow outcome scale (GOS) at discharge. AEDHs in children carry a good prognosis, but can be potentially fatal. A vigilant approach is required when assessing these children, as early diagnosis and treatment yields gratifying results.

Young Children's Enactments of Human Rights in Early Childhood Education

Science.gov (United States)

Quennerstedt, Ann

2016-01-01

This paper explores ways in which human rights become part of and affect young children's everyday practices in early childhood education and, more particularly, how very young children enact human rights in the preschool setting. The study is conducted in a Swedish preschool through observations of the everyday practices of a group of children…

Strategic Management Process of Islamic Character Development of Early Children in Islamic Kindergarten

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M Najib

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This research is a field research by using a qualitative research approach. The purpose in this research is to find steps in strategic management process for development character of early children in Islamic kindergarten of al-Irsyad Purwokerto, Central java, Indonesia. The results showed that the process of strategic management to develop Islamic character of early children is done through four processes. First, processing of observation environmental to develop Islamic character in Islamic kindergarten. Second, strategic formulation process for development an Islamic character of early children in Islamic kindergarten. Third, implementating strategic process for develop an Islamic character of early children in Islamic kindergarten. Fourth, strategic assesment process for develop an Islamic character of early children in Islamic kindergarten. Penelitian ini adalah penelitian lapangan menggunakan pendekatan penelitian kualitatif. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk menemukan langkah-langkah dalam proses manajemen strategik untuk membentuk karakter anak usia dini di Taman Kanak-kanak (TK Islam al-Irsyad Purwokerto, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia. Hasil penelitian mengungkapkan bahwa proses manajemen strategik untuk membentuk karakter anak usia dini di TK Islam dilakukan melalui empat langkah. Pertama, proses pengamatan lingkungan untuk membentuk karakter Islami anak usia dini di TK Islam. Kedua, proses formulasi strategi untuk membentuk karakter anak usia dini di TK Islam. Ketiga, proses penerapan strategi untuk membentuk karakter anak usia dini di TK Islam. Keempat, proses penilaian strategik untuk membentuk karakter anak usia dini di TK Islam.

Outcomes Associated With Early Preventive Dental Care Among Medicaid-Enrolled Children in Alabama

Science.gov (United States)

Morrisey, Michael A.; Sen, Bisakha

2017-01-01

Importance There is a recommendation for children to have a dental home by 6 months of age, but there is limited evidence supporting the effectiveness of early preventive dental care or whether primary care providers (PCPs) can deliver it. Objective To investigate the effectiveness of preventive dental care in reducing caries-related treatment visits among Medicaid enrollees. Design, Setting, and Participants High-dimensional propensity scores were used to address selection bias for a retrospective cohort study of children continuously enrolled in coverage from the Alabama Medicaid Agency from birth between 2008 and 2012, adjusting for demographics, access to care, and general health service use. Exposures Children receiving preventive dental care prior to age 2 years from PCPs or dentists vs no preventive dental care. Main Outcome and Measures Two-part models estimated caries-related treatment and expenditures. Results Among 19 658 eligible children, 25.8% (n = 3658) received early preventive dental care, of whom 44% were black, 37.6% were white, and 16.3% were Hispanic. Compared with matched children without early preventive dental care, children with dentist-delivered preventive dental care more frequently had a subsequent caries-related treatment (20.6% vs 11.3%, P dental expenditures ($168 vs $87 per year, P dental care was associated with an increase in the expected number of caries-related treatment visits by 0.14 per child per year (95% CI, 0.11-0.16) and caries-related treatment expenditures by $40.77 per child per year (95% CI, $30.48-$51.07). Primary care provider–delivered preventive dental care did not significantly affect caries-related treatment use or expenditures. Conclusions and Relevance Children with early preventive care visits from dentists were more likely to have subsequent dental care, including caries-related treatment, and greater expenditures than children without preventive dental care. There was no association with subsequent

Practitioner Perspectives: Children's Use of Technology in the Early Years

Science.gov (United States)

Formby, Susie

2014-01-01

This research, a collaboration between Pearson and the National Literacy Trust, was designed to explore the use of technology by children in the early years. In 2013 Pearson and the National Literacy Trust invited practitioners who work with three to five-year-olds to take part in an online survey to explore how they support children's language…

Evaluation of dietary habits and caries experience among children ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

There was no relationship between nutritional status and dental caries of children with HD and those without HD. However there was a relationship between the dietary habits and dental caries. "Kool" was related to caries experience of children with HD while milk/tea with sugar was related to caries experience of children ...

Early versus Late Parenteral Nutrition in Critically Ill Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Fivez, Tom; Kerklaan, Dorian; Mesotten, Dieter; Verbruggen, Sascha; Wouters, Pieter J; Vanhorebeek, Ilse; Debaveye, Yves; Vlasselaers, Dirk; Desmet, Lars; Casaer, Michael P; Garcia Guerra, Gonzalo; Hanot, Jan; Joffe, Ari; Tibboel, Dick; Joosten, Koen; Van den Berghe, Greet

2016-03-24

Recent trials have questioned the benefit of early parenteral nutrition in adults. The effect of early parenteral nutrition on clinical outcomes in critically ill children is unclear. We conducted a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial involving 1440 critically ill children to investigate whether withholding parenteral nutrition for 1 week (i.e., providing late parenteral nutrition) in the pediatric intensive care unit (ICU) is clinically superior to providing early parenteral nutrition. Fluid loading was similar in the two groups. The two primary end points were new infection acquired during the ICU stay and the adjusted duration of ICU dependency, as assessed by the number of days in the ICU and as time to discharge alive from ICU. For the 723 patients receiving early parenteral nutrition, parenteral nutrition was initiated within 24 hours after ICU admission, whereas for the 717 patients receiving late parenteral nutrition, parenteral nutrition was not provided until the morning of the 8th day in the ICU. In both groups, enteral nutrition was attempted early and intravenous micronutrients were provided. Although mortality was similar in the two groups, the percentage of patients with a new infection was 10.7% in the group receiving late parenteral nutrition, as compared with 18.5% in the group receiving early parenteral nutrition (adjusted odds ratio, 0.48; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.35 to 0.66). The mean (±SE) duration of ICU stay was 6.5±0.4 days in the group receiving late parenteral nutrition, as compared with 9.2±0.8 days in the group receiving early parenteral nutrition; there was also a higher likelihood of an earlier live discharge from the ICU at any time in the late-parenteral-nutrition group (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.11 to 1.37). Late parenteral nutrition was associated with a shorter duration of mechanical ventilatory support than was early parenteral nutrition (P=0.001), as well as a smaller proportion of patients

Child Maltreatment and Children's Developmental Trajectories in Early- to Middle-Childhood

Science.gov (United States)

Font, Sarah A.; Berger, Lawrence M.

2014-01-01

Associations between experiencing child maltreatment and adverse developmental outcomes are widely studied, yet conclusions regarding the extent to which effects are bidirectional, and whether they are likely causal, remain elusive. This study uses the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being study, a birth cohort of 4,898 children followed from birth through age 9. Hierarchical linear modeling and structural equation modeling are employed to estimate associations of maltreatment with cognitive and social-emotional well-being. Results suggest that effects of early childhood maltreatment emerge immediately, though developmental outcomes are also affected by newly occurring maltreatment over time. Additionally, findings indicate that children's early developmental scores predict their subsequent probability of experiencing maltreatment, though to a lesser extent than early maltreatment predicts subsequent developmental outcomes. PMID:25521556

Diet and caries experience among preschool children in Ajman, United Arab Emirates.

Science.gov (United States)

Hashim, Raghad; Williams, Sheila M; Murray Thomson, Williams

2009-12-01

The study investigated the association between food and drink consumption and the caries experience among young children in Ajman, United Arab Emirates. A one-stage cluster sample was used to select children who were 5 or 6 yr of age. Clinical examinations for caries were conducted. Parents completed questionnaires seeking information on dietary habits. Principal components analysis was used to derive a summary score for the dietary variables (designated 'snack consumption level') and thus overcome the multicollinearity problems associated with using multiple dietary variables. Dental examination and questionnaire data were obtained for 1,036 children (79.9% participation rate). The overall mean number of decayed, missing or filled teeth (dmft) was 4.5. Snacking three or more times per day was associated with a dmft score that was almost one-third higher than the dmft score for children who snacked only once daily. One-third of children had a low overall snack consumption level (41% moderate and 25% high). There was a consistent dmft gradient across those categories. The severity of Early Childhood Caries (ECC) in young Ajman children is high, with dietary habits being important determinants. Cariogenic snack consumption can be represented using a summary exposure variable that appears to be valid. Young children in Ajman would benefit from health-promotion strategies directed towards appropriate dietary practices.

Early Family System Types Predict Children's Emotional Attention Biases at School Age

Science.gov (United States)

Lindblom, Jallu; Peltola, Mikko J.; Vänskä, Mervi; Hietanen, Jari K.; Laakso, Anu; Tiitinen, Aila; Tulppala, Maija; Punamäki, Raija-Leena

2017-01-01

The family environment shapes children's social information processing and emotion regulation. Yet, the long-term effects of early family systems have rarely been studied. This study investigated how family system types predict children's attentional biases toward facial expressions at the age of 10 years. The participants were 79 children from…

Chaos, Poverty, and Parenting: Predictors of Early Language Development

Science.gov (United States)

Vernon-Feagans, Lynne; Garrett-Peters, Patricia; Willoughby, Michael; Mills-Koonce, Roger

2012-01-01

Studies have shown that distal family risk factors like poverty and maternal education are strongly related to children's early language development. Yet, few studies have examined these risk factors in combination with more proximal day-to-day experiences of children that might be critical to understanding variation in early language. Young…

Early Intervention Services: Effectively Supporting Maori Children and their Families

Science.gov (United States)

Berryman, Mere; Woller, Paul

2011-01-01

This paper examines Early Intervention (EI) service provision from within one Ministry of Education region in New Zealand. It does this in order to better understand what works well and what needs to change if children from Maori families, of Early Childhood age, are to be provided with the most effective EI services. By engaging with Maori…

Developmental commentary: individual and contextual influences on student-teacher relationships and children's early problem behaviors.

Science.gov (United States)

Myers, Sonya S; Pianta, Robert C

2008-07-01

Understanding factors associated with children's early behavioral difficulties is of vital importance to children's school success, and to the prevention of future behavior problems. Although biological factors can influence the expression of certain behaviors, the probability of children exhibiting classroom behavior problems is intensified when they are exposed to multiple risk factors, particularly negative student-teacher interactions. Children who exhibit behavior problems during early childhood and the transition to kindergarten, without intervention, can be placed on a developmental trajectory for serious behavior problems in later grades. Using a developmental systems model, this commentary provides a conceptual framework for understanding the contributions of individual and contextual factors to the development of early student-teacher relationships. Parent, teacher, and student characteristics are discussed as they are related to shaping student-teacher interactions and children's adjustment to school.

Pancreatic pseudocyst in children: a single-institute experience

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background and objectives Pancreatic pseudocysts are rare in children, with most series describing not more than. 24 patients. At Zagazig University Hospital we have managed a range of cases of this disorder and feel this experience should add to the existing experience with children. This study aimed to analyze the ...

Early wind engineering experiments in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larose, Guy; Franck, Niels

1997-01-01

A review of works by Danish wind engineers is presented to commemorate the 100th year anniversary of the first wind tunnel experiments. Pioneer tests by Irminger and Nøkkentved in "artificial" wind on scaled models are described. The early experiments aimed at measuring the surface pressure......" that governs today´s wind engineering practice and gave birth to the boundary layer wind tunnel....

Early Vocabulary Development of Australian Indigenous Children: Identifying Strengths

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brad M. Farrant

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The current study sought to increase our understanding of the factors involved in the early vocabulary development of Australian Indigenous children. Data from the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children were available for 573 Indigenous children (291 boys who spoke English (M=37.0 months, SD=5.4 months, at wave 3. Data were also available for 86 children (51 boys who spoke an Indigenous language (M=37.1 months, SD=6.0 months, at wave 3. As hypothesised, higher levels of parent-child book reading and having more children’s books in the home were associated with better English vocabulary development. Oral storytelling in Indigenous language was a significant predictor of the size of children’s Indigenous vocabulary.

A Mobile Application That Allows Children in the Early Childhood to Program Robots

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kryscia Ramírez-Benavides

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Children born in the Information Age are digital natives; this characteristic should be exploited to improve the learning process through the use of technology. This paper addresses the design, construction, and evaluation process of TITIBOTS, a programming assistance tool for mobile devices that allows children in the early childhood to create programs and execute them using robots. We present the results of using TITIBOTS in different scenarios with children between 4 and 6 years old. The insight obtained in the development and evaluation of the tool could be useful when creating applications for children in the early childhood. The results were promising; children liked the application and were willing to continue using it to program robots to solve specific tasks, developing the skills of the 21st century.

Improving Latino Children's Early Language and Literacy Development: Key Features of Early Childhood Education within Family Literacy Programmes

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Jung, Youngok; Zuniga, Stephen; Howes, Carollee; Jeon, Hyun-Joo; Parrish, Deborah; Quick, Heather; Manship, Karen; Hauser, Alison

2016-01-01

Noting the lack of research on how early childhood education (ECE) programmes within family literacy programmes influence Latino children's early language and literacy development, this study examined key features of ECE programmes, specifically teacher-child interactions and child engagement in language and literacy activities and how these…

Physical Activity, Self-Regulation, and Early Academic Achievement in Preschool Children

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Becker, Derek R.; McClelland, Megan M.; Loprinzi, Paul; Trost, Stewart G.

2014-01-01

Research Findings: The present study investigated whether active play during recess was associated with self-regulation and academic achievement in a prekindergarten sample. A total of 51 children in classes containing approximately half Head Start children were assessed on self-regulation, active play, and early academic achievement. Path…

A Review of Children's, Teachers' and Parents' Influences on Children's Drawing Experience

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Rose, Sarah E.; Jolley, Richard P.; Burkitt, Esther

2006-01-01

In this article we argue that research into children's drawings should consider the context in which drawing occurs and that it is crucial to investigate the attitudes and practices of teachers, parents and children themselves that shape children's drawing experience and the drawings which they produce. We review the findings of seven empirical…

FUNdamental Movement in Early Childhood.

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Campbell, Linley

2001-01-01

Noting that the development of fundamental movement skills is basic to children's motor development, this booklet provides a guide for early childhood educators in planning movement experiences for children between 4 and 8 years. The booklet introduces a wide variety of appropriate practices to promote movement skill acquisition and increased…

Implementation of early intensive behavioural intervention for children with autism in Switzerland.

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Studer, Nadja; Gundelfinger, Ronnie; Schenker, Tanja; Steinhausen, Hans-Christoph

2017-01-21

There is a major gap between the US and most European countries regarding the implementation of early intensive behavioural intervention (EIBI) for children with autism. The present paper reports on the current status of EIBI in Switzerland and on the effectiveness of EIBI under clinical conditions in a Swiss pilot project. The paper combines a narrative report of the care system for children with autism in Switzerland and an initial evaluation of EIBI as implemented in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Zurich. The current situation of the implementation of EIBI for children with autism in Switzerland is characterized by marked deficits in its acceptance. Major reasons include insufficient governmental approval and lacking legal and financial support. In addition, ignorance among health care providers and educational professionals has contributed to this situation precluding that children with autism receive the most beneficial assistance. The authors have initiated and been working in an intervention centre offering EIBI for a decade and report on their experience with the implementation of EIBI. Based on their clinical practice, they document that EIBI also works efficiently under ordinary mental health service conditions. EIBI needs to be implemented more intensively in Switzerland. Although the effects of EIBI as implemented in Zurich are promising, the results are not as pronounced as under controlled research conditions.

Early Childhood Caries and Body Mass Index in Young Children from Low Income Families

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Goretti Queiroz

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The relationship between early childhood caries (ECC and obesity is controversial. This cross-sectional survey investigated this association in children from low-income families in Goiania, Goias, Brazil and considered the role of several social determinants. A questionnaire examining the characteristics of the children and their families was administered to the primary caregiver during home visits. In addition, children (approximately 6 years of age had their height, weight, and tooth condition assessed. The primary ECC outcome was categorized as one of the following: caries experience (decayed, missing, filled tooth: “dmft” index > 0, active ECC (decayed teeth > 0, or active severe ECC (decayed teeth ≥ 6. Descriptive, bivariate and logistic regression analyses were conducted. The participants in the current study consisted of 269 caregiver-child dyads, 88.5% of whom were included in the Family Health Program. Caregivers were mostly mothers (67.7%, were 35.3 ± 10.0 years old on average and had 9.8 ± 3.1 years of formal education. The mean family income was 2.3 ± 1.5 times greater than the Brazilian minimum wage. On average, the children in the current study were 68.7 ± 3.8 months old. Of these, 51.7% were boys, 23.4% were overweight or obese, 45.0% had active ECC, and 17.1% had severe ECC. The average body mass index (BMI of the children was 15.9 ± 2.2, and their dmft index was 2.5 ± 3.2. BMI was not associated with any of the three categories of dental caries (p > 0.05. In contrast, higher family incomes were significantly associated with the lack of caries experience in children (OR 1.22, 95%CI 1.01–1.50, but the mother’s level of education was not significantly associated with ECC.

Outcome for Children Receiving the Early Start Denver Model before and after 48 Months

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Vivanti, Giacomo; Dissanayake, Cheryl

2016-01-01

The Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) is an intervention program recommended for pre-schoolers with autism ages 12-48 months. The rationale for this recommendation is the potential for intervention to affect developmental trajectories during early sensitive periods. We investigated outcomes of 32 children aged 18-48 months and 28 children aged…

Cost Offset Associated With Early Start Denver Model for Children With Autism.

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Cidav, Zuleyha; Munson, Jeff; Estes, Annette; Dawson, Geraldine; Rogers, Sally; Mandell, David

2017-09-01

To determine the effect of the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) for treatment of young children with autism on health care service use and costs. We used data from a randomized trial that tested the efficacy of the ESDM, which is based on developmental and applied behavioral analytic principles and delivered by trained therapists and parents, for 2 years. Parents were interviewed about their children's service use every 6 months from the onset of the intervention to follow-up (age 6 years). The sample for this study consisted of 39 children with autism who participated in the original randomized trial at age 18 to 30 months, and were also assessed at age 6 years. Of this sample, 21 children were in the ESDM group, and 18 children were in the community care (COM) group. Reported services were categorized and costed by applying unit hourly costs. Annualized service use and costs during the intervention and post intervention for the two study arms were compared. During the intervention, children who received the ESDM had average annualized total health-related costs that were higher by about $14,000 than those of children who received community-based treatment. The higher cost of ESDM was partially offset during the intervention period because children in the ESDM group used less applied behavior analysis (ABA)/early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) and speech therapy services than children in the comparison group. In the postintervention period, compared with children who had earlier received treatment as usual in community settings, children in the ESDM group used less ABA/EIBI, occupational/physical therapy, and speech therapy services, resulting in significant cost savings in the amount of about $19,000 per year per child. Costs associated with ESDM treatment were fully offset within a few years after the intervention because of reductions in other service use and associated costs. Early Characteristics of Autism; http://clinicaltrials.gov/; NCT0009415

Musical Nurture in the Early Years of Children.

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Miller, Samuel D.

Children are naturally musical and should be musically educated. Music provides a unique way for children to grow intellectually, emotionally and socially. Music fulfills an inner drive to express feelings and experiences in a symbolic, abstract, creative, and acceptable manner which is positive and valued. Musical nurture should begin within the…

Retrospectively Assessed Early Motor and Current Pragmatic Language Skills in Autistic and Neurotypical Children.

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Stevenson, Jennifer L; Lindley, Caitlin E; Murlo, Nicole

2017-08-01

Autistic individuals often struggle developmentally, even in areas that are not explicit diagnostic criteria, such as motor skills. This study explored the relation between early motor skills, assessed retrospectively, and current pragmatic language skills. Caregivers of neurotypical and autistic children, matched on gender and age, completed assessments of their child's early motor development and current language abilities. Early motor skills were correlated with later pragmatic language skills, and autistic children exhibited fewer motor skills than neurotypical children. In fact, motor skills were a better predictor of an autism spectrum diagnosis than were scores on a measure of current pragmatic language. These results highlight the important role of motor skills in autism spectrum disorders.

Early diagnosis of thoracolumbar spine fractures in children. A prospective study.

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Leroux, J; Vivier, P-H; Ould Slimane, M; Foulongne, E; Abu-Amara, S; Lechevallier, J; Griffet, J

2013-02-01

Early detection of spine fractures in children is difficult because the clinical examination does not always raise worrisome symptoms and the vertebrae are still cartilaginous, and consequently incompletely visualized on routine X-rays. Therefore, diagnosis is often delayed or missed. The search for a "breath arrest" sensation at the moment of the trauma improves early detection of thoracolumbar spine fractures in children. This was a prospective monocentric study including all children consulting at the paediatric emergency unit of a single university hospital with a thoracolumbar spine trauma between January 2008 and March 2009. All children had the same care. Pain was quantified when they arrived using the visual analog scale. Clinical examination searched for a "breath arrest" sensation at the moment of the trauma and noted the circumstances of the accident. X-rays and MRI were done in all cases. Fifty children were included with a mean age of 11.4 years. Trauma occurred during games or sports in 94% of the cases. They fell on the back in 72% cases. Twenty-three children (46%) had fractures on the MRI, with a mean number of four fractured vertebrae (range, 1-10). Twenty-one of them (91%) had a "breath arrest" sensation. Fractures were not visualized on X-rays in five cases (22%). Twenty-seven children had no fracture; 19 of them (70%) did not feel a "breath arrest". Fractures were suspected on X-rays in 15 cases (56%). The search for a "breath arrest" sensation at the moment of injury improves early detection of thoracolumbar spine fractures in children (Se=87%, Sp=67%, PPV=69%, NPV=86%). When no fracture is apparent on X-rays and no "breath arrest" sensation is expressed by the child, the clinician can be sure there is no fracture (Se=26%, Sp=100%, PPV=100%, NPV=53%). Level III. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Do Children's Executive Functions Account for Associations Between Early Autonomy-Supportive Parenting and Achievement Through High School?

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Bindman, Samantha W; Pomerantz, Eva M; Roisman, Glenn I

2015-08-01

This study evaluated whether the positive association between early autonomy-supportive parenting and children's subsequent achievement is mediated by children's executive functions. Using observations of mothers' parenting from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development ( N = 1,306), analyses revealed that mothers' autonomy support over the first 3 years of life predicted enhanced executive functions (i.e., inhibition, delay of gratification, and sustained attention) during the year prior to kindergarten and academic achievement in elementary and high school even when mothers' warmth and cognitive stimulation, as well as other factors (e.g., children's early general cognitive skills and mothers' educational attainment) were covaried. Mediation analyses demonstrated that over and above other attributes (e.g., temperament), children's executive functions partially accounted for the association between early autonomy-supportive parenting and children's subsequent achievement.

Mental health: early intervention and prevention in children and young people.

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Membride, Heather

It is estimated that 10% of children and young people have mental health problems so significant that they impact not only on their day-to-day life but, if left untreated, they will continue into adulthood. In this article, the author discusses mental health issues affecting children and young people and examines evidence-based early intervention and prevention programmes that have been shown to support better outcomes for children, young people and their families.

Early Childhood Math: Make It Manipulative!

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Stone, Janet I.

1987-01-01

Maintains that early childhood teachers should provide young children with creative, stimulating, and manipulative (hands-on) experiences rather than workbook pages in early mathematics programs. Presents reasons and corresponding counterpositions for using workbooks and suggests sample activities which teachers can use to make mathematics more…

Delayed Early Vocabulary Development in Children at Family Risk of Dyslexia

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van Viersen, Sietske; de Bree, Elise H.; Verdam, Mathilde; Krikhaar, Evelien; Maassen, Ben; van der Leij, Aryan; de Jong, Peter F.

2017-01-01

Purpose: This study aimed to gain more insight into the relation between vocabulary and reading acquisition by examining early growth trajectories in the vocabulary of children at family risk (FR) of dyslexia longitudinally. Method: The sample included 212 children from the Dutch Dyslexia Program with and without an FR. Parents reported on their…

Race to the Top--Early Learning Challenge: An Analysis of Impact on IDEIA, Part C Early Intervention Programs

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Bohjanen, Sharon L.

2016-01-01

Infants and toddlers who live in poverty are more likely to experience developmental delays or disabilities and less likely to access early intervention (EI) services. The federal initiative Race to the Top--Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) was designed to increase access to high quality early learning programs for children at risk for…

Interventions and Adaptations for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Inclusive Early Childhood Settings

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Brodzeller, Katharine L.; Ottley, Jennifer R.; Jung, Jeesun; Coogle, Christan G.

2018-01-01

The inclusive education of children with disabilities is considered best practice, yet many early childhood educators feel unprepared to deliver appropriate instruction for children with disabilities and often require supports to successfully meet the children's unique needs. Young children experiencing autism spectrum disorder are being diagnosed…

Early Math Trajectories: Low-Income Children's Mathematics Knowledge From Ages 4 to 11.

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Rittle-Johnson, Bethany; Fyfe, Emily R; Hofer, Kerry G; Farran, Dale C

2017-09-01

Early mathematics knowledge is a strong predictor of later academic achievement, but children from low-income families enter school with weak mathematics knowledge. An early math trajectories model is proposed and evaluated within a longitudinal study of 517 low-income American children from ages 4 to 11. This model includes a broad range of math topics, as well as potential pathways from preschool to middle grades mathematics achievement. In preschool, nonsymbolic quantity, counting, and patterning knowledge predicted fifth-grade mathematics achievement. By the end of first grade, symbolic mapping, calculation, and patterning knowledge were the important predictors. Furthermore, the first-grade predictors mediated the relation between preschool math knowledge and fifth-grade mathematics achievement. Findings support the early math trajectories model among low-income children. © 2016 The Authors. Child Development © 2016 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Thought-Experiments About Gravity in the History of Science and in Research into Children's Thinking

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Blown, E. J.; Bryce, T. G. K.

2013-03-01

This article examines the main strands of thinking about gravity through the ages and the continuity of thought-experiments, from the early Greeks, through medieval times, to Galileo, Newton and Einstein. The key ideas are used to contextualise an empirical study of 247 children's ideas about falling objects carried out in China and New Zealand, including the use of scenarios involving thrown and dropped items, and objects falling down deep well holes (as in Carroll's Alice in Wonderland). The sample included 68 pre-school pupils, 68 primary school pupils, 56 middle school students, and 55 high school students; with approximately equal numbers in each group and of boys and girls in each group in each culture. The methodology utilised Piagetian interviews with three media (verbal language, drawing, and play-dough), a shadow stick; and everyday items including model people and soft model animals. The data from each group was categorised and analysed with Kolmogorov- Smirnov Two- Sample Tests and Spearman r s coefficients. It was hypothesised and confirmed (at K- S alpha levels .05; r s : p < .001) that cross-age and cross-cultural research and analysis would reveal that (a) an intuitive sense of gravity is present from an early age and develops in association with concepts like Earth shape and motion; (b) the development of concepts of gravity is similar in cultures such as China and New Zealand where teachers hold a scientific world view; and (c) children's concepts of Earth motion, Earth shape, and gravity are coherent rather than fragmented. It was also demonstrated that multi-media interviews together with concrete experiences and thought-experiments afforded children the opportunity to share their emerging concepts of gravity. The findings provide information that teachers might use for lessons at an appropriate level.

Child maltreatment and children's developmental trajectories in early to middle childhood.

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Font, Sarah A; Berger, Lawrence M

2015-01-01

Associations between experiencing child maltreatment and adverse developmental outcomes are widely studied, yet conclusions regarding the extent to which effects are bidirectional, and whether they are likely causal, remain elusive. This study uses the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a birth cohort of 4,898 children followed from birth through age 9. Hierarchical linear modeling and structural equation modeling are employed to estimate associations of maltreatment with cognitive and social-emotional well-being. Results suggest that effects of early childhood maltreatment emerge immediately, though developmental outcomes are also affected by newly occurring maltreatment over time. Additionally, findings indicate that children's early developmental scores predict their subsequent probability of experiencing maltreatment, though to a lesser extent than early maltreatment predicts subsequent developmental outcomes. © 2014 The Authors. Child Development © 2014 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

A Socio-Cultural Perspective on Children's Early Language: A Family Study

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Marjanovic-Umek, Ljubica; Fekonja-Peklaj, Urška; Socan, Gregor; Tašner, Veronika

2015-01-01

This study examines the effect of certain socio-cultural factors of the family environment on the language of toddlers and children in early childhood. The sample included 86 families with one- to six-year-old children. The data on the social, economic, and cultural factors of the family environment, parental reading literacy, parental knowledge…

Timing variability in children with early-treated congenital hypothyroidism

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kooistra, L.; Snijders, T.A.B.; Schellekens, J.M.H.; Kalverboer, A.F.; Geuze, R.H.

This study reports on central and peripheral determinants of timing variability in self-paced tapping by children with early-treated congenital hypothyroidism (CH). A theoretical model of the timing of repetitive movements developed by Wing and Kristofferson was applied to estimate the central

Bullying Experiences among Children and Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Cappadocia, M. Catherine; Weiss, Jonathan A.; Pepler, Debra

2012-01-01

Few studies have investigated bullying experiences among children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD); however, preliminary research suggests that children with ASD are at greater risk for being bullied than typically developing peers. The aim of the current study was to build an understanding of bullying experiences among children with…

A Study of Early Fine Motor Intervention in Down's Syndrome Children

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Aparicio, Teresa Sanz; Balana, Javier Menendez

2009-01-01

The marked delay in acquisition of fine motor skills in trisomic-21/Down's syndrome children is undeniable. In this study, we began with an affirmation that the cause of this deficit could be found in a different environment for which early intervention is essential. A sample of 30 Down's syndrome children was used to study at different ages: six…

Social Experiences in Infancy and Early Childhood Co-Sleeping

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Hayes, Marie J.; Fukumizu, Michio; Troese, Marcia; Sallinen, Bethany A.; Gilles, Allyson A.

2007-01-01

Infancy and early childhood sleep-wake behaviours from current and retrospective parental reports were used to explore the relationship between sleeping arrangements and parent-child nighttime interactions at both time points. Children (N = 45) from educated, middle-class families, mostly breastfed in infancy, composed a convenience sample that…

Children on the homefront: the experience of children from military families.

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Chandra, Anita; Lara-Cinisomo, Sandraluz; Jaycox, Lisa H; Tanielian, Terri; Burns, Rachel M; Ruder, Teague; Han, Bing

2010-01-01

Although studies have begun to explore the impact of the current wars on child well-being, none have examined how children are doing across social, emotional, and academic domains. In this study, we describe the health and well-being of children from military families from the perspectives of the child and nondeployed parent. We also assessed the experience of deployment for children and how it varies according to deployment length and military service component. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS. Data from a computer-assisted telephone interview with military children, aged 11 to 17 years, and nondeployed caregivers (n = 1507) were used to assess child well-being and difficulties with deployment. Multivariate regression analyses assessed the association between family characteristics, deployment histories, and child outcomes. After controlling for family and service-member characteristics, children in this study had more emotional difficulties compared with national samples. Older youth and girls of all ages reported significantly more school-, family-, and peer-related difficulties with parental deployment (P children both during deployment and deployed-parent reintegration (P Family characteristics (eg, living in rented housing) were also associated with difficulties with deployment. Families that experienced more total months of parental deployment may benefit from targeted support to deal with stressors that emerge over time. Also, families in which caregivers experience poorer mental health may benefit from programs that support the caregiver and child.

Identifying differences in early literacy skills across subgroups of language-minority children: A latent profile analysis.

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Lonigan, Christopher J; Goodrich, J Marc; Farver, JoAnn M

2018-04-01

Despite acknowledgment that language-minority children come from a wide variety of home language backgrounds and have a wide range of proficiency in their first (L1) and second (L2) languages, it is unknown whether differences across language-minority children in relative and absolute levels of proficiency in L1 and L2 predict subsequent development of literacy-related skills. The purpose of this study was to identify subgroups of language-minority children and evaluate whether differences in level and rate of growth of early literacy skills differed across subgroups. Five-hundred and twenty-six children completed measures of Spanish and English language and early literacy skills at the beginning, middle, and end of the preschool year. Latent growth models indicated that children's early literacy skills were increasing over the course of the preschool year. Latent profile analysis indicated that language-minority children could be classified into nine distinct groups, each with unique patterns of absolute and relative levels of proficiency in L1 and L2. Results of three-step mixture models indicated that profiles were closely associated with level of early literacy skills at the beginning of the preschool year. Initial level of early literacy skills was positively associated with growth in code-related skills (i.e., print knowledge, phonological awareness) and inversely associated with growth in language skills. These findings suggest that language-minority children are a diverse group with regard to their L1 and L2 proficiencies and that growth in early literacy skills is most associated with level of proficiency in the same language. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Can Parents' Involvement in Children's Education Offset the Effects of Early Insensitivity on Academic Functioning?

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Monti, Jennifer D.; Pomerantz, Eva M.; Roisman, Glenn I.

2014-01-01

Data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (N = 1,312) were analyzed to examine whether the adverse effects of early insensitive parenting on children's academic functioning can be offset by parents' later involvement in children's education. Observations of mothers' early…

The Role of Maternal Depression in Accessing Early Intervention Services for Children with Developmental Delay

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Colgan, Siobhan Eileen

2012-01-01

This study investigated the relationship between maternal depression and children's access to early intervention services among a sample of children with developmental delay at age two who were determined to be eligible for early intervention services, were full term and of normal birth weight, and were not previously identified with any special…

Ethnic Group Differences in Early Head Start Parents Parenting Beliefs and Practices and Links to Children's Early Cognitive Development

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Keels, Micere

2009-01-01

Data from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation study were used to examine the extent to which several factors mediate between- and within-ethnic-group differences in parenting beliefs and behaviors, and children's early cognitive development (analysis sample of 1198 families). The findings indicate that Hispanic-, European-, and…

Caries experience among children with type 1 diabetes in Kuwait.

Science.gov (United States)

Akpata, Enosakhare Samuel; Alomari, Qasem; Mojiminiyi, Olusequn A; Al-Sanae, Hala

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the association among type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM), caries experience, and salivary glucose in 12- to 15-year-olds in Kuwait. A cross-sectional design was chosen involving 53 DM patients and 53 nondiabetic controls, group-matched by age and sex to the experimental group. The DM patients comprised 2 groups: (1) 14 controlled DM children (glycated haemoglobin, HbA1c=8). The children's caries experience, at the precavitation and cavitation diagnostic threshold, was measured. In addition, their frequency of sugar consumption, plaque index, salivary flow rate, buffering capacity, as well as mutans streptococci, lactobacilli, and yeast counts were recorded. The DM children had significantly higher caries experience both at precavitation and cavitation diagnostic thresholds, than the control group. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed age, frequency of sugar consumption, and resting salivary flow rate to be significantly associated with high caries experience among the diabetic children. Caries experience was significantly higher in children with type 1 diabetes than in nondiabetic controls.

Prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences in Low-Income Latino Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Children.

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Loria, Hilda; Caughy, Margaret

2018-01-01

To estimate the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences in low-income Latino children and examine differences in the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences by immigrant generational status. This is a secondary data analysis of the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children's Health, a telephone survey of parents/caregivers of a nationally representative sample of US children. The study sample was limited to Latino children in households with an annual income ≤200% of the federal poverty level (FPL) whose parents responded to a 9-item inventory of adverse childhood experiences. Descriptive statistics estimated the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences and examined differences in prevalence by immigrant generational status. Of 22 297 children, 29% (n = 6483) were Latino (9% first generation, 57% second generation, 30% third or higher generation); 25% (n = 1692) of all Latino children were exposed to 2 or more adverse childhood experiences. Latino immigrant children had a lower prevalence (13%; n = 801) compared with nonimmigrant Latino children (40%; n = 772). The most common adverse childhood experiences were financial hardship and parent divorce/separation. The total number and mean number of adverse childhood experiences differed by child generational status, and the differences persisted after stratification by age and FPL. The prevalence of exposure to adverse childhood experiences was highest among third- or higher-generation nonimmigrant children and lowest among second-generation immigrant children. The prevalence of adverse childhood experiences in low-income Latino children is similar to the prevalence for all US children; however, the prevalence is significantly higher in nonimmigrant children. Targeted screening to address adverse childhood experiences, policy changes, and guidance regarding care practices to address adverse childhood experiences in Latino children are needed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights

Parenting Behaviours and Children's Development from Infancy to Early Childhood: Changes, Continuities and Contributions

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Gutman, Leslie Morrison; Feinstein, Leon

2010-01-01

This study investigated trajectories of parenting behaviours and children's development from infancy to early childhood, associations between parenting behaviours and children's development and how these associations vary according to socioeconomic indicators. Mothers and children were examined from an ongoing longitudinal study of families…

A Mobile Early Stimulation Program to Support Children with Developmental Delays in Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Dias, Raquel da Luz; Silva, Kátia Cristina Correa Guimarães; Lima, Marcela Raquel de Oliveira; Alves, João Guilherme Bezerra; Abidi, Syed Sibte Raza

2018-01-01

Developmental delay is a deviation development from the normative milestones during the childhood and it may be caused by neurological disorders. Early stimulation is a standardized and simple technique to treat developmental delays in children (aged 0-3 years), allowing them to reach the best development possible and to mitigate neuropsychomotor sequelae. However, the outcomes of the treatment depending on the involvement of the family, to continue the activities at home on a daily basis. To empower and educate parents of children with neurodevelopmental delays to administer standardized early stimulation programs at home, we developed a mobile early stimulation program that provides timely and evidence-based clinical decision support to health professionals and a personalized guidance to parents about how to administer early stimulation to their child at home.

The Ties That Bind: Midlife Parents' Daily Experiences With Grown Children.

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Fingerman, Karen L; Kim, Kyungmin; Birditt, Kira S; Zarit, Steven H

2016-04-01

Daily pleasant or stressful experiences with grown children may contribute to parental well-being. This diary study focused on midlife parents' ( N = 247) reports regarding grown children for 7 days. Nearly all parents (96%) had contact with a child that week via phone, text, or in person. Nearly all parents shared laughter or enjoyable interactions with grown children during the study week. More than half of parents experienced stressful encounters (e.g., child got on nerves) or stressful thoughts about grown children (e.g., worrying, fretting about a problem). Pleasant and stressful experiences with grown children were associated with parents' positive and negative daily moods. A pleasant experience with a grown child the same day as a stressful experience mitigated effects of those stressful experiences on negative mood, however. The findings have implications for understanding intergenerational ambivalence and stress buffering in this tie.

FIRST EXPERIENCE OF THE URETERO-URETEROANASTOMOSIS (URETEROPYELOANASTOMOSIS IN CHILDREN WITH COMPLETE URETERAL DUPLICATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. M. Kagantsov

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. The Duplex kidney is one of the most common anomalies of urinary system. Approaches to the surgical management of these conditions significantly differ. Taking into account the preferences of surgeons, heminephroureterectomy is offered to perform openly or laparoscopically, uretero-cysto-anastomosis of ectopic ureter or two ureters en bloc. Some publications about the possibility of ureteroureteral anastomosis have lately begun to appear. We present the experience of ureteroureteral anastomosis performed openly and laparoscopically in 9 clinics of Russia and Belarus.Objective. Improvement of treatment results of ureterohydronephrosis in children with complete ureteral duplication.Material and methods. We retrospectively reviewed medical records of 38 children who underwent ureteroureteral anastomosis surgery from 2007 to 2016. There were 10 boys (26.3% and 28 girls (73.7%. The mean age of patients was 40.2 months. Right duplex kidney was confirmed in 15 (39.5% children, the left one was diagnosed in 23 (60.5% children. All the patients were divided into two groups according to the surgical technique used. Fourteen children 14 (36.8% were included in the first group, in whom the ureteroureteral anastomosis has been performed openly, the second group comprised 24 (63.2% patients with laparoscopically made anastomosis.Results. There weren’t any cases of conversion in this cohort. One patient in each group suffered from acute pyelonephritis. In the early postoperative period, urine leakage along the drainage occurred in 3 (12.5% patients after laparoscopically performed ureteroureteral anastomosis, one (4.2% child had residual ureteral stump. Thus, five (13.2% children had complications, one (2.6% patient required redo surgery.Conclusion. There are few clinics where ureteroureteral anastomosis is performed via open or laparoscopic approach. This operation is at the stage of development and accumulation of experience. It is a safe

Are all risks equal? Early experiences of poverty-related risk and children's functioning.

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Roy, Amanda L; Raver, C Cybele

2014-06-01

Using cumulative risk and latent class analysis (LCA) models, we examined how exposure to deep poverty (income-to-needs ratio risks (i.e., single-parent household, residential crowding, caregiver depression, and multiple life stressors) in preschool is related to children's future difficulty in school in a longitudinal sample of 602 Head Start-enrolled, low-income families. Results from the LCA revealed 4 risk profiles: low risk, deep poverty and single, single and stressed, and deep poverty and crowded household. Tests of measurement invariance across racial/ethnic groups established that, although patterns of risk are similar across groups (i.e., risks covary in the same way), the prevalence of risk profiles differs. African American families were overrepresented in the "deep poverty and single" profile while Latino and White families were overrepresented in the "deep poverty and crowded" profile. Finally, children's third grade functioning in 3 domains (i.e., academic performance, behavior problems, and self-regulatory skills) was predicted using a cumulative risk index and LCA-identified risk profiles. Both approaches demonstrated that children who experienced higher levels of risk in preschool had worse school performance than children with low levels of risk. However, LCA also revealed that children who experienced "single and stressed" family settings had more behavior problems than low-risk children while children who experienced "deep poverty and crowded" family settings had worse academic performance. The results indicate that all risks are not equal for children's development and highlight the utility of LCA for tailoring intervention efforts to best meet the needs of target populations. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved

CMS experiment at the LHC Commissioning and early physics

CERN Document Server

Safonov, A

2010-01-01

The CMS collaboration used the past year to greatly improve the level of detector readiness for the first collisions data. The acquired operational experience over this year, large gains in understanding the detector and improved preparedness for early physics will be instrumental in minimizing the time from the first collisions to first LHC physics. The following describes the status of the CMS experiment and outlines early physics plans with the first LHC data.

Eye injuries in children the Sagamu experience | Bodunde ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Eye injuries in children the Sagamu experience. ... time of presentation, the injured eye, visual acuity at presentation, diagnosis, intraocular pressure, ... Conclusion: Intensifying health education to the children, parents and teachers will go a ...

Instrumental learning and cognitive flexibility processes are impaired in children exposed to early life stress.

Science.gov (United States)

Harms, Madeline B; Shannon Bowen, Katherine E; Hanson, Jamie L; Pollak, Seth D

2017-10-19

Children who experience severe early life stress show persistent deficits in many aspects of cognitive and social adaptation. Early stress might be associated with these broad changes in functioning because it impairs general learning mechanisms. To explore this possibility, we examined whether individuals who experienced abusive caregiving in childhood had difficulties with instrumental learning and/or cognitive flexibility as adolescents. Fifty-three 14-17-year-old adolescents (31 exposed to high levels of childhood stress, 22 control) completed an fMRI task that required them to first learn associations in the environment and then update those pairings. Adolescents with histories of early life stress eventually learned to pair stimuli with both positive and negative outcomes, but did so more slowly than their peers. Furthermore, these stress-exposed adolescents showed markedly impaired cognitive flexibility; they were less able than their peers to update those pairings when the contingencies changed. These learning problems were reflected in abnormal activity in learning- and attention-related brain circuitry. Both altered patterns of learning and neural activation were associated with the severity of lifetime stress that the adolescents had experienced. Taken together, the results of this experiment suggest that basic learning processes are impaired in adolescents exposed to early life stress. These general learning mechanisms may help explain the emergence of social problems observed in these individuals. © 2017 The Authors. Developmental Science Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Relationships between Childhood Traumatic Experiences, Early Maladaptive Schemas and Interpersonal Styles

Science.gov (United States)

KAYA TEZEL, Fulya; TUTAREL KIŞLAK, Şennur; BOYSAN, Murat

2015-01-01

Introduction Cognitive theories of psychopathology have generally proposed that early experiences of childhood abuse and neglect may result in the development of early maladaptive self-schemas. Maladaptive core schemas are central in the development and maintenance of psychological symptoms in a schema-focused approach. Psychosocial dysfunction in individuals with psychological problems has been consistently found to be associated with symptom severity. However, till date, linkages between psychosocial functioning, early traumatic experiences and core schemas have received little attention. The aim of the present study was to explore the relations among maladaptive interpersonal styles, negative experiences in childhood and core self-schemas in non-clinical adults. Methods A total of 300 adults (58% women) participated in the study. The participants completed a socio-demographic questionnaire, Young Schema Questionnaire, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and Interpersonal Style Scale. Results Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that the Disconnection and Rejection and Impaired Limits schema domains were significant antecedents of maladaptive interpersonal styles after controlling for demographic characteristics and childhood abuse and neglect. Associations of child sexual abuse with Emotionally Avoidant, Manipulative and Abusive interpersonal styles were mediated by early maladaptive schemas. Early maladaptive schemas mediated the relations of emotional abuse with Emotionally Avoidant and Avoidant interpersonal styles as well as the relations of physical abuse with Avoidant and Abusive interpersonal styles. Conclusion Interpersonal styles in adulthood are significantly associated with childhood traumatic experiences. Significant relations between early traumatic experiences and maladaptive interpersonal styles are mediated by early maladaptive schemas. PMID:28360715

Relationships between Childhood Traumatic Experiences, Early Maladaptive Schemas and Interpersonal Styles.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaya Tezel, Fulya; Tutarel Kişlak, Şennur; Boysan, Murat

2015-09-01

Cognitive theories of psychopathology have generally proposed that early experiences of childhood abuse and neglect may result in the development of early maladaptive self-schemas. Maladaptive core schemas are central in the development and maintenance of psychological symptoms in a schema-focused approach. Psychosocial dysfunction in individuals with psychological problems has been consistently found to be associated with symptom severity. However, till date, linkages between psychosocial functioning, early traumatic experiences and core schemas have received little attention. The aim of the present study was to explore the relations among maladaptive interpersonal styles, negative experiences in childhood and core self-schemas in non-clinical adults. A total of 300 adults (58% women) participated in the study. The participants completed a socio-demographic questionnaire, Young Schema Questionnaire, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and Interpersonal Style Scale. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that the Disconnection and Rejection and Impaired Limits schema domains were significant antecedents of maladaptive interpersonal styles after controlling for demographic characteristics and childhood abuse and neglect. Associations of child sexual abuse with Emotionally Avoidant, Manipulative and Abusive interpersonal styles were mediated by early maladaptive schemas. Early maladaptive schemas mediated the relations of emotional abuse with Emotionally Avoidant and Avoidant interpersonal styles as well as the relations of physical abuse with Avoidant and Abusive interpersonal styles. Interpersonal styles in adulthood are significantly associated with childhood traumatic experiences. Significant relations between early traumatic experiences and maladaptive interpersonal styles are mediated by early maladaptive schemas.

The Ties That Bind: Midlife Parents’ Daily Experiences With Grown Children

Science.gov (United States)

Fingerman, Karen L.; Kim, Kyungmin; Birditt, Kira S.; Zarit, Steven H.

2015-01-01

Daily pleasant or stressful experiences with grown children may contribute to parental well-being. This diary study focused on midlife parents’ (N = 247) reports regarding grown children for 7 days. Nearly all parents (96%) had contact with a child that week via phone, text, or in person. Nearly all parents shared laughter or enjoyable interactions with grown children during the study week. More than half of parents experienced stressful encounters (e.g., child got on nerves) or stressful thoughts about grown children (e.g., worrying, fretting about a problem). Pleasant and stressful experiences with grown children were associated with parents’ positive and negative daily moods. A pleasant experience with a grown child the same day as a stressful experience mitigated effects of those stressful experiences on negative mood, however. The findings have implications for understanding intergenerational ambivalence and stress buffering in this tie. PMID:27022198

Early life trauma exposure and stress sensitivity in young children.

Science.gov (United States)

Grasso, Damion J; Ford, Julian D; Briggs-Gowan, Margaret J

2013-01-01

The current study replicates and extends work with adults that highlights the relationship between trauma exposure and distress in response to subsequent, nontraumatic life stressors. The sample included 213 2-4-year-old children in which 64.3% had a history of potential trauma exposure. Children were categorized into 4 groups based on trauma history and current life stress. In a multivariate analysis of variance, trauma-exposed children with current life stressors had elevated internalizing and externalizing problems compared with trauma-exposed children without current stress and nontrauma-exposed children with and without current stressors. The trauma-exposed groups with or without current stressors did not differ on posttraumatic stress disorder symptom severity. Accounting for number of traumatic events did not change these results. These findings suggest that early life trauma exposure may sensitize young children and place them at risk for internalizing or externalizing problems when exposed to subsequent, nontraumatic life stressors.

Early Bimodal Stimulation Benefits Language Acquisition for Children With Cochlear Implants.

Science.gov (United States)

Moberly, Aaron C; Lowenstein, Joanna H; Nittrouer, Susan

2016-01-01

Adding a low-frequency acoustic signal to the cochlear implant (CI) signal (i.e., bimodal stimulation) for a period of time early in life improves language acquisition. Children must acquire sensitivity to the phonemic units of language to develop most language-related skills, including expressive vocabulary, working memory, and reading. Acquiring sensitivity to phonemic structure depends largely on having refined spectral (frequency) representations available in the signal, which does not happen with CIs alone. Combining the low-frequency acoustic signal available through hearing aids with the CI signal can enhance signal quality. A period with this bimodal stimulation has been shown to improve language skills in very young children. This study examined whether these benefits persist into childhood. Data were examined for 48 children with CIs implanted under age 3 years, participating in a longitudinal study. All children wore hearing aids before receiving a CI, but upon receiving a first CI, 24 children had at least 1 year of bimodal stimulation (Bimodal group), and 24 children had only electric stimulation subsequent to implantation (CI-only group). Measures of phonemic awareness were obtained at second and fourth grades, along with measures of expressive vocabulary, working memory, and reading. Children in the Bimodal group generally performed better on measures of phonemic awareness, and that advantage was reflected in other language measures. Having even a brief period of time early in life with combined electric-acoustic input provides benefits to language learning into childhood, likely because of the enhancement in spectral representations provided.

Determination of Preservice Special Education Teachers' Views on Early Childhood Intervention

Science.gov (United States)

Baglama, Basak; Demirok, Mukaddes Sakalli

2016-01-01

Experiences in early childhood have a great influence on a child's physical and mental development. Early childhood interventions are widely accepted as an effective way to prevent learning difficulties and to promote healthy development for children with special needs. For this reason, it is important for teachers who will work with children with…

Parents' Working Hours: Adolescent Children's Views and Experiences

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Jane; Noden, Philip; Sarre, Sophie

2008-01-01

As dual-earner families have become the norm, the different kinds of "time" children spend with parents has become an important issue. We use the 2000 Time Use Survey to identify adolescent children spending time alone at home, and interviews with 50 children aged 14 and 15 to explore young people's experiences. We investigate their views on their…

Own and Others' Prior Experiences Influence Children's Imitation of Causal Acts.

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Williamson, Rebecca A; Meltzoff, Andrew N

2011-07-01

Young children learn from others' examples, and they do so selectively. We examine whether the efficacy of prior experiences influences children's imitation. Thirty-six-month-olds had initial experience on a causal learning task either by performing the task themselves or by watching an adult perform it. The nature of the experience was manipulated such that the actor had either an easy or a difficult experience completing the task. Next, a second adult demonstrated an innovative technique for completing it. Children who had a difficult first-person experience, and those who had witnessed another person having difficulty, were significantly more likely to adopt and imitate the adult's innovation than those who had or witnessed an easy experience. Children who observed another were also more likely to imitate than were those who had the initial experience themselves. Imitation is influenced by prior experience, both when it is obtained through one's own hands-on motor manipulation and when it derives from observing the acts of others.

Mothers and Children as Informants of Bullying Victimization: Results from an Epidemiological Cohort of Children

Science.gov (United States)

Shakoor, Sania; Jaffee, Sara R.; Andreou, Penelope; Bowes, Lucy; Ambler, Antony P.; Caspi, Avshalom; Moffitt, Terrie E.; Arseneault, Louise

2011-01-01

Stressful events early in life can affect children's mental health problems. Collecting valid and reliable information about children's bad experiences is important for research and clinical purposes. This study aimed to (1) investigate whether mothers and children provide valid reports of bullying victimization, (2) examine the inter-rater…

Using early standardized language measures to predict later language and early reading outcomes in children at high risk for language-learning impairments.

Science.gov (United States)

Flax, Judy F; Realpe-Bonilla, Teresa; Roesler, Cynthia; Choudhury, Naseem; Benasich, April

2009-01-01

The aim of the study was to examine the profiles of children with a family history (FH+) of language-learning impairments (LLI) and a control group of children with no reported family history of LLI (FH-) and identify which language constructs (receptive or expressive) and which ages (2 or 3 years) are related to expressive and receptive language abilities, phonological awareness, and reading abilities at ages 5 and 7 years. Participants included 99 children (40 FH+ and 59 FH-) who received a standardized neuropsychological battery at 2, 3, 5, and 7 years of age. As a group, the FH+ children had significantly lower scores on all language measures at 2 and 3 years, on selected language and phonological awareness measures at 5 years, and on phonological awareness and nonword reading at 7 years. Language comprehension at 3 years was the best predictor of later language and early reading for both groups. These results support past work suggesting that children with a positive family history of LLI are at greater risk for future language and reading problems through their preschool and early school-age years. Furthermore, language comprehension in the early years is a strong predictor of future language-learning status.

The Relationship between Motor, Imitation, and Early Social Communication Skills in Children with Autism.

Science.gov (United States)

Dadgar, Hooshang; Alaghband Rad, Javad; Soleymani, Zahra; Khorammi, Anahita; McCleery, Joe; Maroufizadeh, Saman

2017-10-01

Objective: Development of early social skills in children is a complex process. To understand this process, it is important to assess how strengths or weaknesses in other developmental domains may be affected by these skills. The present study aimed at investigating the association of motor skills and imitation ability with early social communication skills in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Method: In this study, 20 children with ASD aged 3 to 5 years (M = 4.05, SD = 0.55) participated. All children were diagnosed as ASD based on the DSM-V criteria by an independent child psychiatrist. Additionally, Autism Diagnostic interview-Revised was used for subsequent diagnostic confirmation. Children were tested with Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-2), the Motor Imitation Scale (MIS), and the Early Social Communication Scales (ESCS). All examinations were videotaped for subsequent scoring. The relationship between these skills was estimated by Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: A significant and strong correlation was obtained between TGMD total score and imitation total score (r =.776; p 0.05). A significant correlation was found between MIS and TGMD total scores with Initiating Joint Attention and Responding to Joint Attention (p≤0/025) as ESCS subscales. But MIS and TGMD total scores were not correlated with social interaction and responding to behavioral requests subscales. Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that indicated both imitation ability and motor function have an association with each other and with early social communication skills.

State of Early Child Development Research, Practice, and Policy for Most Vulnerable Children: A Global Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Young, Mary Eming

2017-01-01

Interventions to enhance development of children ages 0-6 have profound benefits for children, families, and societies. The benefits are well documented, recognized internationally, and supportive of policies and programs targeting early child development (ECD). Intervening in the early years is a critical first step toward alleviating poverty,…

The Development of Early Literacy in Steiner- and Standard-Educated Children

Science.gov (United States)

Cunningham, Anna J.; Carroll, Julia M.

2011-01-01

Background: There is evidence that children who are taught to read later in childhood (age 6-7) make faster progress in early literacy than those who are taught at a younger age (4-5 years), as is current practice in the UK. Aims: Steiner-educated children begin learning how to read at age 7, and have better reading-related skills at the onset of…

Dental caries experience among indigenous children and adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Gonçalves, Érica M; Cavalcanti, Laysa C; Firmino, Ramon T; Ribeiro, Gustavo L; Granville-Garcia, Ana F; Menezes, Valdenice A

2015-06-01

Investigations into the oral health status of indigenous populations are scarce. The aim of this study was to evaluate caries experience and associated factors among 342 indigenous children and adolescents aged 5-15 years of the Xukuru community in the municipality of Pesqueira, Brazil. A cross-sectional census study was carried out using the criteria of the World Health Organization to determine caries experience. Examinations were performed by two calibrated dentists and a questionnaire was administered to parents/caregivers addressing socio-demographic data, diet and oral hygiene habits. Logistic regression analysis were performed, with dmft and DMFT as the dependent variables (P Caries experience (dmft/DMFT) was high in both the primary and permanent dentition (75.6% and 62.9%, respectively). Mean dmft and DMFT indices were 3.11 and 2.21, respectively. Caries experience in the primary dentition was associated with children residing in villages far from urban areas (P = 0.016), while caries in the permanent dentition was associated with older children (P caries experience, which was associated with age and group of villages. Public policies are needed to improve the oral health status of this population.

Associations Between Early Family Meal Environment Quality and Later Well-Being in School-Age Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Harbec, Marie-Josée; Pagani, Linda S

Past research suggests a positive link between family meals and child and adolescent health. Although researchers have often relied on how often families eat together, this may not capture the complexity of the experience. Using a birth cohort, this study examines the prospective associations between the environmental quality of the family meal experience at age 6 years and child well-being at age 10. Participants are 1492 children of the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development. When children were age 6, parents reported on their typical family meal environment quality. At age 10, parents, teachers, and children themselves provided information on lifestyle habits, academic achievement, and social adjustment, respectively. The relationship between early family meal environment quality and later child outcomes was analyzed using a series of multivariate linear regression. Family meal environment quality at age 6 predicted higher levels of general fitness and lower levels of soft drink consumption, physical aggression, oppositional behavior, nonaggressive delinquency, and reactive aggression at age 10. These relationships were adjusted for child characteristics (sex, temperament problems and cognitive abilities, and baseline body mass index [BMI]) and family characteristics (family configuration and functioning, maternal education, depression, and BMI). From a population-health perspective, our findings suggest that family meals have long-term influences on children's biopsychosocial well-being. At a time when family meal frequency is on a natural decline in the population, this environmental characteristic can become a target of home-based interventions and could be featured in information campaigns that aim to optimize child development.

Falling Behind? Children's Early Grade Retention after Paternal Incarceration

Science.gov (United States)

Turney, Kristin; Haskins, Anna R.

2014-01-01

A growing literature documents the myriad penalties for children of incarcerated fathers, but relatively little is known about how paternal incarceration contributes to educational outcomes in early and middle childhood. In this article, we use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to provide the first estimates of the…

Relations of Early Motor Skills on Age and Socialization, Communication, and Daily Living in Young Children With Developmental Disabilities.

Science.gov (United States)

MacDonald, Megan; Ross, Samantha; McIntyre, Laura Lee; Tepfer, Amanda

2017-04-01

Young children with developmental disabilities experience known deficits in salient child behaviors, such as social behaviors, communication, and aspects of daily living, behaviors that generally improve with chronological age. The purpose of this study was to examine the mediating effects of motor skills on relations of age and salient child behaviors in a group of young children with developmental disabilities, thus tapping into the potential influences of motor skills in the development of salient child behaviors. One hundred thirteen young children with developmental disabilities participated in this study. Independent mediation analysis, with gender as a moderator between the mediating and outcome variable, indicated that motor skills meditated relations between age and socialization, communication, and daily living skills in young male children with developmental disabilities, but not female participants. Findings suggest motor skill content needs to be considered in combination with other child behaviors commonly focused on in early intervention.

Beyond "Witnessing": Children's Experiences of Coercive Control in Domestic Violence and Abuse.

Science.gov (United States)

Callaghan, Jane E M; Alexander, Joanne H; Sixsmith, Judith; Fellin, Lisa Chiara

2015-12-10

Children's experiences and voices are underrepresented in academic literature and professional practice around domestic violence and abuse. The project "Understanding Agency and Resistance Strategies" (UNARS) addresses this absence, through direct engagement with children. We present an analysis from interviews with 21 children in the United Kingdom (12 girls and 9 boys, aged 8-18 years), about their experiences of domestic violence and abuse, and their responses to this violence. These interviews were analyzed using interpretive interactionism. Three themes from this analysis are presented: (a) "Children's experiences of abusive control," which explores children's awareness of controlling behavior by the adult perpetrator, their experience of that control, and its impact on them; (b) "Constraint," which explores how children experience the constraint associated with coercive control in situations of domestic violence; and (c) "Children as agents," which explores children's strategies for managing controlling behavior in their home and in family relationships. The article argues that, in situations where violence and abuse occur between adult intimate partners, children are significantly affected, and can be reasonably described as victims of abusive control. Recognizing children as direct victims of domestic violence and abuse would produce significant changes in the way professionals respond to them, by (a) recognizing children's experience of the impact of domestic violence and abuse; (b) recognizing children's agency, undermining the perception of them as passive "witnesses" or "collateral damage" in adult abusive encounters; and (c) strengthening professional responses to them as direct victims, not as passive witnesses to violence. © The Author(s) 2015.

[Effects of an early psychological intervention on parents of children with cleft lip/palate].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yangyang; Xin, Yanhua; Ma, Jian; Xin, Xiuhong; Shi, Bing; Huang, Yongqing

2013-08-01

To provide basis for effects of an early psychological intervention on parents of children with cleft lip/palate, and investigate the effects of an early psychological intervention to them. One self-administered questionnaire (SCL-90) was applied in 102 parents of children with cleft lip/palate, compared to 126 parents of healthy individuals on the day of admission. They were given the psychological intervention during hospitalization and 3 months after discharge. The questionnaire (SCL-90) was again applied to them on the day of discharge and 3 months after discharge. Using the questionnaire (SCL-90), the answer scores of somatization, obsessive-compulsive, depression and anxiety etc. were significantly higher than those of the control group (P 0.05). There were no statistical differences on the day of admission and on the day of discharge (P > 0.05), but there were statistical difference on the day of admission and 3 months after discharge (P palate is poor. It's important and greatly significant that we conduct early psychological intervention to parents of children with cleft lip/palate and to the children's psychosomatic health.

Demographic Factors Associated with the Early Identification of Children with Special Needs

Science.gov (United States)

Guarino, Cassandra M.; Buddin, Richard; Pham, Chung; Cho, Michelle

2010-01-01

Early and accurate identification of special needs, coupled with an appropriate course of treatment and educational plan, is important to academic progress, in particular for economically disadvantaged children with fewer family resources to catch up if they fall behind. A first step in improving mechanisms to promote early identification is to…

[Concepts of pain in preschoolers and children of early school age and their parents after painful interventions during hospitalization].

Science.gov (United States)

Kloos, H D

1999-06-01

Subject of the present study are individual pain concepts of preschoolers and children of early school age. Their parents' concepts of pain were considered as well. In a qualitative study interviews were performed with 9 children and their parents in a children's hospital to investigate their individual concepts of pain, their methods of pain assessment, and self-initiated strategies of pain alleviation. Already 4-6 year old children are able to remember painful experiences and to communicate about pain. Strategies of pain alleviation used by children are distraction methods as well as methods of physical relief. The child's parents play an important role concerning pain assessment and coping. The parents' presence is also very important to communicate the child's needs to nurses. Parents want nurses to consider physiological as well as behavioral aspects in the assessment of the child's pain. Besides, they expect nurses to have competences concerning prevention, assessment and alleviation of pain. To perform a trustful relationship to children and parents, more intensified counselling by nurses seems necessary.

Children's experiences of dialysis: a systematic review of qualitative studies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tjaden, Lidwien; Tong, Allison; Henning, Paul; Groothoff, Jaap; Craig, Jonathan C.

2012-01-01

Objective To describe the experiences and perspectives of children and adolescents on dialysis. Design A systematic review of qualitative studies was conducted that explored the experiences of children on dialysis. Electronic databases and reference lists of relevant articles were searched to

Early Vocabulary in Relation to Gender, Bilingualism, Type, and Duration of Childcare.

Science.gov (United States)

Stolarova, M; Brielmann, A A; Wolf, C; Rinker, T; Burke, T; Baayen, H

2016-01-01

This study investigates the predictive value of child-related and environmental characteristics for early lexical development. The German productive vocabulary of 51 2-year-olds (27 girls), assessed via parental report, was analyzed taking children's gender, the type of early care they experienced, and their mono- versus bilingual language composition into consideration. The children were from an educationally homogeneous group of families and state-regulated daycare facilities with high structural quality. All investigated subgroups exhibited German vocabulary size within the expected normative range. Gender differences in vocabulary composition, but not in size, were observed. There were no general differences in vocabulary size or composition between the 2 care groups. An interaction between the predictors gender and care arrangement showed that girls without regular daycare experience before the age of 2 years had a somewhat larger vocabulary than all other investigated subgroups of children. The vocabulary size of the 2-year-old children in daycare correlated positively with the duration of their daycare experience prior to testing. The small subgroup of bilingual children investigated exhibited slightly lower but still normative German expressive vocabulary size and a different vocabulary composition compared to the monolingual children. This study expands current knowledge about relevant predictors of early vocabulary. It shows that in the absence of educational disadvantages the duration of early daycare experience of high structural quality is positively associated with vocabulary size but also points to the fact that environmental characteristics, such as type of care, might affect boys' and girls' early vocabulary in different ways.

Combating Violence against Children: Jordanian Pre-Service Early Childhood Teachers' Perceptions towards Child Abuse and Neglect

Science.gov (United States)

Fayez, Merfat; Takash, Hanan Mahmoud; Al-Zboon, Eman Khleif

2014-01-01

Early childhood teachers play major roles in defying child abuse and neglect and alleviating its detrimental effects on young children. Therefore, this study aimed at exploring how Jordanian pre-service early childhood teachers define and perceive violence against children and their role in child abuse detection and prevention. Furthermore, the…

Developmental trajectories of preschool early literacy skills: a comparison of language-minority and monolingual-English children.

Science.gov (United States)

Lonigan, Christopher J; Farver, Joann M; Nakamoto, Jonathan; Eppe, Stefanie

2013-10-01

This study utilized latent growth-curve analyses to determine if the early literacy skills of children who were Spanish-speaking language-minority (LM) followed a similar quantitative growth profile over a preschool year as that of a group of children from a comparable socioeconomic (SES) background but who were not LM. Participants, who ranged in age from 37 to 60 months (M = 50.73; SD = 5.04), included 540 Spanish-speaking LM and 408 non-LM children (47% girls) who were enrolled in 30 Head Start classrooms. Scores on a measure of oral language and measures of code-related skills (i.e., phonological awareness, print knowledge) were lower for LM children than for non-LM children. LM children experienced significantly faster growth in oral language skills than did non-LM children. Growth for print knowledge and blending was similar for LM and non-LM children, whereas LM children experienced slightly less growth than non-LM children on elision. The inclusion of child (i.e., initial language scores, age, nonverbal cognitive ability) and family (i.e., maternal/paternal education, 2-parent household, father employment) variables eliminated initial differences between LM and non-LM children on the code-related variables, and the effect was due primarily to children's initial oral language skills. These results indicate that the early risk for reading-related problems experienced by Spanish-speaking LM children is due both to low SES and to their LM status, and they highlight the critical need for the development, evaluation, and deployment of early instructional programs for LM children with limited English oral language proficiency.

[Basics of early intervention in children with autism spectrum disorders].

Science.gov (United States)

Zalaquett, Daniela F; Schönstedt, Marianne G; Angeli, Milagros; Herrrera, Claudia C; Moyano, Andrea C

2015-01-01

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are characterized by impairments in communication and social interaction, as well as restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior. They have a prevalence of 0.6% in the general population, although there are no national statistics. Even though their evolution is variable, it has been observed that early intervention is an important factor determining prognosis. The aim of this study is to update concepts regarding the current available evidence on the importance of early intervention. After analyzing the collected information, the importance of early intervention programs for children with ASD is confirmed, as well as the role of pediatricians and other health professionals in the early detection of these disorders. Copyright © 2015. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U.

[Quality of life in visual impaired children treated for Early Visual Stimulation].

Science.gov (United States)

Messa, Alcione Aparecida; Nakanami, Célia Regina; Lopes, Marcia Caires Bestilleiro

2012-01-01

To evaluate the quality of life in visually impaired children followed in the Early Visual Stimulation Ambulatory of Unifesp in two moments, before and after rehabilitational intervention of multiprofessional team. A CVFQ quality of life questionnaire was used. This instrument has a version for less than three years old children and another one for children older than three years (three to seven years) divided in six subscales: General health, General vision health, Competence, Personality, Family impact and Treatment. The correlation between the subscales on two moments was significant. There was a statistically significant difference in general vision health (p=0,029) and other important differences obtained in general health, family impact and quality of life general score. The questionnaire showed to be effective in order to measure the quality of life related to vision on families followed on this ambulatory. The multidisciplinary interventions provided visual function and familiar quality of life improvement. The quality of life related to vision in children followed in Early Visual Stimulation Ambulatory of Unifesp showed a significant improvement on general vision health.

Early Activation of Children Operated on under Extracorporeal Circulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. R. Dudov

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: to study the safety and clinical and economic efficiency of early activation of children operated on under extracorporeal circulation (EC. Subjects and methods. Sixty-eight children aged 4—14 years (8.6±0.4 years operated on under EC for congenital heart diseases (CHD were examined. In accordance with the time of switching to spontaneous respiration and tracheal extubation, 2 groups were identified: 1 those who received postoperative artificial ventilation (AV for 2.9±0.2 hours (a study group; 2 those who had AV for 8.7±0.7 hours (a control group. Both groups did not differ in age, cardiac diseases, their severity, anthropometric characteristics, EC duration, aortic ligation time, and abnormality pattern. In the study group, anesthesia was maintained with fentanyl (5.3±0.1 ^g/kg/hr, diazepam (0.15±0.01 mg/kg/hr, and inhaled ftorotan or enflurane. Diazepam was discontinued in the postperfusion period. The control group received fentanyl (7.6±0.4 ^Bg/kg/hr, diazepam (0.3±0.02 mg/kg/hr, droperidol (0.4±0.04 mg/kg/hr, and/or sodium oxybutyrate (81±5 mg/kg/hr. Myoplegia was provided by pancuronium or pipecuronium that was continuously infused until EC was completed in Group 1 and intermittently injected until the end of surgery in Group 2. Results. There were no indications for tracheal reintubation in both groups of patients. The early postoperative period was uncomplicated in 97.2% of the children in the study group and in 28.1% in the control group (p<0.05. The incidence of pulmonary complications was 2.8 and 46.9%, respectively (p<0.05. In the children from Groups 1 and 2, the duration of a resuscita-tive period was 44.2±1.7 and 77.3±4.9 hours, respectively (p<0.05, and that of the whole postoperative period was 12.6±0.3 and 18.0±1.1 days (p<0.05. In the study group, the total final expenditures, including the cost of anesthesia and treatment for postoperative complications, decreased by 127.5% as compared to the control

An experience of science theatre: Earth Science for children

Science.gov (United States)

Musacchio, Gemma; Lanza, Tiziana; D'Addezio, Giuliana

2015-04-01

The present paper describes an experience of science theatre addressed to children of primary and secondary school, with the main purpose of explaining the Earth interior while raising awareness about natural hazard. We conducted the experience with the help of a theatrical company specialized in shows for children. Several performances have been reiterated in different context, giving us the opportunity of conducting a preliminary survey with public of different ages, even if the show was conceived for children. Results suggest that science theatre while relying on creativity and emotional learning in transmitting knowledge about the Earth and its hazard has the potential to induce in children a positive attitude towards the risks

Evaluation and Referral of Children With Signs of Early Puberty.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaplowitz, Paul; Bloch, Clifford

2016-01-01

Concerns about possible early pubertal development are a common cause for referral to pediatric medical subspecialists. Several recent studies have suggested that onset of breast and/or pubic hair development may be occurring earlier than in the past. Although there is a chance of finding pathology in girls with signs of puberty before 8 years of age and in boys before 9 years of age, the vast majority of these children with signs of apparent puberty have variations of normal growth and physical development and do not require laboratory testing, bone age radiographs, or intervention. The most common of these signs of early puberty are premature adrenarche (early onset of pubic hair and/or body odor), premature thelarche (nonprogressive breast development, usually occurring before 2 years of age), and lipomastia, in which girls have apparent breast development which, on careful palpation, is determined to be adipose tissue. Indicators that the signs of sexual maturation may represent true, central precocious puberty include progressive breast development over a 4- to 6-month period of observation or progressive penis and testicular enlargement, especially if accompanied by rapid linear growth. Children exhibiting these true indicators of early puberty need prompt evaluation by the appropriate pediatric medical subspecialist. Therapy with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist may be indicated, as discussed in this report. Copyright © 2016 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Early psychological intervention in accidentally injured children ages 2–16: a randomized controlled trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Didier N. Kramer

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Background: Road traffic accidents (RTA and burns are frequent events in children. Although many children recover spontaneously, a considerable number develop long-term psychological sequelae. Evidence on early psychological interventions to prevent such long-term problems is still scarce for school-age children and completely lacking for pre-school children. Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of an early two-session cognitive-behavioral intervention in 108 children ages 2–16 after RTAs and burns. Methods: Children assessed at risk for the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD were randomly assigned to either a control group offered treatment as usual or an intervention group. Primary outcomes were PTSD, behavioral problems, and depression symptoms. Baseline and blinded 3- and 6-month follow-up assessments were conducted. Results: In pre-school children, no intervention effects were found. School-age children in the intervention group exhibited significantly fewer internalizing problems at 3-month follow-up relative to controls and a borderline significant time-by-group effect for PTSD intrusion symptoms was found (p=0.06. Conclusions: This is the first study examining the efficacy of an indicated, early psychological intervention among both school-age and pre-school-age children. Because the intervention was ineffective for young children, no evidence-based practice can currently be suggested. Given that parents of pre-school children perceived the intervention as helpful, brief counseling of parents in terms of psychoeducation and training in coping skills still should be provided by clinicians, despite the current lack of evidence. To prevent trauma-related disorders in school-age children, the intervention might be used in a step-wise manner, where only children at risk for long-term psychological maladjustment are provided with psychological support.

Thymic Output and CD4 T-Cell Reconstitution in HIV-Infected Children on Early and Interrupted Antiretroviral Treatment: Evidence from the Children with HIV Early Antiretroviral Therapy Trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joanna Lewis

2017-09-01

Full Text Available ObjectivesEarly treatment of HIV-infected children and adults is important for optimal immune reconstitution. Infants’ immune systems are more plastic and dynamic than older children’s or adults’, and deserve particular attention. This study aimed to understand the response of the HIV-infected infant immune system to early antiretroviral therapy (ART and planned ART interruption and restart.MethodsData from HIV-infected children enrolled the CHER trial, starting ART aged between 6 and 12 weeks, were used to explore the effect of ART on immune reconstitution. We used linear and non-linear regression and mixed-effects models to describe children’s CD4 trajectories and to identify predictors of CD4 count during early and interrupted ART.ResultsEarly treatment arrested the decline in CD4 count but did not fully restore it to the levels observed in HIV-uninfected children. Treatment interruption at 40 or 96 weeks resulted in a rapid decline in CD4 T-cells, which on retreatment returned to levels observed before interruption. Naïve CD4 T-cell count was an important determinant of overall CD4 levels. A strong correlation was observed between thymic output and the stable CD4 count both before and after treatment interruption.ConclusionEarly identification and treatment of HIV-infected infants is important to stabilize CD4 counts at the highest levels possible. Once stabilized, children’s CD4 counts appear resilient, with good potential for recovery following treatment interruption. The naïve T-cell pool and thymic production of naive cells are key determinants of children’s CD4 levels.

Multiracial Children and Poverty: Evidence from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study of Kindergartners

Science.gov (United States)

Bratter, Jenifer; Kimbro, Rachel Tolbert

2013-01-01

Despite the recent growth in multiracial children among American children, we know very little about their well-being. Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class (N?=?17,706), we evaluated the likelihood of living in poverty and near poverty for multiracial and monoracial children. Most multiracial groups have poverty or near…

A longitudinal study of lexical and grammar development in deaf Italian children provided with early cochlear implantation.

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Chilosi, Anna Maria; Comparini, Alessandro; Scusa, Maria Flora; Orazini, Laura; Forli, Francesca; Cipriani, Paola; Berrettini, Stefano

2013-01-01

A growing number of studies on deaf children with cochlear implant (CI) document a significant improvement in receptive and expressive language skills after implantation, even if they show language delay when compared with normal-hearing peers. Data on language acquisition in CI Italian children are still scarce and limited to only certain aspects of language. The purpose of this study is to prospectively describe the trajectories of language development in early CI Italian children, with particular attention to the transition from first words to combinatorial speech and to acquisition of complex grammar in a language with rich morphology, such as Italian. Six children, with profound prelingual deafness, provided with CI, between 16 and 24 months of age were prospectively assessed and followed over a mean period of up to 34.8 months postimplant. During follow-up, each child received between four to five individual language evaluations through a combination of indirect procedures (parent reports of early lexical and grammar development) and direct ones (administration of standardized receptive and expressive language tests with Italian norms and collection of spontaneous language samples). In relation to chronological age, the acquisition of expressive vocabulary was delayed. However, considering the duration of hearing experience, most CI participants showed an earlier start and faster growth of expressive rather than receptive vocabulary in comparison with typically developing children. This quite atypical result persisted right up until the end of the follow-up. The acquisition of expressive grammar was delayed relative to chronological age, though all but one CI participant achieved the expected grammar level after approximately 3 years of CI use. In addition, the rate of grammar acquisition was not homogeneous during development, showing two different paces: one comparable with normal hearing in the transition from holophrastic to primitive combinatorial speech

How Sensory Experiences of Children With and Without Autism Affect Family Occupations

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Bagby, Molly Shields; Dickie, Virginia A.; Baranek, Grace T.

2012-01-01

We used a grounded theory approach to data analysis to discover what effect, if any, children's sensory experiences have on family occupations. We chose this approach because the existing literature does not provide a theory to account for the effect of children's sensory experiences on family occupations. Parents of six children who were typically developing and six children who had autism were interviewed. We analyzed the data using open, axial, and selective coding techniques. Children's sensory experiences affect family occupations in three ways: (1) what a family chooses to do or not do; (2) how the family prepares; and (3) the extent to which experiences, meaning, and feelings are shared. PMID:22389942

Improving lifetime trajectories for vulnerable young children and families living with significant stress and social disadvantage: the early years education program randomised controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Jordan, Brigid; Tseng, Yi-Ping; Coombs, Nichola; Kennedy, Anne; Borland, Jeff

2014-09-17

Children who experience neglect and abuse are likely to have impaired brain development and entrenched learning deficiencies. Early years interventions such as intensive education and care for these children are known to have the potential to increase their human capital. The Early Years Education Program (EYEP) is a new program offered by the Children's Protection Society (CPS) in Melbourne, Australia. EYEP is targeted at the needs of children who have been or are at risk of being abused or neglected. It has the dual focus of seeking to address the consequences of abuse and neglect on children's brain development and redressing their learning deficiencies. Our objective is to determine whether EYEP can improve school readiness by conducting a randomised controlled trial (RCT) of its impacts. The RCT is being conducted with 90 participants (45 intervention and 45 control). Eligible children must be aged under three years and assessed as having two or more risk factors as defined in the Department of Human Services Best Interest Case Practice Model. The intervention group participate for three years (or until school entry) in EYEP. The trial does not provide any early years education or care to the control group. Data are being collected on outcome measures for participants in EYEP and the control group at the baseline, at yearly intervals for three years, and six months after commencing the first year of school. Outcome measures encompass children's health and development, academic ability and emotional and behavioural regulation; and quality of parenting practices. The study will evaluate the impact of EYEP on these outcomes, and undertake a benefit-cost analysis of the program. Findings from the study have the potential to influence the quality of care and education for the large population of children in Australia who are at risk of abuse and neglect, as well as for children in mainstream childcare. The study will provide up-to-date evidence on the impact of an

Gender comparisons in children with ASD entering early intervention.

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Fulton, Alexandra M; Paynter, Jessica M; Trembath, David

2017-09-01

Males are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) approximately four times as often as females. This has led to interest in recent years of potential under-diagnosis of females, as well as negative consequences for females with ASD due to under-identification. A number of potential explanations for gender bias in diagnosis are discussed including that females and males may present differently despite showing the same core symptoms. Previous research has shown inconsistent findings in comparisons between genders in young children with ASD for whom early intervention is vital. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate the social, communication, and cognitive functioning, as well as level of ASD symptoms, in a cohort of children who presented for early intervention to inform understanding of gender differences in this population, as well as to inform understanding of the mechanisms by which gender bias may occur. Participants included 254 children (42 females) aged 29-74 months who completed measures of cognition, communication skills, adaptive behaviour, and ASD symptoms on entry to early intervention. Consistent with hypotheses, no significant gender differences were found both overall, and when split by functioning level. However, a similar ratio of males and females was found in both high- and low-functioning groups contrary to predictions. These results are consistent with some of the previous research that suggests gender differences may not be apparent in clinical samples at this young age. We highlight a need for further research that may use universal screening or longitudinal methods to understand the trajectory of development for females with ASD specifically. Such research could better inform timely and tailored intervention from the preschool years onwards. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bilingualism Alters Children's Frontal Lobe Functioning for Attentional Control

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Arredondo, Maria M.; Hu, Xiao-Su; Satterfield, Teresa; Kovelman, Ioulia

2017-01-01

Bilingualism is a typical linguistic experience, yet relatively little is known about its impact on children's cognitive and brain development. Theories of bilingualism suggest early dual-language acquisition can improve children's cognitive abilities, specifically those relying on frontal lobe functioning. While behavioral findings present much conflicting evidence, little is known about its effects on children's frontal lobe development. Using functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS), the findings suggest that Spanish-English bilingual children (n=13, ages 7-13) had greater activation in left prefrontal cortex during a non-verbal attentional control task relative to age-matched English monolinguals. In contrast, monolinguals (n=14) showed greater right prefrontal activation than bilinguals. The present findings suggest early bilingualism yields significant changes to the functional organization of children's prefrontal cortex for attentional control and carry implications for understanding how early life experiences impact cognition and brain development. PMID:26743118

Evaluating the Structure of Early English Literacy Skills in Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Webb, Mi-Young; Lederberg, Amy R; Branum-Martin, Lee; McDonald Connor, Carol

2015-10-01

Better understanding the mechanisms underlying developing literacy has promoted the development of more effective reading interventions for typically developing children. Such knowledge may facilitate effective instruction of deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children. Hence, the current study examined the multivariate associations among phonological awareness, alphabetic knowledge, word reading, and vocabulary skills in DHH children who have auditory access to speech. One hundred and sixty-seven DHH children (M age = 60.43 months) were assessed with a battery of early literacy measures. Forty-six percent used at least 1 cochlear implant; 54% were fitted with hearing aids. About a fourth of the sample was acquiring both spoken English and sign. Scores on standardized tests of phonological awareness and vocabulary averaged at least 1 standard deviation (SD) below the mean of the hearing norming sample. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that DHH children's early literacy skills were best characterized by a complex 3-factor model in which phonological awareness, alphabetic knowledge, and vocabulary formed 3 separate, but highly correlated constructs, with letter-sound knowledge and word reading skills relating to both phonological awareness and alphabetic knowledge. This supports the hypothesis that early reading of DHH children with functional hearing is qualitatively similar to that of hearing children. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Sibling conflict in middle childhood predicts children's adjustment in early adolescence.

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Stocker, Clare M; Burwell, Rebecca A; Briggs, Megan L

2002-03-01

Associations between sibling conflict in middle childhood and psychological adjustment in early adolescence were studied in a sample of 80 boys and 56 girls. Parents and children provided self-report data about family relationships and children's adjustment. Parents' hostility to children was assessed from videotaped interactions. Results showed that sibling conflict at Time 1 predicted increases in children's anxiety, depressed mood, and delinquent behavior 2 years later. Moreover, earlier sibling conflict at Time 1 accounted for unique variance in young adolescents' Time 2 anxiety, depressed mood, and delinquent behavior above and beyond the variance explained by earlier maternal hostility and marital conflict. Children's adjustment at Time 1 did not predict sibling conflict at Time 2. Results highlight the unique significance of the earlier sibling relationship for young adolescents' psychological adjustment.

At-Risk Children and Otitis Media with Effusion: Management Issues for the Early Childhood Special Educator.

Science.gov (United States)

Medley, Lynn P.; And Others

1995-01-01

This article describes the implications of otitis media with effusion (OME) for children with disabilities who are already at risk for speech, language, and learning difficulties. The results of a survey of 189 early childhood special educators on management of young children with OME and the role of the early childhood special educator are…

Observing and Assessing Young Children's Digital Play in the Early Years: Using the Digital Play Framework

Science.gov (United States)

Edwards, Susan; Bird, Jo

2017-01-01

Early childhood education settings are characterized by the use of play-based learning and the assessment of children's play by teachers to promote further learning. A problem with technology use in early childhood settings is that little is known about how children learn to use technologies through play. This lack of knowledge makes it difficult…

Movement opportunities for children in early childhood education and care

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Munksgaard, Kristian Fahnøe

(Sundhedsstyrelsen, 2016). Therefor the aim of the study was to examine relevant factors for teachers working in early childhood education and care to consider, when working didactically with enhancing movement opportunities for children. Method: The study was conducted as a Realist Review (Pawson, Greenhalgh...... for preschool children. Relevant factors for preschool teachers to consider are parent involvement in movement activities, being a good role model, providing good physical environments for movement, applying policies and strategies that support movement, assuring sufficient teacher competencies in movement...

Early relations between language development and the quality of mother-child interaction in very-low-birth-weight children.

Science.gov (United States)

Stolt, S; Korja, R; Matomäki, J; Lapinleimu, H; Haataja, L; Lehtonen, L

2014-05-01

It is not clearly understood how the quality of early mother-child interaction influences language development in very-low-birth-weight children (VLBW). We aim to analyze associations between early language and the quality of mother-child interaction, and, the predictive value of the features of early mother-child interaction on language development at 24 months of corrected age in VLBW children. A longitudinal prospective follow-up study design was used. The participants were 28 VLBW children and 34 full-term controls. Language development was measured using different methods at 6, 12 and at 24 months of age. The quality of mother-child interaction was assessed using PC-ERA method at 6 and at 12 months of age. Associations between the features of early interaction and language development were different in the groups of VLBW and full-term children. There were no significant correlations between the features of mother-child interaction and language skills when measured at the same age in the VLBW group. Significant longitudinal correlations were detected in the VLBW group especially if the quality of early interactions was measured at six months and language skills at 2 years of age. However, when the predictive value of the features of early interactions for later poor language performance was analyzed separately, the features of early interaction predicted language skills in the VLBW group only weakly. The biological factors may influence on the language development more in the VLBW children than in the full-term children. The results also underline the role of maternal and dyadic factors in early interactions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Early Experiments

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Garvey, Gerald

2013-04-01

Stuart Freedman obtained his PhD at Berkley with an experimental thesis providing very strong evidence against theories requiring local hidden variables. He then came to Princeton in 1972 and began collaboration on a search for second-class currents. These measurements are quite difficult as the effects are the order of 1%, demonstrating Freedman's drive to take on hard but important experiments. After carrying out some relatively standard nuclear physics measurements he moved on to Stanford in 1976. There, Freedman was involved in identifying measurements sensitive to the existence of light axions. He also carried out searches for various exotica that might be produced from cosmic rays or the SLAC beam stop. During this time he was collaborating with us at Argonne investigating nuclear parity violation and time-like axial beta decay. In 1982 Freedman came to Argonne where he worked on fundamental issues in neutron beta decay. He also initiated what was to become one of his trademarks, demonstrating that surprising peaks in the e^+-e^- spectrum observed in very heavy ion collisions were spurious. He further launched his first neutrino oscillation experiment. This period of early research was marked by a remarkable diversity of subject matter and approach.

Scholastic Attainment Following Severe Early Institutional Deprivation: A Study of Children Adopted from Romania

Science.gov (United States)

Beckett, Celia; Maughan, Barbara; Rutter, Michael; Castle, Jenny; Colvert, Emma; Groothues, Christine; Hawkins, Amanda; Kreppner, Jana; O'Connor, Thomas G.; Stevens, Suzanne; Sonuga-Barke, Edmund J. S.

2007-01-01

The relationship between severe early institutional deprivation and scholastic attainment at age 11 in 127 children (68 girls and 59 boys) adopted from institutions in Romania was compared to the attainment of 49 children (17 girls and 32 boys) adopted within the UK from a non-institutional background. Overall, children adopted from Romania had…

Early identification: Language skills and social functioning in deaf and hard of hearing preschool children.

Science.gov (United States)

Netten, Anouk P; Rieffe, Carolien; Theunissen, Stephanie C P M; Soede, Wim; Dirks, Evelien; Korver, Anna M H; Konings, Saskia; Oudesluys-Murphy, Anne Marie; Dekker, Friedo W; Frijns, Johan H M

2015-12-01

Permanent childhood hearing impairment often results in speech and language problems that are already apparent in early childhood. Past studies show a clear link between language skills and the child's social-emotional functioning. The aim of this study was to examine the level of language and communication skills after the introduction of early identification services and their relation with social functioning and behavioral problems in deaf and hard of hearing children. Nationwide cross-sectional observation of a cohort of 85 early identified deaf and hard of hearing preschool children (aged 30-66 months). Parents reported on their child's communicative abilities (MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory III), social functioning and appearance of behavioral problems (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire). Receptive and expressive language skills were measured using the Reynell Developmental Language Scale and the Schlichting Expressive Language Test, derived from the child's medical records. Language and communicative abilities of early identified deaf and hard of hearing children are not on a par with hearing peers. Compared to normative scores from hearing children, parents of deaf and hard of hearing children reported lower social functioning and more behavioral problems. Higher communicative abilities were related to better social functioning and less behavioral problems. No relation was found between the degree of hearing loss, age at amplification, uni- or bilateral amplification, mode of communication and social functioning and behavioral problems. These results suggest that improving the communicative abilities of deaf and hard of hearing children could improve their social-emotional functioning. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of Emotional Needs on Participation of Children Aged 4-6 with Learning Disabilities in Early Childhood Centers in Starehe Division, Nairobi County, Kenya

Science.gov (United States)

Lilian, Ganira Khavugwi; Odundo, Paul Amolo; Ngaruiya, Boniface

2015-01-01

During early childhood, the foundations for emotional, social and spiritual well being of children with learning disabilities (CWLD) are laid. The CWLD emotional well being is influenced by all the experiences they go through. It is essential to provide warm, trusting relationships, predictable and safe environment, affirmation and respect for all…

Pyrosequencing analysis of oral microbiota in children with severe early childhood dental caries.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Wen; Zhang, Jie; Chen, Hui

2013-11-01

Severe early childhood caries are a prevalent public health problem among preschool children throughout the world. However, little is known about the microbiota found in association with severe early childhood caries. Our study aimed to explore the bacterial microbiota of dental plaques to study the etiology of severe early childhood caries through pyrosequencing analysis based on 16S rRNA gene V1-V3 hypervariable regions. Forty participants were enrolled in the study, and we obtained twenty samples of supragingival plaque from caries-free subjects and twenty samples from subjects with severe early childhood caries. A total of 175,918 reads met the quality control standards, and the bacteria found belonged to fourteen phyla and sixty-three genera. Our results show the overall structure and microbial composition of oral bacterial communities, and they suggest that these bacteria may present a core microbiome in the dental plaque microbiota. Three genera, Streptococcus, Granulicatella, and Actinomyces, were increased significantly in children with severe dental cavities. These data may facilitate improvements in the prevention and treatment of severe early childhood caries.

Nurses' emotional experience of caring for children with burns.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Hilliard, Carol

2012-02-01

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of this phenomenological study was to explore the emotions experienced by children\\'s nurses when caring for children with burns, in addition to ascertaining how the nurses dealt with these emotions. BACKGROUND: The nature of nursing practice is such that it inevitably generates some form of emotional response in nurses. The literature reveals that the manner nurses deal with their emotional experiences can impact on their nursing care. DESIGN: The study used Husserlian phenomenology to explore the emotional experiences of eight purposively selected children\\'s nurses who have worked on the burns unit of an Irish paediatric hospital. METHODS: Data were collected using in-depth, unstructured interviews and analysed using Colaizzi\\'s seven stage framework. RESULTS: The phenomenon of participants\\' emotional experiences is captured in four themes: (1) caring for children with burns, (2) supporting parents, (3) sustaining nurses\\' emotional well-being, and (4) learning to be a burns nurse. Nursing children with burns generated a myriad of emotions for participants. Burns dressing-changes, managing burn-related pain, supporting parents and the impact of busy workloads on the emotional care of children and their parents emerged as the most emotionally challenging aspects of participants\\' role. Participants recognised the need to manage their emotional responses and spoke of the benefits of a supportive nursing team. CONCLUSIONS: The findings offer insights into both the rewarding and challenging aspects of nursing children with burns. Nurses in this environment must be supported to recognise and manage their emotional responses to their work. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Helping nurses to manage the emotional consequences of their work will help to sustain their emotional well-being, enhance the care received by children and also enable nurses to support parents in their role as partners in care.

Executive Function in Very Preterm Children at Early School Age

NARCIS (Netherlands)

C.S.H. Aarnoudse-Moens (Cornelieke); D.P. Smidts (Diana); J. Oosterlaan (Jaap); H.J. Duivenvoorden (Hugo); N. Weisglas-Kuperus (Nynke)

2009-01-01

textabstractWe examined whether very preterm (≤30 weeks gestation) children at early school age have impairments in executive function (EF) independent of IQ and processing speed, and whether demographic and neonatal risk factors were associated with EF impairments. A consecutive sample of 50

Investing in Young Children: A Fact Sheet on Early Care and Education Participation, Access, and Quality

Science.gov (United States)

Schmit, Stephanie; Matthews, Hannah; Smith, Sheila; Robbins, Taylor

2013-01-01

Across the U.S., large numbers of young children are affected by one or more risk factors that have been linked to academic failure and poor health. High quality early care and education can play a critical role in promoting young children's early learning and success in life, while also supporting families' economic security. Young…

The influence of children's pain memories on subsequent pain experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Noel, Melanie; Chambers, Christine T; McGrath, Patrick J; Klein, Raymond M; Stewart, Sherry H

2012-08-01

Healthy children are often required to repeatedly undergo painful medical procedures (eg, immunizations). Although memory is often implicated in children's reactions to future pain, there is a dearth of research directly examining the relationship between the 2. The current study investigated the influence of children's memories for a novel pain stimulus on their subsequent pain experience. One hundred ten healthy children (60 boys) between the ages of 8 and 12 years completed a laboratory pain task and provided pain ratings. Two weeks later, children provided pain ratings based on their memories as well as their expectancies about future pain. One month following the initial laboratory visit, children again completed the pain task and provided pain ratings. Results showed that children's memory of pain intensity was a better predictor of subsequent pain reporting than their actual initial reporting of pain intensity, and mediated the relationship between initial and subsequent pain reporting. Children who had negatively estimated pain memories developed expectations of greater pain prior to a subsequent pain experience and showed greater increases in pain ratings over time than children who had accurate or positively estimated pain memories. These findings highlight the influence of pain memories on healthy children's expectations of future pain and subsequent pain experiences and extend predictive models of subsequent pain reporting. Copyright © 2012 International Association for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Do Children's Executive Functions Account for Associations between Early Autonomy-Supportive Parenting and Achievement through High School?

Science.gov (United States)

Bindman, Samantha W.; Pomerantz, Eva M.; Roisman, Glenn I.

2015-01-01

This study evaluated whether the positive association between early autonomy-supportive parenting and children's subsequent achievement is mediated by children's executive functions. Using observations of mothers' parenting from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (N…

Formula for Success: Engaging Families in Early Math Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Global Family Research Project, 2017

2017-01-01

Early math ability is one of the best predictors of children's later success in school. Because children's learning begins in the home, families are fundamental in shaping children's interest and skills in math. The experience of learning and doing math, however, looks different from the instruction that was offered when most adults were in…

Early class III occlusal tendency in children and its selective management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kapur A

2008-09-01

Full Text Available Class III malocclusion may develop in children as a result of an inherent growth abnormality, i.e., true class III malocclusion, or as a result of premature occlusal contacts causing forward functional shift of the mandible, which is known as pseudo class III malocclusion. These cases, if not treated at the initial stage of development, interfere with normal growth of the skeletal bases and may result in severe facial deformities. The treatment should be carried out as early as possible with the aim of permitting normal growth. This paper deals with the selection of an appropriate treatment approach from the various current options available for early intervention in children developing class III occlusal tendencies; the different clinical features are depicted in the three case reports.

A cocktail-party listening experiment with children

Science.gov (United States)

Wightman, Frederic; Callahan, Michael; Kistler, Doris

2003-04-01

In an experiment modeled after one reported recently by Brungart and Simpson [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 112, 2985-2995 (2002)], 38 children (ages 4-16) and 10 adults responded to a monaural target speech signal in the presence of one or two distracter speech signals. The target speaker was a male and the distracter speakers were females. When two distracters were present they were in different ears. Performance at several different target ear S/N was measured and psychometric functions were fitted to estimate threshold, or the 50% performance level. The youngest children required approximately 20 dB higher S/N than adults to achieve threshold with a single distracter. This difference disappeared by age 16. The impact of adding the contralateral distracter, which is thought to contribute only informational masking, was roughly constant across age, however. Adult thresholds increased about 11 dB and the thresholds for the youngest children increased about 10 dB. This was surprising given previous experiments that showed much larger informational masking effects in young children. Also inconsistent with previous results is the lack of individual differences. Nearly all listeners showed almost the same contralateral distracter effect. [Work supported by NICHD.

Early-life home environment and risk of asthma among inner-city children.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Connor, George T; Lynch, Susan V; Bloomberg, Gordon R; Kattan, Meyer; Wood, Robert A; Gergen, Peter J; Jaffee, Katy F; Calatroni, Agustin; Bacharier, Leonard B; Beigelman, Avrahman; Sandel, Megan T; Johnson, Christine C; Faruqi, Ali; Santee, Clark; Fujimura, Kei E; Fadrosh, Douglas; Boushey, Homer; Visness, Cynthia M; Gern, James E

2018-04-01

Environmental exposures in early life appear to play an important role in the pathogenesis of childhood asthma, but the potentially modifiable exposures that lead to asthma remain uncertain. We sought to identify early-life environmental risk factors for childhood asthma in a birth cohort of high-risk inner-city children. We examined the relationship of prenatal and early-life environmental factors to the occurrence of asthma at 7 years of age among 442 children. Higher house dust concentrations of cockroach, mouse, and cat allergens in the first 3 years of life were associated with lower risk of asthma (for cockroach allergen: odds ratio per interquartile range increase in concentration, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.36-0.86; P < .01). House dust microbiome analysis using 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing identified 202 and 171 bacterial taxa that were significantly (false discovery rate < 0.05) more or less abundant, respectively, in the homes of children with asthma. A majority of these bacteria were significantly correlated with 1 of more allergen concentrations. Other factors associated significantly positively with asthma included umbilical cord plasma cotinine concentration (odds ratio per geometric SD increase in concentration, 1.76; 95% CI, 1.00-3.09; P = .048) and maternal stress and depression scores. Among high-risk inner-city children, higher indoor levels of pet or pest allergens in infancy were associated with lower risk of asthma. The abundance of a number of bacterial taxa in house dust was associated with increased or decreased asthma risk. Prenatal tobacco smoke exposure and higher maternal stress and depression scores in early life were associated with increased asthma risk. Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. All rights reserved.

[Therapeutic effect of early applying hydrotherapy with Chinese drugs on children hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy].

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Yun-Zhi; Zhai, Hong-Yin; Su, Chun-Ya

2009-02-01

To observe the therapeutic effect of hydrotherapy with Chinese drugs (HT-C) in early intervention on children hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). HIE children were assigned to the treatment group and the control group, 50 in each, at random depending on the willingness of patients' parents. Both groups received the conventional functional training, according to the "0 -3-year-old early intervention outline", but for the treatment group, HT-C was applied additionally. Indexes for quality of sleep, gross motor function, severity of spasm and intellectual development were observed and compared before and after treatment to assess the therapeutic effects. Therapeutic effect in the treatment group was better than that in the control group in all the indexes observed, showing statistical significance (all P <0.05). Early intervention of HT-C could improve clinical symptom, promote the functional recovery and intellectual development in children HIE, and also could reduce or prevent the sequelae occurrence of the nervous system in them.

Auditory working memory and early reading skills in Hebrew-speaking preschool children.

Science.gov (United States)

Banai, Karen; Yifat, Rachel

2012-01-01

The hypothesis that different subcomponents of auditory working memory are differentially related to early reading skills was tested in 63 Hebrew speaking 4-year-old children, using a battery of early reading (phonological processing and familiarity with written language) and memory (simple and complex spans) tasks. Complex spans accounted for significant amounts of variance on both facets of early reading even after the contribution of simple spans was accounted for. These findings suggest that the unique contribution of complex working memory to early reading can be identified as early as preschool and that the structure of correlations between reading and memory is similar across ages.

Early-life soy exposure and gender-role play behavior in children.

Science.gov (United States)

Adgent, Margaret A; Daniels, Julie L; Edwards, Lloyd J; Siega-Riz, Anna Maria; Rogan, Walter J

2011-12-01

Soy-based infant formula contains high levels of isoflavones. These estrogen-like compounds have been shown to induce changes in sexually dimorphic behaviors in animals exposed in early development. We examined gender-role play behavior in relation to soy-based and non-soy-based infant feeding methods among children in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. We studied 3,664 boys and 3,412 girls. Four exposure categories were created using data from questionnaires administered at 6 and 15 months postpartum: primarily breast, early formula (referent), early soy, and late soy. Gender-role play behavior was assessed using the Pre-School Activities Inventory (PSAI). Associations between infant feeding and PSAI scores at 42 months of age were assessed using linear regression. Post hoc analyses of PSAI scores at 30 and 57 months were also conducted. Early-infancy soy use was reported for approximately 2% of participants. Mean [95% confidence interval (CI)] PSAI scores at 42 months were 62.3 (62.0, 62.6) and 36.9 (36.6, 37.2) for boys and girls, respectively. After adjustment, early soy (vs. early formula) feeding was associated with higher (less feminine) PSAI scores in girls (β = 2.66; 95% CI: 0.19, 5.12) but was not significantly associated with PSAI scores in boys. The association between soy exposure and PSAI scores in girls was substantially attenuated at 30 and 57 months. Although not consistent throughout childhood, early-life soy exposure was associated with less female-typical play behavior in girls at 42 months of age. Soy exposure was not significantly associated with play behavior in boys.

RISK FACTORS AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN BORN WITH AN ASSISTED FERTILIZATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milena MILICHEVIKJ

2011-09-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to present a systematic literature review of the researches conducted in the area of risk factors and difficulties in the early development of children born after assisted conception, to systematize current knowledge in this field and allocate the factors of importance for the early intervention.In order to evaluate the published data on risk factors and early development of children born after assisted conception, an extensive literature search was conducted to identify the published papers related to the obstetric and neonatal outcome of pregnancies after assisted repro­duction technology, the incidence of multiple pregnancy and the risk of preterm delivery, the neonatal status, the mean gestational age, the average birth weight, the neuro-developmental outcomes and early cognitive and motor development. The research identified the following factors as the most important for the early intervention: increased rates of multiple gestations, prematurity, delivery by cesarean section, lower average gestational development and average birth weight, small fetal development for gestational age and low Apgar score, related to the an increased risk of developing neurological problems, such as the cerebral palsy.Accepting this research results, it can be concluded that all of these information should be available for couples seeking an Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART treatment.The success of the early intervention is directly related to the early detection and assessment that precedes this treatment, creating individual programs and evaluation of the effects of the treatment.

Teaching Young Children How to Sing: One School's Experience

Science.gov (United States)

Kenney, Susan

2011-01-01

In many schools, classroom teachers are responsible for the music experiences of young children. Children may learn songs, but may not learn "how" to sing. This article outlines simple teaching strategies to help young children develop listening and vocal habits leading to beautiful singing. The article discusses how the kindergarten classes at…

Relations between Early Reading and Writing Skills among Spanish-Speaking Language Minority Children

Science.gov (United States)

Goodrich, J. Marc; Farrington, Amber L.; Lonigan, Christopher J.

2016-01-01

Although there is a growing body of literature on the development of reading skills of Spanish-speaking language minority children, little research has focused on the development of writing skills in this population. This study evaluated whether children's Spanish early reading skills (i.e., print knowledge, phonological awareness, oral language)…

Quality Early Childhood Education for Disadvantaged Children: An Investigation in the MCD Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Chopra, Neelima

2016-01-01

Schools run by Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) play a pivotal role in providing early childhood education to young children belonging to marginalized sections of Delhi. However, literature review reveals that low learning outcomes are common among children attending these schools. Low levels of learning are often associated with poor quality…

Timeliness of Receipt of Early Childhood Vaccinations Among Children of Immigrants - Minnesota, 2016.

Science.gov (United States)

Leeds, Maureen; Muscoplat, Miriam Halstead

2017-10-27

Receiving recommended childhood vaccinations on schedule is the best way to prevent the occurrence and spread of vaccine-preventable diseases (1). Vaccination coverage among children aged 19-35 months in the United States exceeds 90% for most recommended vaccines in the early childhood series (2); however, previous studies have found that few children receive all recommended vaccine doses on time (3). The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), using information from the Minnesota Immunization Information Connection (MIIC) and the MDH Office of Vital Records, examined early childhood immunization rates and found that children with at least one foreign-born parent were less likely to be up-to-date on recommended immunizations at ages 2, 6, 18, and 36 months than were children with two U.S.-born parents. Vaccination coverage at age 36 months varied by mother's region of origin, ranging from 77.5% among children born to mothers from Central and South America and the Caribbean to 44.2% among children born to mothers from Somalia. Low vaccination coverage in these communities puts susceptible children and adults at risk for outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, as evidenced by the recent measles outbreak in Minnesota (4). Increased outreach to immigrant, migrant, and refugee populations and other populations with low up-to-date vaccination rates might improve timely vaccination in these communities.

Effects of Early and Recent Maternal Employment on Children from Low-Income Families.

Science.gov (United States)

Vandell, Deborah Lowe; Ramanan, Janaki

1992-01-01

Early (during the child's first three years) and recent (during the previous three years) maternal employment were associated with less family poverty and higher scores on measures of home environment. Early maternal employment predicted second grade children's math achievement, and recent maternal employment predicted their reading achievement.…

Preparing for Children with Disabilities in Early Childhood Classrooms.

Science.gov (United States)

Favazza, Paddy C.

1998-01-01

Offers suggestions to kindergarten teachers for creating a more accepting environment in their classrooms for children with disabilities. Three key influences in attitude formation are discussed--indirect experiences, direct experiences, and the child's primary social group--and ideas for examining these influences and adapting them are suggested.…

Early mathematical competencies and later achievement: insights from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children

Science.gov (United States)

MacDonald, Amy; Carmichael, Colin

2017-11-01

International research suggests that early mathematical competence predicts later mathematical achievement. In this article, we explore the relationship between mathematical competencies at 4-5 years, as measured by teacher ratings, and later results on Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) numeracy tests. Data from a nationally representative sample of 2343 children participating in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) are examined. In line with international studies, we report moderate correlations between preschool-entry mathematics and later NAPLAN numeracy test results. However, analysis of individual growth trajectories indicates that early mathematics predicts the initial (Year 3) level, but not subsequent growth. This suggests that early mathematical competencies are important for enhancing achievement in early schooling, but that the quality of mathematics education provided in the schooling years is critical for future development.

The Everyday Life of Children Across Early Childhood Institution and The Family

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kousholt, Dorte

2008-01-01

This article focuses on the everyday life of Danish children across different social practices and explores what this outset can tell us about the life of children and families. Building on the critique of classical approaches in developmental psychology (e.g. Burman 1994; James, Jenks, & Prout...... 1998) and family research (e.g. Leira 1993; Thorne & Yalom 1982) the article puts forward a decentred approach to family life. The aim is to show how the institutional context and family context sets conditions for each other - and that interplay sets conditions for the development of the children...... and professionals influences the parents' possibilities for supporting their children's life outside the family. That means that the institutional practice influences their possibilities as parents. Keywords: children's perspectives; family life; early childhood institution; communities of children; parent (and...

Lived experience of epilepsy from the perspective of children in Taiwan.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Hsiu-Jung; Chen, Yueh-Chih; Yang, Hui-Chuan; Chi, Ching-Shiang

2010-05-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of school-aged children with epilepsy in Taiwan. Epilepsy affects many people worldwide, especially school-aged children, but few studies have examined children's viewpoints of their experiences with epilepsy. An exploratory, phenomenological interview design was used. Children (ages 7-12 years) with well-controlled epilepsy and no developmental delay were recruited from a hospital in central Taiwan. Data were collected from 15 children using a semi-structured interview guide. Interviews were tape-recorded with permission from parents and children. Verbatim transcripts were analysed using Colazzi's phenomenological method. Two themes emerged from the analysis. The first theme, 'living with epilepsy', had two subthemes: disease-related experiences and school-related issues. The second theme, 'coping with epilepsy', had two subthemes: developing strategies to manage or reduce seizures and seeking support from family members. Taiwanese children with epilepsy had similar lived experiences as their counterparts in Western culture, e.g. unpleasant somatic symptoms, difficulty learning and troubled peer relationships. Taiwanese children also coped similarly with epilepsy by taking medications to control seizures, but they differed from their Western counterparts in trying to self-manage seizures and seeking support from family members. Public health and school nurses can apply our findings to educate school teachers and parents about epilepsy and encourage activities that allow children with and without epilepsy to interact, thus improving peer relationships and reducing stigmatisation. Children with and without epilepsy would also benefit from an age-appropriate education manual that includes causes of epilepsy, treatment, dealing with seizures and psychological and social adaptation.

EARLY HEAD START FAMILIES' EXPERIENCES WITH STRESS: UNDERSTANDING VARIATIONS WITHIN A HIGH-RISK, LOW-INCOME SAMPLE.

Science.gov (United States)

Hustedt, Jason T; Vu, Jennifer A; Bargreen, Kaitlin N; Hallam, Rena A; Han, Myae

2017-09-01

The federal Early Head Start program provides a relevant context to examine families' experiences with stress since participants qualify on the basis of poverty and risk. Building on previous research that has shown variations in demographic and economic risks even among qualifying families, we examined possible variations in families' perceptions of stress. Family, parent, and child data were collected to measure stressors and risk across a variety of domains in families' everyday lives, primarily from self-report measures, but also including assay results from child cortisol samples. A cluster analysis was employed to examine potential differences among groups of Early Head Start families. Results showed that there were three distinct subgroups of families, with some families perceiving that they experienced very high levels of stress while others perceived much lower levels of stress despite also experiencing poverty and heightened risk. These findings have important implications in that they provide an initial step toward distinguishing differences in low-income families' experiences with stress, thereby informing interventions focused on promoting responsive caregiving as a possible mechanism to buffer the effects of family and social stressors on young children. © 2017 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

Perspectives on Early Power Mobility Training, Motivation, and Social Participation in Young Children with Motor Disabilities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hsiang-Han Huang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The efficacy of traditional training programs (e.g., neurodevelopmental therapy in promoting independent mobility and early child development across all three International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health levels lacks rigorous research support. Therefore, early power mobility training needs to be considered as a feasible intervention for very young children who are unlikely to achieve independent mobility. This perspective article has three aims: (1 to provide empirical evidence of differences in early independent mobility, motivation, daily life activities, and social participation between young children with typical development and motor disabilities; (2 to discuss the contemporary concepts of and approaches to early power mobility training for young children with motor disabilities and the current need for changes to such training; and (3 to provide recommendations for early power mobility training in pediatric rehabilitation. Independent mobility is critical for social participation; therefore, power mobility can be accessible and implemented as early as possible, specifically for infants who are at risk for mobility or developmental delay. To maximize the positive effects of independent mobility on children’s social participation, early power mobility training must consider their levels of functioning, the amount of exploration and contextual factors, including individual and environmental factors.

Examining Children's Healthcare Experiences through Drawings

Science.gov (United States)

Burns-Nader, Sherwood

2017-01-01

This study examines children's anxieties about healthcare experiences using drawings. Fifty children, either experiencing a doctor's appointment or hospitalization, completed a drawing of a person in the hospital. Using the Child Drawing: Hospital (CD:H), drawings were scored on individual items which were summed for a total score of projected…

Children's Early Literacy Environment in Chinese and American Indian Families.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xiao-lei; Bernas, Ronan; Eberhard, Philippe

This study examined how Chinese and American Indian mothers support their young children's early literacy development in everyday interactions. Twenty mother-child dyads in each cultural community participated in the study. Analysis of videotaped interactions indicated that the mothers in the two communities differed greatly in the ways they…

Gross Motor Development of Malaysian Hearing Impaired Male Pre- and Early School Children

Science.gov (United States)

Zawi, Khairi; Lian, Denise Koh Choon; Abdullah, Rozlina Tan

2014-01-01

Acquisition of gross motor skill is a natural developmental process for children. This aspect of human development increases with one's chronological age, irrespective of any developmental conditions. The purpose of this study was to assess the level of gross motor skill development among pre- and early school-aged children with motor disability.…

[Abnormal processing characteristics to basic emotional faces in the early phase in children with autism spectrum disorder].

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Qiong-Xi; Wu, Gui-Hua; Zhang, Ling; Wang, Zeng-Jian; Pan, Ning; Xu, Cai-Juan; Jing, Jin; Jin, Yu

2018-02-01

To explore the recognition ability and abnormal processing characteristics to basic emotional faces in the early phase in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Photos of Chinese static faces with four basic emotions (fearful, happy, angry and sad) were used as stimulus. Twenty-five ASD children and twenty-two age- and gender-matched typical developed children (normal controls) were asked to match the emotional faces with words. Event-related potential (ERP) data were recorded concurrently. N170 latencies for total emotion and fearful face in the left temporal region were faster than in the right one in normal controls (P<0.05), but the results were not noted in ASD children. Further, N170 latencies in the left temporal region of ASD children were slower than normal controls for total emotion, fearful and happy faces (P<0.05), and their N170 latencies in the right temporal region were prone to slower than normal controls for angry and fearful faces. The holistic perception speed of emotional faces in the early cognitive processing phase in ASD children is slower than normal controls. The lateralized response in the early phase of recognizing emotional faces may be aberrant in children with ASD.

A Nordic approach to Early Childhood Education (ECE) and socially endangered children

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Bente

2009-01-01

system fails to provide equal social and intellectual opportunities to all children, further development in this area is required. Based on an analysis of the Nordic situation, a recent Danish intervention involving some 60 centres and 2.700 pre-school children and some preliminary results are presented...... opportunities for all by starting with early intervention. This is particularly especially relevant in Denmark, where >95% of all children attend in day-care. International research shows that early interventions can make a positive difference, and as shown in American Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) studies......, the effects are lasting. On the other hand, international research does not address the two different main approaches to the ECE systems (holistic/academic) nor to the questions of how pedagogic initiatives and framework conditions work as prerequisites for success (best practice). An analysis of research...

Early Maternal Employment and Children's Vocabulary and Inductive Reasoning Ability: A Dynamic Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Kühhirt, Michael; Klein, Markus

2018-03-01

This study investigates the relationship between early maternal employment history and children's vocabulary and inductive reasoning ability at age 5, drawing on longitudinal information on 2,200 children from the Growing Up in Scotland data. Prior research rarely addresses dynamics in maternal employment and the methodological ramifications of time-variant confounding. The present study proposes various measures to capture duration, timing, and stability of early maternal employment and uses inverse probability of treatment weighting to control for time-variant confounders that may partially mediate the effect of maternal employment on cognitive scores. The findings suggest only modest differences in the above ability measures between children who have been exposed to very different patterns of eary maternal employment, but with similar observed covariate history. © 2017 The Authors. Child Development © 2017 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Transformers: Movement Experiences for Early Childhood Classrooms

Science.gov (United States)

Vagovic, Julia

2008-01-01

Transformers are simple movement experiences for the classroom that engage the mind and body, focus energy, and help children transition to the next activity. Teachers can use them throughout the day, every day. The author explains the basic movements and suggests ways to build on them. They range from deep breathing to gentle wake-up movements to…

Home literacy experiences and early childhood disability: a descriptive study using the National Household Education Surveys (NHES) program database.

Science.gov (United States)

Breit-Smith, Allison; Cabell, Sonia Q; Justice, Laura M

2010-01-01

The present article illustrates how the National Household Education Surveys (NHES; U.S. Department of Education, 2009) database might be used to address questions of relevance to researchers who are concerned with literacy development among young children. Following a general description of the NHES database, a study is provided that examines the extent to which parent-reported home literacy activities and child emergent literacy skills differ for children with (a) developmental disabilities versus those who are developing typically, (b) single disability versus multiple disabilities, and (c) speech-language disability only versus other types of disabilities. Four hundred and seventy-eight preschool-age children with disabilities and a typically developing matched sample (based on parent report) were identified in the 2005 administration of the Early Childhood Program Participation (ECPP) Survey in the NHES database. Parent responses to survey items were then compared between groups. After controlling for age and socioeconomic status, no significant differences were found in the frequency of home literacy activities for children with and without disabilities. Parents reported higher levels of emergent literacy skills for typically developing children relative to children with disabilities. These findings suggest the importance of considering the home literacy experiences and emergent literacy skills of young children with disabilities when making clinical recommendations.

Does early communication mediate the relationship between motor ability and social function in children with cerebral palsy?

Science.gov (United States)

Lipscombe, Belinda; Boyd, Roslyn N; Coleman, Andrea; Fahey, Michael; Rawicki, Barry; Whittingham, Koa

2016-01-01

Children diagnosed with neurodevelopmental conditions such as cerebral palsy (CP) are at risk of experiencing restrictions in social activities negatively impacting their subsequent social functioning. Research has identified motor and communication ability as being unique determinants of social function capabilities in children with CP, to date, no research has investigated whether communication is a mediator of the relationship between motor ability and social functioning. To investigate whether early communication ability at 24 months corrected age (ca.) mediates the relationship between early motor ability at 24 months ca. and later social development at 60 months ca. in a cohort of children diagnosed with cerebral palsy (CP). A cohort of 71 children (43 male) diagnosed with CP (GMFCS I=24, 33.8%, II=9, 12.7%, III=12, 16.9%, IV=10, 14.1%, V=16, 22.5%) were assessed at 24 and 60 months ca. Assessments included the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM), the Communication and Symbolic Behaviour Scales-Developmental Profile (CSBS-DP) Infant-Toddler Checklist and the Paediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI). A mediation model was examined using bootstrapping. Early communication skills mediated the relationship between early motor abilities and later social functioning, b=0.24 (95% CI=0.08-0.43 and the mediation model was significant, F (2, 68)=32.77, pcommunication ability partially mediates the relationship between early motor ability and later social function in children with CP. This demonstrates the important role of early communication in ongoing social development. Early identification of communication delay and enriched language exposure is crucial in this population. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Mobile Music Museum Experience for Children

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Mikkel Helleberg; Knudsen, Aske Sønderby; Wilmot, Thomas Michael

2015-01-01

An interactive music instrument museum experience for children of 10-12 years is presented. Equipped with tablet devices, the children are sent on a treasure hunt where participants have to identify musical instruments by listening to samples; when the right instrument is located, a challenge...... of playing an application on the tablet is initiated. This application is an interactive digital representation of the found instrument, mimicking some of its key playing techniques, using a simplified scrolling-on-screen musical notation. A qualitative evaluation of the application using observations while...... interacting with the application and a focus group interview with school children revealed that the children were more engaged when playing with the interactive application than when only watching a music video....

Lessons from early experience in reactor development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Allen, W.

1976-09-01

This paper deals with several issues in U.S. reactor development and demonstration experience. The focus is on the period between 1946 and 1963 during which the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) guided early reactor research and development (R and D) and conducted the Power Reactor Demonstration Program

Associations between maternal experiences of racism and early child health and development: findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Yvonne; Becares, Laia; Nazroo, James

2013-01-01

Emerging evidence suggests that experienced racism might help explain observed ethnic inequalities in early child health and development. There are few studies outside the US context and none that consider mothers' experiences of racism in relation to a range of early childhood health and developmental markers. The authors used cross-sectional data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study on 2136 mothers and their 5-year-old children from ethnic minority groups. Measures of racism tapped two dimensions of mothers' experience: perceived frequency of racist attacks in residential area and interpersonal racism. Markers of child health and development were obesity; socioemotional difficulties; cognitive: verbal, non-verbal and spatial ability test scores. There was a suggestion that the mothers' experience of interpersonal racism was associated with an increased risk of obesity ('received insults' OR=1.47; 'treated unfairly' OR=1.57; 'disrespectful treatment by shop staff' OR=1.55), but all CIs crossed 1.0, and size estimates were attenuated on further statistical adjustment. Perception of racism in the residential area was associated with socioemotional difficulties (fully adjusted coefficient=1.40, SE=0.47) and spatial abilities (fully adjusted coefficient=-1.99, SE=0.93) but not with verbal or non-verbal ability scores. Maternal experiences of racist insults were associated with non-verbal ability scores (fully adjusted coefficient=-1.70, SE=0.88). The results suggest that mothers' experienced racism is linked to markers of early child health and development. Interventions that aim to improve early child development and address ethnic health inequalities need to incorporate approaches to tackling racism at all levels of society.

The Effect of Childcare and Early Education Arrangements on Developmental Outcomes of Young Children

OpenAIRE

Pierre Lefebvre; Philip Merrigan

2000-01-01

This study investigates the relationship between child care arrangements and developmental outcomes of young children using data from Cycle 1 of the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth. Models of the determinants of Motor and Social Development (MSD) scores for children aged 0-47 months, and of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test assessment scores (PPVT-R) for children aged 4-5 years are estimated controlling for a variety of non-parental childcare and early education ...

Understanding minds: early cochlear implantation and the development of theory of mind in children with profound hearing impairment.

Science.gov (United States)

Sundqvist, Annette; Lyxell, Björn; Jönsson, Radoslava; Heimann, Mikael

2014-03-01

The present study investigates how auditory stimulation from cochlear implants (CI) is associated with the development of Theory of Mind (ToM) in severely and profoundly hearing impaired children with hearing parents. Previous research has shown that deaf children of hearing parents have a delayed ToM development. This is, however, not always the case with deaf children of deaf parents, who presumably are immersed in a more vivid signing environment. Sixteen children with CI (4.25 to 9.5 years of age) were tested on measures of cognitive and emotional ToM, language and cognition. Eight of the children received their first implant relatively early (before 27 months) and half of them late (after 27 months). The two groups did not differ in age, gender, language or cognition at entry of the study. ToM tests included the unexpected location task and a newly developed Swedish social-emotional ToM test. The tests aimed to test both cognitive and emotional ToM. A comparison group of typically developing hearing age matched children was also added (n=18). Compared to the comparison group, the early CI-group did not differ in emotional ToM. The late CI-group differed significantly from the comparison group on both the cognitive and emotional ToM tests. The results revealed that children with early cochlear implants solved ToM problems to a significantly higher degree than children with late implants, although the groups did not differ on language or cognitive measures at baseline. The outcome suggests that early cochlear implantation for deaf children in hearing families, in conjunction with early social and communicative stimulation in a language that is native to the parents, can provide a foundation for a more normalized ToM development. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Tablet Computer for Young Children? Exploring Its Viability for Early Childhood Education

Science.gov (United States)

Couse, Leslie J.; Chen, Dora W.

2010-01-01

This study explored the viability of tablet computers in early education by investigating preschool children's ease in acclimating to tablet technology and its defectiveness in engaging them to draw. A total of 41 three- to six-year-old children were videotaped while they used the tablets. The study found significant differences in level of tablet…

Sustained attention problems in children with early treated congenital hypothyroidism

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kooistra, L.; Van der Meere, J.J.; Vulsma, T.; Kalverboer, A.F.

Sustained attention was studied in 48 children with early treated congenital hypothyroidism and 35 healthy controls, using a computer-paced and a self-paced continuous performance task. The performance of the patients, particularly those in the low T4 group (38 patients with T4 levels 50 nmol/l at

The early experiments leading to the V-Α interaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Telegdi, V.L.

1989-01-01

The author cites a number of early experiments of the 1950s which were central to the understanding of V-Α interaction. Some were proposed by T D Lee and C N Yang, who also described the weak interaction with ∞ nonconservation of parity, and some were not. Crucial experiments were performed by small teams and theory and experiment advanced together. (UK)

Early Parenting and Children's Relational and Physical Aggression in the Preschool and Home Contexts

Science.gov (United States)

Casas, Juan F.; Weigel, Stephanie M.; Crick, Nicki R.; Ostrov, Jamie M.; Woods, Kathleen E.; Yeh, Elizabeth A. Jansen; Huddleston-Casas, Catherine A.

2006-01-01

This study investigated early parent-child relationships and how children's use of relational and physical aggression varies with aspects of those relationships during the preschool years. Specifically, parenting styles, parents' use of psychological control, and parents' report of their children's reunion behaviors were assessed. Analyses…

Early Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders in China: A Family Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Xueyun; Long, Toby; Chen, Lianjun; Fang, Junming

2013-01-01

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) were first reported in China in 1982. Since then, autism and other related disorders have been recognized by both the public and professionals. The importance of early intervention for children with ASD is becoming more accepted throughout China. A survey was designed to investigate the status of early intervention…

Early intervention studies in infants and preschool children with cystic fibrosis: Are we ready?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

S. Stick; H.A.W.M. Tiddens (Harm); P. Aurora (Paul); P. Gustafsson (Per); S. Ranganathan (Surabhi); P. Robinson; M. Rosenfeld (Margaret); P.D. Sly; F. Ratjen (Felix)

2013-01-01

textabstractCystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease starts early in life and progresses even in the absence of clinical symptoms. Therefore, sensitive outcome measures to quantify and track these early abnormalities in infants and young children are needed; both for clinical care and interventional

Early Childhood Teachers as Socializers of Young Children's Emotional Competence

Science.gov (United States)

Denham, Susanne A.; Bassett, Hideko H.; Zinsser, Katherine

2012-01-01

Young children's emotional competence--regulation of emotional expressiveness and experience when necessary, and knowledge of their own and other's emotions--is crucial for social and academic (i.e., school) success. Thus, it is important to understand the mechanisms of how young children develop emotional competence. Both parents and teachers are…

Early language intervention for children with intellectual disabilities: A neurocognitive perspective

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schuit, M. van der; Segers, P.C.J.; Balkom, L.J.M. van; Verhoeven, L.T.W.

2011-01-01

For children with intellectual disabilities (ID), stimulation of their language and communication is often not a priority. Advancements in brain research provide guidelines for early interventions aimed at the stimulation of language and communication skills. In the present study, the effectiveness

Early space symmetry restoration and neutrino experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Volkov, G.G.; Liparteliani, A.G.; Monich, V.A.

1986-01-01

The problem of early space symmetry restoration on the left-right symmetry models and the models with the extended (due to mirror quarks and leptons) fermion sector is being discussed. The experiments in which the derivations from the standard model of electroweak interactions should be studied are presented

Mediated Pathways from Maternal Depression and Early Parenting to Children's Executive Function and Externalizing Behaviour Problems

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, Claire; Kuhn, Laura

2018-01-01

Structural equation models were used to examine pathways from maternal depression and early parenting to children's executive function (EF) and externalizing behaviours in the first nationally representative study to obtain direct assessments of children's kindergarten EF skills (i.e., the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Class of…

Early-Life Parent-Child Relationships and Adult Children's Support of Unpartnered Parents in Later Life.

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Lin, I-Fen; Wu, Hsueh-Sheng

2018-02-08

The proportion of older adults who are unpartnered has increased significantly over the past 25 years. Unpartnered older adults often rely on their adult children for support. Most previous studies have focused on proximal factors associated with adult children's support of their parents, while few have examined distal factors, such as parent-child relationships formed during childhood. This study fills the gap by investigating the direct and indirect associations between early-life parent-child relationships and adult children's upward transfers to unpartnered parents. Data came from two supplements to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, in which respondents were asked about their relationships with mothers and fathers before age 17 and their transfers of time and money to parents in 2013. Path models were estimated for unpartnered mother-adult child dyads and father-adult child dyads separately. For adult children of unpartnered mothers, psychological closeness has a direct, positive association with time transfer, while physical violence has an indirect association with time transfer through adult children's marital status. For adult children of unpartnered fathers, psychological closeness has neither a direct nor an indirect association with time or money transfer, but physical violence has a direct, negative association with time transfer. Early-life parent-child relationships play a pivotal role in influencing adult children's caregiving behavior, both directly and indirectly. Our findings suggest that by improving their relationships with children early in life, parents may be able to increase the amount of time transfer that they receive in late life. © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Accuracy of Knowledge of Child Development in Mothers of Children Receiving Early Intervention Services

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Zand, Debra H.; Pierce, Katherine J.; Bultas, Margaret W.; McMillin, Stephen Edward; Gott, Rolanda Maxim; Wilmott, Jennifer

2015-01-01

Parents' involvement in early intervention (EI) services fosters positive developmental trajectories in young children. Although EI research on parenting skills has been abundant, fewer data are available on parents' knowledge of normative child development. Sixty-seven mothers of children participating in a Midwestern city's EI program completed…

Speech and Language Skills in Children with Early Treated Phenylketonuria.

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Ozanne, Anne E.; And Others

1990-01-01

The study of 29 children, age 7 months to 16 years, with early treated phenylketonuria found no significant differences on speech and/or language measures when compared with controls matched for age, sex, and socioeconomic level. Examination of individual scores, however, did reveal linguistic impairment in a small number of subjects. (Author/JDD)

Synchronized movement experience enhances peer cooperation in preschool children.

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Rabinowitch, Tal-Chen; Meltzoff, Andrew N

2017-08-01

Cooperating with other people is a key achievement in child development and is essential for human culture. We examined whether we could induce 4-year-old children to increase their cooperation with an unfamiliar peer by providing the peers with synchronized motion experience prior to the tasks. Children were randomly assigned to independent treatment and control groups. The treatment of synchronous motion caused children to enhance their cooperation, as measured by the speed of joint task completion, compared with control groups that underwent asynchronous motion or no motion at all. Further analysis suggested that synchronization experience increased intentional communication between peer partners, resulting in increased coordination and cooperation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Investing in the Early Childhood Mental Health Workforce Development: Enhancing Professionals' Competencies to Support Emotion and Behavior Regulation in Young Children.

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Ritblatt, Shulamit N; Hokoda, Audrey; Van Liew, Charles

2017-09-19

This paper delineates a preventive approach to early childhood mental health by preparing the workforce to provide relational, sensitive care to young children ages 0-5. One of the most prevalent issues in early childhood is behavioral challenges and the inability of young children to regulate themselves. This leads to an expulsion rate in early childhood (3-4 times higher than K-12 expulsion rate) and future mental health issues. The Early Childhood Social-Emotional and Behavior Regulation Intervention Specialist (EC-SEBRIS) graduate level certificate program was created to strengthen early care and education providers with the knowledge and practice of how to support emotion and behavior regulation in young children in their groups. Evaluation data provide evidence that early care and education professionals increased in their perception of self-efficacy and in their sensitivity of care and skills to support behavioral health in young children. Results indicated that the children in their care showed less challenging behaviors and increased social competencies. This manuscript highlights the importance of prevention and the dire need to provide young children with high-quality, appropriate care to support their mental health.

Relationship between motor, imitation and, early social communication skills in children with autism

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hooshang Dadgar

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Background: The aim of this study was investigation the association of motor skills and imitation ability with early social communication skills in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD.Method: Twenty children with ASD aged 3-5 years (M=4.05, SD=0.55 were tested with Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-2, the Motor Imitation Scale (MIS and, the Early Social Communication Scales (ESCS.Results: There was significant and strong correlation between TGMD total score and imitation total score(r =.776; p <0.001.However, the relationship between MIS subscales and TGMD-2 locomotor subtest scores was not significant (P>0.05. A significant correlation was found between MIS and TGMD total scores with ESCS subscales except social interaction and responding to behavioral requests subscales.Conclusion: The results support previous studies that indicated both imitation ability and motor function have association with some early social communication skills. However, these results showed the needs for clinicians to target imitation and motor skills in early intervention programs in ASD.

Families as Partners: Supporting Family Resiliency through Early Intervention

Science.gov (United States)

Frantz, Rebecca; Hansen, Sarah Grace; Squires, Jane; Machalicek, Wendy

2018-01-01

Child development occurs within the context of the child's family, neighborhood, and community environment. Early childhood providers support positive outcomes, not only for the children with whom they directly work with but also for their families. Families of children with developmental delays often experience unique challenges. A family…

Maternal Filarial Infection Influences the Development of Regulatory T Cells in Children from Infancy to Early Childhood.

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Madhusmita Bal

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Children born from filarial infected mothers are comparatively more susceptible to filarial infection than the children born to uninfected mothers. But the mechanism of such increased susceptibility to infection in early childhood is not exactly known. Several studies have shown the association of active filarial infection with T cell hypo-responsiveness which is mediated by regulatory T cells (Tregs. Since the Tregs develop in the thymus from CD4+ CD25hi thymocytes at an early stage of the human fetus, it can be hypothesized that the maternal infection during pregnancy affects the development of Tregs in children at birth as well as early childhood. Hence the present study was designed to test the hypothesis by selecting a cohort of pregnant mothers and children born to them subsequently in a filarial endemic area of Odisha, India.A total number of 49 pregnant mothers and children born to them subsequently have been followed up (mean duration 4.4 years in an area where the microfilariae (Mf rate has come down to <1% after institution of 10 rounds of annual mass drug administration (MDA. The infection status of mother, cord and children were assessed through detection of microfilariae (Mf and circulating filarial antigen (CFA. Expression of Tregs cells were measured by flow cytometry. The levels of IL-10 were evaluated by using commercially available ELISA kit. A significantly high level of IL-10 and Tregs have been observed in children born to infected mother compared to children of uninfected mother at the time of birth as well as during early childhood. Moreover a positive correlation between Tregs and IL-10 has been observed among the children born to infected mother.From these observations we predict that early priming of the fetal immune system by filarial antigens modulate the development of Tregs, which ultimately scale up the production of IL-10 in neonates and creates a milieu for high rate of acquisition of infection in children born

Psychosocial effects of war experiences among displaced children in southern Darfur.

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Morgos, Dorothy; Worden, J William; Gupta, Leila

This study focused on assessing the psychosocial effects of the long standing, high intensity, and guerrilla-style of warfare among displaced children in Southern Darfur. The goal was to better understand the etiology, prognosis, and treatment implications for traumatic reactions, depression, and grief symptoms in this population. Three hundred thirty-one children aged 6-17 from three IDP Camps were selected using a quota sampling approach and were administered a Demographic Questionnaire, Child Post Traumatic Stress Reaction Index, Child Depression Inventory, and the Expanded Grief Inventory. Forty-three percent were girls and 57% were boys. The mean age of the children was 12 years. Results found that children were exposed to a very large number of war experiences with no significant differences between genders for types of exposure, including rape, but with older children (13-17 years) facing a larger number of exposures than younger children (6-12 years). Out of the 16 possible war experiences, the mean number was 8.94 (SD = 3.27). Seventy-five percent of the children met the DSM-IV criteria for PTSD, and 38% exhibited clinical symptoms of depression. The percentage of children endorsing significant levels of grief symptoms was 20%. Increased exposure to war experiences led to higher levels of: (1) traumatic reactions; (2) depression; and (3) grief symptoms. Of the 16 war experiences, abduction, hiding to protect oneself, being raped, and being forced to kill or hurt family members were most predictive of traumatic reactions. Being raped, seeing others raped, the death of a parent/s, being forced to fight, and having to hide to protect oneself were the strongest predictors of depressive symptoms. War experiences such as abduction, death of one's parent/s, being forced to fight, and having to hide to protect oneself were the most associated with the child's experience of grief. In addition to Total Grief, Traumatic Grief, Existential Grief, and Continuing Bonds

Bilingual instruction in early childhood education, can it better develop children?

OpenAIRE

Djahimo Santri E. P.; Indahri Yulia

2018-01-01

This is a case study of teaching and learning using bilingual instruction in two schools of Early Childhood Education in Kupang-NTT, Indonesia. The aims of this study are to find out whether or not bilingual instruction in Early Childhood Education can better develop children (the outcomes) and if the issue of ‘the younger, the better” in children’s language acquisition in bilingual setting is acceptable and true. 4 students from one bilingual and one monolingual schools have been observed. I...

Motor development skills of 1- to 4-year-old Iranian children with early treated phenylketonuria.

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Nazi, Sepideh; Rohani, Farzaneh; Sajedi, Firoozeh; Biglarian, Akbar; Setoodeh, Arya

2014-01-01

Objective : To gauge the gross and fine motor development of early treated phenylketonuria (ETPKU) in children in the age range of 1-4 years. Methods : A cross-sectional analytic study was conducted in PKU clinics (reference clinics for PKU follow-up), Tehran, Iran. Seventy children with ETPKU were selected as the case group for the study. ETPKU children were those with early and continuous treatment with a phenylalanine-restricted diet (the mean of blood phenylalanine level during the recent 6 months was 2-6 mg/dL or 120-360 μmol/L). Also, 100 healthy and normal children matched with the ETPKU group for age were randomly selected from 4 kindergartens in four parts of Tehran as a control group. The measurements consisted of a demographic questionnaire, Peabody Developmental Motor Scale-2 (PDMS-2), and pediatrician assessment. Motor quotients were determined by PDMS-2 and then compared in both groups by two independent samples t-test. Results : The mean ages in case and control group were 28.5 (± 11.6) and 29.7 (± 11.3) months, respectively. Comparison of the mean fine, gross, and total developmental motor quotients (DMQs) showed statistically significant differences between the two groups (p fine and total DMQs of ETPKU children were also correlated with age. In addition, there was a negative correlation between the phenylalanine level and fine (p motor development. It is recommended to plan programs for early detection and intervention of developmental delays in these children.

Bullying experience in primary school children

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Farah Aulia

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Bullying is still a significant problem today. Bullying occurs starting from the primary level up to college. The impact of the bullying on victims can be a lonely, difficult to adjust, insecurity, low self-esteem, depression and the worst is suicide. The earlier effort to detect bullying experienced by children will be able to prevent long-term effects caused. This study was conducted on 258 students of class 4-5 primary school in Yogyakarta. Data was collected through open-ended questionnaires associated with feelings and experiences of bullying in schools both as perpetrators and victims. The result showed that students feel negative emotions associated with bullying at school and most children experience bullying at school with a variety of forms, ranging from physical, verbal and relational from peers at school. These findings have implications related to the effort to do the school to help students cope with the impact of bullying experienced.

Beyond the Black-White Test Score Gap: Latinos' Early School Experiences and Literacy Outcomes

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Delgado, Enilda A.; Stoll, Laurie Cooper

2015-01-01

Data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey-Birth Cohort are used to analyze the factors that lead to the reading readiness of children who participate in nonparental care the year prior to kindergarten (N = 4,550), with a specific focus on Latino children (N = 800). Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis demonstrates that reading…

Translation, Hybridization, and Modernization: John Dewey and Children's Literature in Early Twentieth Century China

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Xu, Xu

2013-01-01

This essay examines how John Dewey's child-centered educational philosophy was adopted and adapted in the early twentieth century in China to create a Chinese children's literature. Chinese intellectuals applied Dewey's educational philosophy, which values children's interests and needs, to formulate a new concept of modern childhood that…

Cognitive and Linguistic Precursors to Early Literacy Achievement in Children With Specific Language Impairment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Weerdenburg, M.W.C. van; Verhoeven, L.T.W.; Balkom, L.J.M. van; Bosman, A.M.T.

2009-01-01

This study investigated the role of cognitive and language skills as predictors of early literacy skills in children with Specific Language Impairment. A range of cognitive and linguistic skills were assessed in a sample of 137 eight-year-old children with SLI at the beginning of the school year,

Psychiatric Disorders and Predictors Hereof Among Refugee Children in Early Adulthood

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Barghadouch, Amina; Carlsson, Jessica; Norredam, Marie

2018-01-01

Studies show a high level of mental health problems among refugee children and adults. This study aimed to examine psychiatric disorders among refugee children in early adulthood. A total of 15,264 young adult refugees, who obtained residence permission January 1, 1993 to December 31, 2010, were...... matched 1:6 on age and sex with 99,313 Danish-born children. Rate ratios (RR) of having a first-time in- or outpatient hospital diagnosis with an affective (F30-39), psychotic (F29-30), neurotic (F40-48), or any psychiatric disorder (F00-99) according to ICD-10 were computed. Refugees had higher RRs...... of psychotic (RR: 1.81, 95%CI: 1.41-2.32) and nervous (RR: 1.28, 95% CI: 1.14-1.43) disorders compared with Danish-born children. The RRs of having an affective disorder among refugees was 0.74 (95% CI: 0.60-0.90) compared with Danish-born children. Sex, geographical origin, migrant status, household income...

The Perceived Experience of Children Bereaved by Parental Suicide.

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Schreiber, Jennifer K; Sands, Diana C; Jordan, John R

2017-06-01

Children whose parent died by suicide are a vulnerable and underserved population. This phenomenon will be described, as well as implications for practice and research. "Double Whammy," a conceptualization of the overall experience of this marginalized group, emerged through two in-depth interviews from a phenomenological qualitative study with professionals who facilitate support groups for children bereaved by parental suicide. It was corroborated with current literature and practice experiences of the authors and their colleagues. Stigma was the largest contributor to the "Double Whammy," and the following themes emerged as well: feeling isolated, feeling abandoned, and feeling responsible. The self-volition of suicide challenges how bereaved children make meaning and internalize feelings about the deceased parent, one's self, and others. Developmentally appropriate education about suicide grief, depression, and normalizing the grief process is pivotal in helping children to effectively cope and manage their feelings.

The Role of Motive Objects in Early Childhood Teacher Development Concerning Children's Digital Play and Play-Based Learning in Early Childhood Curricula

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Nuttall, Joce; Edwards, Susan; Mantilla, Ana; Grieshaber, Sue; Wood, Elizabeth

2015-01-01

Digital technologies are increasingly accepted as a viable aspect of early childhood curriculum. However, teacher uptake of digital technologies in early childhood education and their use with young children in play-based approaches to learning have not been strong. Traditional approaches to the problem of teacher uptake of digital technologies in…

Prevalence and Correlates of Problematic Internet Experiences and Computer-Using Time: A Two-Year Longitudinal Study in Korean School Children

OpenAIRE

Yang, Su-Jin; Stewart, Robert; Lee, Ju-Yeon; Kim, Jae-Min; Kim, Sung-Wan; Shin, Il-Seon; Yoon, Jin-Sang

2014-01-01

Objective To measure the prevalence of and factors associated with online inappropriate sexual exposure, cyber-bullying victimisation, and computer-using time in early adolescence. Methods A two-year, prospective school survey was performed with 1,173 children aged 13 at baseline. Data collected included demographic factors, bullying experience, depression, anxiety, coping strategies, self-esteem, psychopathology, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms, and school performance. Thes...

Teachers' Experiences with and Expectations of Children with Incarcerated Parents

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Dallaire, Danielle H.; Ciccone, Anne; Wilson, Laura C.

2010-01-01

Children with incarcerated parents, and mothers in particular, are at increased risk for academic failure and school dropout. In two studies, we examined teachers' experiences with children with incarcerated parents and their expectations for competence of children with incarcerated mothers. In Study 1, a descriptive, qualitative study, teachers…

Early Childhood Education and Care Educators Supporting Parent-Child Relationships: A Systematic Literature Review

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O'Connor, Amanda; Nolan, Andrea; Bergmeier, Heidi; Hooley, Merrilyn; Olsson, Craig; Cann, Warren; Williams-Smith, Janet; Skouteris, Helen

2017-01-01

Building strong relationships between children and parents is vital for children's social and emotional development. A majority of children attend early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings where they experience a range of relationships (educator-child, educator-parent, parent-child). Educators build relationships with children and…

School Age Outcomes of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Who Received Community-Based Early Interventions.

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Vinen, Zoe; Clark, Megan; Paynter, Jessica; Dissanayake, Cheryl

2018-05-01

This study followed children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) from early intervention into their early schooling years, when they were aged between 6 and 9 years, on autism symptom severity and cognitive functioning. The children, matched at pre-intervention, were compared on type of community provided service: 31 were in receipt of community-based group Early Start Denver Model and 28 had received other community provisions for ASD. Irrespective of groups, cognitive functioning was found to have significantly improved by school age compared to pre-intervention. Autism symptom severity increased during the same developmental period, seemingly driven by an increase in restricted and repetitive behaviours over time. In contrast, both groups displayed improved social affect by school age.

Modification of Depression by COMT val[superscript 158]Met Polymorphism in Children Exposed to Early Severe Psychosocial Deprivation

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Drury, Stacy S.; Theall, Katherine P.; Smyke, Anna T.; Keats, Bronya J. B.; Egger, Helen L.; Nelson, Charles A.; Fox, Nathan A.; Marshall, Peter J.; Zeanah, Charles H.

2010-01-01

Objective: To examine the impact of the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) val[superscript 158]met allele on depressive symptoms in young children exposed to early severe social deprivation as a result of being raised in institutions. Methods: One hundred thirty six children from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP) were randomized…

Bilingualism accentuates children's conversational understanding.

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Michael Siegal

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Although bilingualism is prevalent throughout the world, little is known about the extent to which it influences children's conversational understanding. Our investigation involved children aged 3-6 years exposed to one or more of four major languages: English, German, Italian, and Japanese. In two experiments, we examined the children's ability to identify responses to questions as violations of conversational maxims (to be informative and avoid redundancy, to speak the truth, be relevant, and be polite. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In Experiment 1, with increasing age, children showed greater sensitivity to maxim violations. Children in Italy who were bilingual in German and Italian (with German as the dominant language L1 significantly outperformed Italian monolinguals. In Experiment 2, children in England who were bilingual in English and Japanese (with English as L1 significantly outperformed Japanese monolinguals in Japan with vocabulary age partialled out. CONCLUSIONS: As the monolingual and bilingual groups had a similar family SES background (Experiment 1 and similar family cultural identity (Experiment 2, these results point to a specific role for early bilingualism in accentuating children's developing ability to appreciate effective communicative responses.

Preparing for reading comprehension: Fostering text comprehension skills in preschool and early elementary school children

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Paul van den Brook

2011-07-01

Full Text Available To understand what they read or hear, children and adults must create a coherent mental representation of presented information. Recent research suggests that the ability to do so starts to develop early –well before reading age- and that early individual differences are predictive of later reading-comprehension performance. In this paper, we review this research and discuss potential applications to early intervention. We then present two exploratory studies in which we examine whether it is feasible to design interventions with early readers (3rd grade and even toddlers (2-3 years old. The interventions employed causal questioning techniques as children listen to orally presented, age-appropriate narratives. Afterwards, comprehension was tested through question answering and recall tasks. Results indicate that such interventions are indeed feasible. Moreover, they suggest that for both toddlers and early readers questions during comprehension are more effective than questions after comprehension. Finally, for both groups higher working memory capacity was related to better comprehension.

Preparing for reading comprehension: Fostering text comprehension skills in preschool and early elementary school children

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Paul van den BROEK

2011-11-01

Full Text Available To understand what they read or hear, children and adults must create a coherent mental representation of presented information. Recent research suggests that the ability to do so starts to develop early –well before reading age- and that early individual differences are predictive of later reading-comprehension performance. In this paper, we review this research and discuss potential applications to early intervention. We then present two exploratory studies in which we examine whether it is feasible to design interventions with early readers (3rd grade and even toddlers (2-3 years old. The interventions employed causal questioning techniques as children listen to orally presented,age-appropriate narratives. Afterwards, comprehension was tested through question answering and recall tasks. Results indicate that such interventions are indeed feasible. Moreover, they suggest thatfor both toddlers and early readers questions during comprehension are more effective than questions after comprehension. Finally, for both groups higher working memory capacity was related to bettercomprehension.

Child Care and Cortisol across Early Childhood: Context Matters

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Berry, Daniel; Blair, Clancy; Ursache, Alexandra; Wiloughy, Michael; Garrett-Peters, Patricia; Veron-Feagans, Lynne; Bratsch-Hines, Mary; Mills-Koonce, W. Roger; Granger, Douglas A.

2014-01-01

A considerable body of literature suggests that children's child-care experiences may impact adrenocortical functioning in early childhood. Yet emerging findings also suggest that the magnitude and sometimes the direction of child-care effects on development may be markedly different for children from higher risk contexts. Using data from a large…

Early Childhood Intervention in China from the Families' Perspective

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Zheng, Yuzhu; Maude, Susan P.; Brotherson, Mary Jane; Merritts, Ashley

2016-01-01

Research highlights the importance of early childhood intervention (ECI) for children with disabilities, and there is an increasing interest in China with respect to research on ECI. However, little research exists exploring the experience of families of young children with disabilities receiving ECI services and supports in China. The purpose of…

Both Direct and Vicarious Experiences of Nature Affect Children's Willingness to Conserve Biodiversity.

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Soga, Masashi; Gaston, Kevin J; Yamaura, Yuichi; Kurisu, Kiyo; Hanaki, Keisuke

2016-05-25

Children are becoming less likely to have direct contact with nature. This ongoing loss of human interactions with nature, the extinction of experience, is viewed as one of the most fundamental obstacles to addressing global environmental challenges. However, the consequences for biodiversity conservation have been examined very little. Here, we conducted a questionnaire survey of elementary schoolchildren and investigated effects of the frequency of direct (participating in nature-based activities) and vicarious experiences of nature (reading books or watching TV programs about nature and talking about nature with parents or friends) on their affective attitudes (individuals' emotional feelings) toward and willingness to conserve biodiversity. A total of 397 children participated in the surveys in Tokyo. Children's affective attitudes and willingness to conserve biodiversity were positively associated with the frequency of both direct and vicarious experiences of nature. Path analysis showed that effects of direct and vicarious experiences on children's willingness to conserve biodiversity were mediated by their affective attitudes. This study demonstrates that children who frequently experience nature are likely to develop greater emotional affinity to and support for protecting biodiversity. We suggest that children should be encouraged to experience nature and be provided with various types of these experiences.

Growth curve analyses of the relationship between early maternal age and children's mathematics and reading performance.

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Torres, D Diego

2015-03-01

Regarding the methods used to examine the early maternal age-child academic outcomes relationship, the extant literature has tended to examine change using statistical analyses that fail to appreciate that individuals vary in their rates of growth. Of the one study I have been able to find that employs a true growth model to estimate this relationship, the authors only controlled for characteristics of the maternal household after family formation; confounding background factors of mothers that might select them into early childbearing, a possible source of bias, were ignored. The authors' findings nonetheless suggested an inverse relationship between early maternal age, i.e., a first birth between the ages of 13 and 17, and Canadian adolescents' mean math performance at age 10. Early maternal age was not related to the linear slope of age. To elucidate whether the early maternal age-child academic outcomes association, treated in a growth context, is consistent with this finding, the present study built on it using US data and explored children's mathematics and reading trajectories from age 5 on. Its unique contribution is that it further explicitly controlled for maternal background factors and employed a three-level growth model with repeated measures of children nested within their mothers. Though the strength of the relationship varied between mean initial academic performance and mean academic growth, results confirmed that early maternal age was negatively related to children's mathematics and reading achievement, net of post-teen first birth child-specific and maternal household factors. Once maternal background factors were included, there was no statistically significant relationship between early maternal age and either children's mean initial mathematics and reading scores or their mean mathematics and reading growth. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Longitudinal Comparison of Early Speech and Language Milestones in Children with Cleft Palate: A Comparison of US and Slovak Children

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Scherer, Nancy J.; Oravkinova, Zuzana; McBee, Matthew T.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to compare early speech and language development of children with and without cleft lip and/or palate (CLP) in the US and Slovakia from 6 to 24 months of age. Thirty-two children from the US (eight with CLP and eight noncleft) and Slovakia (eight with CLP and eight noncleft) participated in this study. The children…

Behavioural and skill-based early interventions in children with autism spectrum disorders

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Greiner, Wolfgang

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD comprise typical or infantile autism (Kanner syndrome, Asperger’s disorder and atypical autism or pervasive developmental disorder - not otherwise specified. The syndrome is characterized by deficits in (1 verbal and nonverbal communication, (2 reciprocal social interaction and (3 repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests and activities. Early behavioural interventions are based on learning theory and behaviour therapy. They take into account specific deficits in perception, emotional reactions, social interaction and communication. In Germany, these comprehensive models are not widely evaluated and implemented. Research questions: * What are the clinical effectiveness and safety of early behavioural or skills-based early interventions in autism compared to other interventions or to treatment as usual? * What are specific factors responsible for the effectiveness? * What are the cost-effectiveness and cost consequences of different early interventions in autism? * Which legal, social and ethical aspects are relevant with regard to the implementation of the respective interventions in persons with autism? Methods: Following a systematic review of the literature, controlled studies on early behavioural or skills-based interventions published since 2000 in English or German with children until the age of twelve are included and critically appraised. Studies must have at least ten participants per intervention group. Results: In total, 15 publications based on 14 studies, eight systematic reviews and one health economic study are included. Most studies evaluate early interventions based upon the Lovaas model (Early intensive behavioural treatment (EIBT, Applied behavioural analysis (ABA. Other evaluate pragmatic interventions or interventions based on other theoretical models like specific parent interventions, responsive education and prelinguistic milieu teaching, joint attention, symbolic play, and

Behavioural and skill-based early interventions in children with autism spectrum disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Weinmann, Stefan; Schwarzbach, Christoph; Begemann, Matthias; Roll, Stephanie; Vauth, Christoph; Willich, Stefan N; Greiner, Wolfgang

2009-07-29

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) comprise typical or infantile autism (Kanner syndrome), Asperger's disorder and atypical autism or pervasive developmental disorder - not otherwise specified. The syndrome is characterized by deficits in (1) verbal and nonverbal communication, (2) reciprocal social interaction and (3) repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests and activities. Early behavioural interventions are based on learning theory and behaviour therapy. They take into account specific deficits in perception, emotional reactions, social interaction and communication. In Germany, these comprehensive models are not widely evaluated and implemented. What are the clinical effectiveness and safety of early behavioural or skills-based early interventions in autism compared to other interventions or to treatment as usual?What are specific factors responsible for the effectiveness?What are the cost-effectiveness and cost consequences of different early interventions in autism?Which legal, social and ethical aspects are relevant with regard to the implementation of the respective interventions in persons with autism? Following a systematic review of the literature, controlled studies on early behavioural or skills-based interventions published since 2000 in English or German with children until the age of twelve are included and critically appraised. Studies must have at least ten participants per intervention group. In total, 15 publications based on 14 studies, eight systematic reviews and one health economic study are included. Most studies evaluate early interventions based upon the Lovaas model (Early intensive behavioural treatment (EIBT), Applied behavioural analysis (ABA)). Other evaluate pragmatic interventions or interventions based on other theoretical models like specific parent interventions, responsive education and prelinguistic milieu teaching, joint attention, symbolic play, and picture exchange communication system. Behaviour analytic interventions

Behavioural and skill-based early interventions in children with autism spectrum disorders

Science.gov (United States)

Weinmann, Stefan; Schwarzbach, Christoph; Begemann, Matthias; Roll, Stephanie; Vauth, Christoph; Willich, Stefan N.; Greiner, Wolfgang

2009-01-01

Introduction Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) comprise typical or infantile autism (Kanner syndrome), Asperger’s disorder and atypical autism or pervasive developmental disorder - not otherwise specified. The syndrome is characterized by deficits in (1) verbal and nonverbal communication, (2) reciprocal social interaction and (3) repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests and activities. Early behavioural interventions are based on learning theory and behaviour therapy. They take into account specific deficits in perception, emotional reactions, social interaction and communication. In Germany, these comprehensive models are not widely evaluated and implemented. Research questions What are the clinical effectiveness and safety of early behavioural or skills-based early interventions in autism compared to other interventions or to treatment as usual? What are specific factors responsible for the effectiveness? What are the cost-effectiveness and cost consequences of different early interventions in autism? Which legal, social and ethical aspects are relevant with regard to the implementation of the respective interventions in persons with autism? Methods Following a systematic review of the literature, controlled studies on early behavioural or skills-based interventions published since 2000 in English or German with children until the age of twelve are included and critically appraised. Studies must have at least ten participants per intervention group. Results In total, 15 publications based on 14 studies, eight systematic reviews and one health economic study are included. Most studies evaluate early interventions based upon the Lovaas model (Early intensive behavioural treatment (EIBT), Applied behavioural analysis (ABA)). Other evaluate pragmatic interventions or interventions based on other theoretical models like specific parent interventions, responsive education and prelinguistic milieu teaching, joint attention, symbolic play, and picture exchange

A Sense of Autonomy in Young Children's Special Places

Science.gov (United States)

Green, Carie

2013-01-01

Early childhood is a significant time when children begin to develop their place identity. As they discover their environment, young children claim special places in which to construct their own experiences. In exploring ways to connect children with place, particularly nature, caregivers need to consider children's place perspectives in the…

The experiences of parents of children with mental disability ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objective: The aim of this qualitative study was to describe the problems that parents or caregivers of children with mental health disabilities and disorders in Namibia experience when accessing healthcare resources for their children. Method: Data was collected through focus group discussions with the participants and ...

Acute extradural haematomas in children: A 12-year experience ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: Acute extradural haematomas (AEDHs) occur infrequently in children. This study was undertaken to review our experience with management and outcomes of this condition in children treated in the Neurosurgery Unit at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital. Methods: A retrospective review of medical records of ...

Early inherited risk for anxiety moderates the association between fathers' child-centered parenting and early social inhibition.

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Brooker, R J; Alto, K M; Marceau, K; Najjar, R; Leve, L D; Ganiban, J M; Shaw, D S; Reiss, D; Neiderhiser, J M

2016-12-01

Studies of the role of the early environment in shaping children's risk for anxiety problems have produced mixed results. It is possible that inconsistencies in previous findings result from a lack of consideration of a putative role for inherited influences moderators on the impact of early experiences. Early inherited influences not only contribute to vulnerabilities for anxiety problems throughout the lifespan, but can also modulate the ways that the early environment impacts child outcomes. In the current study, we tested the effects of child-centered parenting behaviors on putative anxiety risk in young children who differed in levels of inherited vulnerability. We tested this using a parent-offspring adoption design and a sample in which risk for anxiety problems and parenting behaviors were assessed in both mothers and fathers. Inherited influences on anxiety problems were assessed as anxiety symptoms in biological parents. Child-centered parenting was observed in adoptive mothers and fathers when children were 9 months old. Social inhibition, an early temperament marker of anxiety risk, was observed at child ages 9 and 18 months. Inherited influences on anxiety problems moderated the link between paternal child-centered parenting during infancy and social inhibition in toddlerhood. For children whose birth parents reported high levels of anxiety symptoms, greater child-centered parenting in adoptive fathers was related to greater social inhibition 9 months later. For children whose birth parents reported low levels of anxiety symptoms, greater child-centered parenting in adoptive fathers was related to less social inhibition across the same period.

Children With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus: Self-Management Experiences in School.

Science.gov (United States)

de Cássia Sparapani, Valéria; Liberatore, Raphael D R; Damião, Elaine B C; de Oliveira Dantas, Isa R; de Camargo, Rosangela A A; Nascimento, Lucila C

2017-08-01

Children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) need to perform self-management activities at school and in other environments. Learning about their experiences at school is crucial to assist them in this challenging task. Qualitative interviews were conducted with children with T1DM, aged between 7 and 12. A scenario was created and puppets were used during the interviews to help the participating children to communicate about school, daily routines, and experiences in diabetes management. Data were collected over a period of 1 year and analyzed according to content analysis procedures. Nineteen children, 13 boys and 6 girls, at the mean age of 9.8 ± 1.8 years and mean time since diagnosis of 3.3 years, participated in the study. Three themes were identified: lack of information on T1DM, diabetes self-care at school, and support received by the children. The study provides useful information to understand the children's experiences in managing the disease at school. The partnership between school staff, health teams, children with T1DM, and their families need to be enhanced to promote appropriate strategies that improve the management of diabetes in this setting. © 2017, American School Health Association.

Creating Relational Spaces: Everyday Spirituality in Early Childhood Settings

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Bone, Jane

2008-01-01

This research addressed the question of how the spiritual experience of young children might be supported in early childhood educational settings. Qualitative case study research took place in three different contexts: a Montessori casa, a Rudolf Steiner kindergarten and a private preschool. Children aged 2 1/2-6 years, their parents and teachers…

Computed tomography of the brain in children with early infantile autism

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hoshino, Yoshihiko; Manome, Taei; Kaneko, Motohisa; Yashima, Yuko; Kumashiro, Hisashi

1984-01-01

In order to examine the cranial CT of autistic children and investigate the etiological significance of CT scan findings, the CT of the brain was surveyed in 24 children with early infantile autism (3 to 17 years with a mean age of 7.6), and 179 children with the normal CT despite their medical histories such as headaches or febrile convulsions. According to their ages, the autistic and normal children were divided into the following three groups: Group I (age ranging from 3 to 5), Group II (age: 6 to 9) and Group III (age: 10 to 17). 1) There was no significant difference between the bifrontal CVI of the autistic children and that of the normal children. However, in Group III, the bifrontal CVI of the autistic children was significantly higher than that of the normal children. 2) There was no significant difference between the bicaudate CVI of the autistic children and that of the normal children. However, in Groups I and II, the bicaudate CVI of the autistic children was significantly lower than that of the normal children. 3) The maximum widths of the third ventricle showed no significant difference between the autistic and normal children. However, in Groups II and III, those of the autistic children were wider than those of the normal children. In the autistic children, as the age increases, the difference becomes significantly wider. A positive correlation was observed between the width of the third ventricle and ages of the autistic children. 4) An examination of the right-left ratio of maximum transverse diameter of the brain showed that there was no significant difference between the autistic and normal children. The above mentioned results (1)-4)) might suggest a progressive disorder of the brain structure surrounding the third ventricle or lateral ventricles in the autistic children. (author).

Computed tomography of the brain in children with early infantile autism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoshino, Yoshihiko; Manome, Taei; Kaneko, Motohisa; Yashima, Yuko; Kumashiro, Hisashi

1984-01-01

In order to examine the cranial CT of autistic children and investigate the etiological significance of CT scan findings, the CT of the brain was surveyed in 24 children with early infantile autism (3 to 17 years with a mean age of 7.6), and 179 children with the normal CT despite their medical histories such as headaches or febrile convulsions. According to their ages, the autistic and normal children were divided into the following three groups: Group I (age ranging from 3 to 5), Group II (age: 6 to 9) and Group III (age: 10 to 17). 1) There was no significant difference between the bifrontal CVI of the autistic children and that of the normal children. However, in Group III, the bifrontal CVI of the autistic children was significantly higher than that of the normal children. 2) There was no significant difference between the bicaudate CVI of the autistic children and that of the normal children. However, in Groups I and II, the bicaudate CVI of the autistic children was significantly lower than that of the normal children. 3) The maximum widths of the third ventricle showed no significant difference between the autistic and normal children. However, in Groups II and III, those of the autistic children were wider than those of the normal children. In the autistic children, as the age increases, the difference becomes significantly wider. A positive correlation was observed between the width of the third ventricle and ages of the autistic children. 4) An examination of the right-left ratio of maximum transverse diameter of the brain showed that there was no significant difference between the autistic and normal children. The abovementioned results (1)-4)) might suggest a progressive disorder of the brain structure surrounding the third ventricle or lateral ventricles in the autistic children. (author)

Early diagnosis of asthma in young children by using non-invasive biomarkers of airway inflammation and early lung function measurements: study protocol of a case-control study

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van de Kant, Kim DG; Klaassen, Ester MM; Jöbsis, Quirijn; Nijhuis, Annedien J; van Schayck, Onno CP; Dompeling, Edward

2009-01-01

Background Asthma is the most common chronic disease in childhood, characterized by chronic airway inflammation. There are problems with the diagnosis of asthma in young children since the majority of the children with recurrent asthma-like symptoms is symptom free at 6 years, and does not have asthma. With the conventional diagnostic tools it is not possible to differentiate between preschool children with transient symptoms and children with asthma. The analysis of biomarkers of airway inflammation in exhaled breath is a non-invasive and promising technique to diagnose asthma and monitor inflammation in young children. Moreover, relatively new lung function tests (airway resistance using the interrupter technique) have become available for young children. The primary objective of the ADEM study (Asthma DEtection and Monitoring study), is to develop a non-invasive instrument for an early asthma diagnosis in young children, using exhaled inflammatory markers and early lung function measurements. In addition, aetiological factors, including gene polymorphisms and gene expression profiles, in relation to the development of asthma are studied. Methods/design A prospective case-control study is started in 200 children with recurrent respiratory symptoms and 50 control subjects without respiratory symptoms. At 6 years, a definite diagnosis of asthma is made (primary outcome measure) on basis of lung function assessments and current respiratory symptoms ('golden standard'). From inclusion until the definite asthma diagnosis, repeated measurements of lung function tests and inflammatory markers in exhaled breath (condensate), blood and faeces are performed. The study is registered and ethically approved. Discussion This article describes the study protocol of the ADEM study. The new diagnostic techniques applied in this study could make an early diagnosis of asthma possible. An early and reliable asthma diagnosis at 2–3 years will have consequences for the management of

Early feeding: setting the stage for healthy eating habits.

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Mennella, Julie A; Ventura, Alison K

2011-01-01

Food habits, an integral part of all cultures, have their beginnings during early life. This chapter reviews the development of the senses of taste and smell, which provide information on the flavor of foods, and discusses how children's innate predispositions interact with early-life feeding experiences to form dietary preferences and habits. Young children show heightened preferences for foods that taste sweet and salty and rejection of that which tastes bitter. These innate responses are salient during development since they likely evolved to encourage children to ingest that which is beneficial, containing needed calories or minerals, and to reject that which is harmful. Early childhood is also characterized by plasticity, partially evidenced by a sensitive period during early life when infants exhibit heightened acceptance of the flavors experienced in amniotic fluid and breast milk. While learning also occurs with flavors found in formulae, it is likely that this sensitive period formed to facilitate acceptance of and attraction to the flavors of foods eaten by the mother. A basic understanding of the development and functioning of the chemical senses during early childhood may assist in forming evidence-based strategies to improve children's diets. Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Is a Response to Intervention (RTI) Approach to Preschool Language and Early Literacy Instruction Needed?

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Greenwood, Charles R.; Carta, Judith J.; Atwater, Jane; Goldstein, Howard; Kaminski, Ruth; McConnell, Scott

2013-01-01

Preschool experience plays a role in children's development. However, for programs with language and early literacy goals, the question remains whether preschool instructional experiences are sufficiently effective to achieve these goals for all children. In a multisite study, the authors conducted a process-product description of preschool…

Postoperative pain management experiences among school-aged children: a qualitative study.

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Sng, Qian Wen; Taylor, Beverley; Liam, Joanne Lw; Klainin-Yobas, Piyanee; Wang, Wenru; He, Hong-Gu

2013-04-01

To explore postoperative pain management experiences among school-aged children. Ineffective postoperative pain management among children has been commonly reported. School-aged children are able to evaluate how their pain is managed and what their preferred strategies are. Most studies in pain management have adopted quantitative methods and have overlooked children's pain management experiences. This is a qualitative study using face-to-face interviews. Data were collected from 15 school-aged children admitted to a tertiary hospital in Singapore by in-depth interviews conducted between November 2010 and January 2011. Data were analysed by thematic analysis. Five themes were identified: children's self-directed actions to relieve their postoperative pain (e.g. using cognitive-behavioural methods of distraction and imagery, physical method of positioning, sleeping and drinking, seeking other people's help by informing parents and crying and using pain medications); children's perceptions of actions parents take for their postoperative pain relief (assessing pain, administering pain medications, using various cognitive-behavioural, physical methods and emotional support strategies, assisting in activities and alerting health professionals); children's perception of actions nurses take for their postoperative pain relief (administering medication, using cognitive-behavioural methods, emotional support strategies and helping with activities of daily living) and suggestions for parents (using distraction and presence) and nurses (administering medications, distraction and positioning) for their postoperative pain relief improvement. This study contributed to the existing knowledge about children's postoperative pain management based on their own experiences. Children, their parents and nurses used various strategies, including pain medication and non-pharmacological methods, especially distraction, for children's postoperative pain relief. This study provides evidence

Developmental consequences of early parenting experiences: self-recognition and self-regulation in three cultural communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Keller, Heidi; Yovsi, Relindis; Borke, Joern; Kärtner, Joscha; Jensen, Henning; Papaligoura, Zaira

2004-01-01

This study relates parenting of 3-month-old children to children's self-recognition and self-regulation at 18 to 20 months. As hypothesized, observational data revealed differences in the sociocultural orientations of the 3 cultural samples' parenting styles and in toddlers' development of self-recognition and self-regulation. Children of Cameroonian Nso farmers who experience a proximal parenting style develop self-regulation earlier, children of Greek urban middle-class families who experience a distal parenting style develop self-recognition earlier, and children of Costa Rican middle-class families who experience aspects of both distal and proximal parenting styles fall between the other 2 groups on both self-regulation and self-recognition. Results are discussed with respect to their implications for culturally informed developmental pathways.

Prevalence of early childhood caries in 3- to 5-year-old preschool children in Rohtak City, Haryana

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Mamta Ghanghas

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Early childhood caries (ECC is a significant dental public health problem that affects infants and preschool children all over the world, and there is scarcity of epidemiological data regarding ECC in Rohtak city. Aim: This study aims to assess the prevalence of ECC among 3- to 5-year-old preschool children in Rohtak city, Haryana, India. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among 489 preschool children aged 3–5 years in Rohtak city, Haryana. Children were randomly selected from preschools of Rohtak. Caries experience was recorded using “deft” index, and questionnaire comprising sociodemographic details and oral hygiene practices was also used. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20.0. Chi-square tests were used for the comparison of proportions. P < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: The overall prevalence of ECC was found to be 32% with mean deft 1.08 ± 2.27. No significant association of dental caries was found with sociodemographic factors such as gender, parental education, parental occupation, socioeconomic status, number of children, birth order, type of family, and oral hygiene practices. Conclusion: As burden of dental caries is high, treatment of dental caries would impose a great financial burden; hence, effective preventive strategies should be developed and implemented.

Early Intervention and Maltreated Children: A Current Look at the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act and Part C

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Moxley, Kathleen M.; Squires, Jane; Lindstrom, Lauren

2012-01-01

Current literature regarding the prevalence of child abuse and neglect, resulting developmental impacts on children, and early intervention services for children and families involved in the child welfare system is summarized. While early intervention eligibility referrals are mandated for this population under the Child Abuse Prevention and…

Perceived instrumental support and children's health across the early life course.

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Turney, Kristin

2013-10-01

A large, venerable literature demonstrates the importance of social relationships and social support for health, though much less research examines whether the benefits of social support to mothers extend to children. This paper examines the relationship between mothers' perceptions of instrumental support and children's health using longitudinal data from the U.S. Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 4342), a cohort of American children born in urban areas to mostly unmarried parents. Results suggest mothers' perceptions of instrumental support is positively associated with children's overall health, and this finding persists despite controlling for a host of individual-level characteristics of mothers and children (including a lagged indicator of children's health) and in fixed-effect models. Mothers' economic security and mothers' wellbeing attenuate some, but not all, of the association between perceived instrumental support and children's overall health. In addition, the link between perceived instrumental support and three specific indicators of health - asthma, overweight/obese, and number of emergency room visits - falls to statistical insignificance after accounting for individual-level characteristics, suggesting these associations result from social selection processes. Taken together, these findings suggest the beneficial health consequences of social support may extend to children across the early life course and demonstrate the need to better understand mothers' reports of children's overall health. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

"It's All About Ben10[TM]": Children's Play, Health and Sustainability Decisions in the Early Years

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Edwards, S.; Skouteris, H.; Rutherford, L.; Cutter-Mackenzie, A.

2013-01-01

In today's fast food, fast-paced consumer society, too few questions are asked about the influence of digital media on young children's health and sustainability choices, and indeed how such choices are expressed in children's play (and early childhood classrooms). By interviewing children and parents, and using such data to prompt teacher…

The effect of drawing on children's experiences of investigations following alleged child abuse.

Science.gov (United States)

Katz, Carmit; Barnetz, Zion; Hershkowitz, Irit

2014-05-01

The primary aim of the study was to evaluate investigative interviews from the perspectives of the children, comparing children who drew with children who did not. One hundred twenty-five children, alleged victims of sexual abuse, were asked about their investigative experience. The uniqueness of the study is that all of the interviews were conducted according to the NICHD Protocol and that children were randomly assigned into one of the two research conditions (drawing vs. non-drawing). The results clearly demonstrate the advantage that drawing has on the children's experience of the investigation, with children in the drawing group more often reporting feelings of hope and success. This study provides practical guidelines for practitioners by emphasizing the beneficial effects that drawing can have. The study stresses the importance of integrating into forensic investigations interventions that enhance children's testimonies and ensure that the investigation is an empowering experience that generates feelings of trust, self-worth, and justice. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The DEBT Project: Early Intervention for Handicapped Children and Their Parents.

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Macy, Daniel J.; And Others

Project DEBT (Developmental Education Birth through Two), an early identification and intervention program for handicapped and at risk children and their parents, is described. The Koontz Child Developmental Program, the core curriculum for instructional planning and intervention in DEBT, is reviewed, and new data are presented. It is explained…

Early identification and intervention in children at risk for reading difficulties

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Regtvoort, A.G.F.M.

2014-01-01

In pre-readers, a familial background of dyslexia and/or delayed emergent literacy should be considered a not-to-ignore risk signalling problems with learning to read. This thesis aims to study early identification and intervention in at-risk children shortly before or after the start of formal

Using Early Learning Standards to Provide High-Quality Education for All Children: The Early Learning Guidelines Toolkit

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Flores, Roseanne L.; Curby, Timothy W.; Coleman, Hardin; Melo, Kristan

2016-01-01

Today with the rise in the number of 3- to 6-year-old children enrolled in center-based early childhood programs, and a focus on program quality, it becomes imperative for educators to have a better understanding of the role research plays in establishing high-quality programs as these programs provide much of the foundation that supports early…

Determination of preservice special education teachers’ views on early childhood intervention

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Basak Baglama

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Experiences in early childhood have a great influence on a child's physical and mental development. Early childhood interventions are widely accepted as an effective way to prevent learning difficulties and to promote healthy development for children with special needs. For this reason, it is important for teachers who will work with children with special needs or children who are at risk to have sufficient knowledge about early childhood intervention and be competent in this area. Therefore, the present study aims to determine the views of preservice special education teachers about early childhood intervention. This study used quantitative research method and a questionnaire form was used to collect the data. The results are discussed in detail with reference to relevant literature. Implications and recommendations for further research are also provided in order to improve the quality of education policies, programs and practices related with early childhood intervention and increase awareness and knowledge related with early childhood interventions among teacher candidates.

The Social Networks of Children With and Without Disabilities in Early Childhood Special Education Classrooms.

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Chen, Jing; Lin, Tzu-Jung; Justice, Laura; Sawyer, Brook

2017-09-01

Interaction with peers is an important contributor to young children's social and cognitive development. Yet, little is known about the nature of social networks within preschool inclusive classrooms. The current study applied a social network analysis to characterize children's peer interactions in inclusive classrooms and their relations with children's disability status. The participants were 485 preschoolers from 64 early childhood special education (ECSE) inclusive classrooms. Results from teachers' report of children's social networks showed that children with disabilities formed smaller play networks compared to their typically developing peers in the classroom, but no evidence indicated that children with disabilities engaged in more conflict networks than their counterparts. Children's play and conflict networks were segregated by children's disability status.

Early Hearing Loss and Language Abilities in Children with Down Syndrome

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Laws, Glynis; Hall, Amanda

2014-01-01

Background: Although many children with Down syndrome experience hearing loss, there has been little research to investigate its impact on speech and language development. Studies that have investigated the association give inconsistent results. These have often been based on samples where children with the most severe hearing impairments have…

Jump-Starting Early Childhood Education at Home: Early Learning, Parent Motivation, and Public Policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Maloney, Erin A; Converse, Benjamin A; Gibbs, Chloe R; Levine, Susan C; Beilock, Sian L

2015-11-01

By the time children begin formal schooling, their experiences at home have already contributed to large variations in their math and language development, and once school begins, academic achievement continues to depend strongly on influences outside of school. It is thus essential that educational reform strategies involve primary caregivers. Specifically, programs and policies should promote and support aspects of caregiver-child interaction that have been empirically demonstrated to boost early learning and should seek to impede "motivational sinkholes" that threaten to undermine caregivers' desires to engage their children effectively. This article draws on cognitive and behavioral science to detail simple, low-cost, and effective tools caregivers can employ to prepare their children for educational success and then describes conditions that can protect and facilitate caregivers' motivation to use those tools. Policy recommendations throughout focus on using existing infrastructure to more deeply engage caregivers in effective early childhood education at home. © The Author(s) 2015.

Multilingual children with hearing loss: Factors contributing to language use at home and in early education

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Crowe, Kathryn; McKinnon, David H; McLeod, Sharynne; Ching, Teresa YC

2013-01-01

Understanding the relationship between children’s cultural and linguistic diversity and child, caregiver, and environmental characteristics is important to ensure appropriate educational expectations and provisions. As part of the Longitudinal Outcomes of Children with Hearing Impairment (LOCHI) study, children’s caregivers and educators completed questionnaires on demographic characteristics, including the communication mode (oral, manual, or mixed) and languages used in home and early educational environments. This article reports an exploratory analysis to examine factors associated with language use and communication mode of children at 3 years of age. A Chi Square Automatic Interaction Detector (CHAID) analysis was performed on data from 406 children to examine factors influencing communication mode and oral language use. The factor that most influenced children’s communication mode at home was the communication mode used by their female caregiver. Children’s communication mode in their early education environment was most related to the communication mode they used at home, and then related to the presence of additional needs in the children, female caregivers’ level of education and the male caregivers’ use of languages other than English (LOTEs). A second exploratory CHAID analysis of data for children from multilingual families (n = 106) indicated that female caregivers’ use of English at home significantly influenced whether children used a LOTE at home. Finally, the use of a LOTE at home was associated with the use of a LOTE in the early education environment. These findings serve as an initial description of the factors that were associated with the communication mode and language use of children with hearing loss. PMID:23519446

Teachers' Perceptions of Young Children with ADHD in Korea

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Hong, Yonghee

2008-01-01

This study examined Korean early childhood teachers' understanding of behavioural characteristics of children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), difficulties about and concerns for children with ADHD, the kinds of support for which teachers looked, experiences teachers had with the parents of children with ADHD, and…

The Combined Influence of Air Pollution and Home Learning Environment on Early Cognitive Skills in Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Lett, Lanair A; Stingone, Jeanette A; Claudio, Luz

2017-10-26

Cognitive skills are one component of school readiness that reflect a child's neurodevelopment and are influenced by environmental and social factors. Most studies assess the impact of these factors individually, without taking into consideration the complex interactions of multiple factors. The objective of this study was to examine the joint association of markers of environmental pollution and of social factors on early cognitive skills in an urban cohort of children. For this, we chose isophorone in ambient air as a marker of industrial air pollution. Low quality home learning environments was chosen as a marker of the social factors contributing to cognitive development. Using a subpopulation from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (N = 4050), isophorone exposure was assigned using the 2002 National Air Toxics Assessment. Home learning environment was assessed with a modified version of the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) Inventory, and standardized math assessment scores were used as a measure of early cognitive skills. Multiple linear regression was used to estimate the effect of both exposures on math scores. After adjustment for confounders, children living in areas with ambient isophorone in the upper quintile of exposure (>0.49 ng/m³) had math scores that were 1.63 points lower than their less exposed peers [95% CI: -2.91, -0.34], and children with lower HOME scores (at or below 9 out of 12) had math scores that were 1.20 points lower than children with better HOME scores [95% CI: -2.30, -0.10]. In adjusted models accounting for identified confounders and both exposures of interest, both high isophorone exposure and low HOME score remained independently associated with math scores [-1.48, 95% CI: -2.79, -0.18; -1.05, 95% CI: -2.15, 0.05, respectively]. There was no statistical evidence of interaction between the two exposures, although children with both higher isophorone exposure and a low HOME score had a

Learning From Experience: Improving Early Tracheal Extubation Success After Congenital Cardiac Surgery.

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Winch, Peter D; Staudt, Anna M; Sebastian, Roby; Corridore, Marco; Tumin, Dmitry; Simsic, Janet; Galantowicz, Mark; Naguib, Aymen; Tobias, Joseph D

2016-07-01

The many advantages of early tracheal extubation following congenital cardiac surgery in young infants and children are now widely recognized. Benefits include avoiding the morbidity associated with prolonged intubation and the consequences of sedation and positive pressure ventilation in the setting of altered cardiopulmonary physiology. Our practice of tracheal extubation of young infants in the operating room following cardiac surgery has evolved and new challenges in the arena of postoperative sedation and pain management have appeared. Review our institutional outcomes associated with early tracheal extubation following congenital cardiac surgery. Inclusion criteria included all children less than 1 year old who underwent congenital cardiac surgery between October 1, 2010, and October 24, 2013. A total of 416 patients less than 1 year old were included. Of the 416 patients, 234 underwent tracheal extubation in the operating room (56%) with 25 requiring reintubation (10.7%), either immediately or following admission to the cardiothoracic ICU. Of the 25 patients extubated in the operating room who required reintubation, 22 failed within 24 hours of cardiothoracic ICU admission; 10 failures were directly related to narcotic doses that resulted in respiratory depression. As a result of this review, we have instituted changes in our cardiothoracic ICU postoperative care plans. We have developed a neonatal delirium score, and have adopted the "Kangaroo Care" approach that was first popularized in neonatal ICUs. This provision allows for the early parental holding of infants following admission to the cardiothoracic ICU and allows for appropriately selected parents to sleep in the same beds alongside their postoperative children.

Expectations of Malaysian Mothers for the Schooling of Their Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Waite, Linda J.; And Others

A Rand study develops a model concerning mothers in Peninsular Malaysia's three major ethnic groups (Malay, Chinese, Indian), investigating relationships between their early life experiences and their expectations for education levels of their children. The model examines three of the women's early life experiences that are governed by their…

77 FR 52702 - Notice of Submission for OMB Review; Institute of Education Sciences; Early Childhood...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-30

... child development, early learning, and school progress, drawing together information from multiple... child development, early learning, and school progress, drawing together information from multiple... children's early school experiences beginning with kindergarten and continuing through the fifth grade. It...

Assessment of early bronchiectasis in young children with cystic fibrosis is dependent on lung volume

NARCIS (Netherlands)

M.P.L. Bard (Martin); K. Graniel (Karla); J. Park (Judy); N.H. de Klerk (Nicholas); P.D. Sly; C.P. Murray (Conor); H.A.W.M. Tiddens (Harm); S. Stick

2013-01-01

textabstractObjective: The aim of this study was to determine whether assessment of early CT scan-detected bronchiectasis in young children with cystic fibrosis (CF) depends on lung volume. Methods: This study, approved by the hospital ethics committee, included 40 young children with CF from a

EARLY TREATMENT OF HANDICAPPED CHILDREN-ESPECIALLY OF MENTALLY HANDICAPPED

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter SKUBER

1997-06-01

Full Text Available In my discussion about the early treatment, I am going to point out three important matters:1. Open public health serviceThe deliveries are made at hospitals and the health service is the first to detect and treat children who are disturbed in their development. It also supervisor pregnancies. Upon the delivery, the screening test is used to analyze the risk delivery. At the beginning, the treatment is individual.2. Group (5-8 children in regular kindergartenThe transition of the child from the clinical treatment to the kindergarten is the result of an agreement between the team of experts both from the health institutes and pedagogical field of activity working in this way also when the child is in the nursery.The group of 5-8 handicapped children is now under the supervision of a nursery teacher having been to obtain special pedagogical education.3. Seminars of parentsThe state unity of associations providing for handicapped, in cooperation with local associations, organizes seminars lasting several days for parents and children.The purpose of the seminars is first of all helping parents in solving their emotional problems and also informing them on numerous issues appearing in connection with their child and themselves.

The daily of an school of early childhood education: sharing experiences

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Adriana de Souza Broering

2008-09-01

Full Text Available Assuming the difficulty of talking about the experience and want to say without a model, this report presents the experience lived and shared by professionals, children and families of the "Creche Municipal Nossa Senhora Aparecida" known as nursery school "Pantanal".

Continuity and Respect for Diversity: Strengthening Early Transitions in Peru. Working Papers in Early Childhood Development, No. 56. Studies in Early Childhood Transitions

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Ames, Patricia; Rojas, Vanessa; Portugal, Tamia

2010-01-01

This working paper is part of a series on early transitions from "Young Lives," a 15-year longitudinal study of childhood poverty in Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam. It explores the diverse experiences of 28 children from four contrasting communities in Peru as they start school. These detailed case studies highlight common problems:…

Participation of children with neurodevelopmental risk factors in the early rehabilitation program in relation to the level of parental education.

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Mikelić, Valentina Matijević; Kosicek, Tena; Crnković, Maja; Radanović, Branko

2011-12-01

Many factors that have an adverse effect on fetal growth and development can manifest later in the child's development. Because of the biological basis, children born under the influence of these factors belong to the group of neurorisk children. They need special attention and prompt participation in the early rehabilitation program to encourage the use of brain plasticity. In addition to the biological influences, socioeconomic status affects a wide array of medical, cognitive and socio-emotional consequences in children, which begin before birth and continue into adulthood. This retrospective study included 50 children aged one to three years, hospitalized at Department of Pediatric Rehabilitation, University Department of Rheumatology, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital Center in Zagreb. The aim was to determine the frequency of inclusion of children with neurodevelopmental risks in the early rehabilitation program according to the level of parental education. The results showed the highest percentage of parents of neurorisk children to have high school education, while the smallest number of parents had elementary school education. These data pointed to the lack of public awareness of the importance of the early period of life. However, they also indicated the lack of parental knowledge of their rights and opportunities for involvement of their neurorisk children in the early rehabilitation programs.

Emotional Experiences Among Siblings of Children With Rare Disorders.

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Haukeland, Yngvild B; Fjermestad, Krister W; Mossige, Svein; Vatne, Torun M

2015-08-01

This research aimed to provide new knowledge about the emotional experiences of siblings of children with rare disorders. Qualitative thematic analysis was conducted based on videotapes of 11 support groups for 58 siblings aged 7-17 years (Mage = 11.4 years, SD = 2.4) of children with rare disorders. Participants described contradictory emotions in three main contexts: (1) implications of the disorder (knowledge, medical issues, prognosis); (2) consequences for family life (practical implications, limitations of the child with disorder, perspectives on the sibling relationship); and (3) consequences for social life (reflections about (ab)normality, reactions from others). Passive coping strategies were frequently described relative to active coping strategies. An emerging dilemma for participants was hiding versus sharing emotional experiences. Siblings' emotional experiences are characterized by diverse and contradictory feelings. Interventions to promote emotional health in siblings of children with rare disorder should address this complexity. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Pediatric Psychology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Aesthetic Discourses in Early Childhood Settings: Dewey, Steiner, and Vygotsky

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Lim, Booyeun

2004-01-01

Early childhood, when young children are already capable of undergoing aesthetic experience, must be the starting point for aesthetic education. Despite increasing attention to the significant values of the arts in early childhood classrooms, no theoretical framework to support aesthetic education has been established. This article introduces the…

Assessment of maternal risk factors and its relationship with early childhood caries among preschool children in Mangaluru city

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Sham S Bhat

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Aim: The aim of this study is to assess the maternal risk factors and its relationship with early childhood caries (ECC among preschoolchildren in Mangaluru city. Methods: Children aged 3–5 years attending preschool (Anganwadi and their mothers were included in the study. A total of 120 child–mother pairs participated in the study. The maternal risk factors were assessed by a pretested questionnaire. After obtaining the consent, the mother and their children were clinically examined for dental caries using the WHO criteria (1997. Results were analyzed using SPSS 18.0. Results: Significant difference was found in mother's caries activity, high level of Streptococcus mutans, brushing frequency, diet of the mother, and their child's caries experience. Conclusion: A relationship between maternal risk factors and ECC is a result of a multifactorial and a comprehensive model that includes psychological and behavioral aspects. Caries prevention strategy should be that every child should receive oral care before age of one so that needful children can be instituted with preventive measures and their parents can be targeted for educational programs.

Motor Development Skills of 1- to 4-Year-Old Iranian Children with Early Treated Phenylketonuria

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Firouzeh Sajedi

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Objective: To gauge the gross and fine motor development of early treated phenylketonuria (ETPKU in children in the age range of 1–4 years. Materials & Methods: A cross-sectional analytic study was conducted in PKU clinics (reference clinics for PKU follow-up, Tehran, Iran. Seventy children with ETPKU were selected as the case group for the study. ETPKU children were those with early and continuous treatment with a phenylalaninerestricted diet (the mean of blood phenylalanine level during the recent 6 months was 2–6 mg/dL or 120–360 mmol/L. Also, 100 healthy and normal children matched with the ETPKU group for age were randomly selected from 4 kindergartens in four parts of Tehran as a control group. The measurements consisted of a demographic questionnaire, Peabody Developmental Motor Scale-2 (PDMS-2, and pediatrician assessment. Motor quotients were determined by PDMS-2 and then compared in both groups by two independent samples t-test. Results: The mean ages in case and control group were 28.5 (±11.6 and 29.7 (±11.3 months, respectively. Comparison of the mean fine, gross, and total developmental motor quotients (DMQs showed statistically significant differences between the two groups (P<0.05. The fine and total DMQs of ETPKU children were also correlated with age. In addition, there was a negative correlation between the phenylalanine level and fine (P<0.001 and total (P=0.001 DMQs. Conclusion: It seems that ETPKU Iranian children, regardless of following a phenylalanine-restricted diet or not, have lower motor development. It is recommended to plan programs for early detection and intervention of developmental delays in these children.

Early fecal microbiota composition in children who later develop celiac disease and associated autoimmunity.

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Rintala, Anniina; Riikonen, Iiris; Toivonen, Anne; Pietilä, Sami; Munukka, Eveliina; Pursiheimo, Juha-Pekka; Elo, Laura L; Arikoski, Pekka; Luopajärvi, Kristiina; Schwab, Ursula; Uusitupa, Matti; Heinonen, Seppo; Savilahti, Erkki; Eerola, Erkki; Ilonen, Jorma

2018-04-01

Several studies have reported that the intestinal microbiota composition of celiac disease (CD) patients differs from healthy individuals. The possible role of gut microbiota in the pathogenesis of the disease is, however, not known. Here, we aimed to assess the possible differences in early fecal microbiota composition between children that later developed CD and healthy controls matched for age, sex and HLA risk genotype. We used 16S rRNA gene sequencing to examine the fecal microbiota of 27 children with high genetic risk of developing CD. Nine of these children developed the disease by the age of 4 years. Stool samples were collected at the age of 9 and 12 months, before any of the children had developed CD. The fecal microbiota composition of children who later developed the disease was compared with the microbiota of the children who did not have CD or associated autoantibodies at the age of 4 years. Delivery mode, early nutrition, and use of antibiotics were taken into account in the analyses. No statistically significant differences in the fecal microbiota composition were found between children who later developed CD (n = 9) and the control children without disease or associated autoantibodies (n = 18). Based on our results, the fecal microbiota composition at the age of 9 and 12 months is not associated with the development of CD. Our results, however, do not exclude the possibility of duodenal microbiota changes or a later microbiota-related trigger for the disease.

Predicting Early Spelling: The Contribution of Children's Early Literacy, Private Speech during Spelling, Behavioral Regulation, and Parental Spelling Support

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Aram, Dorit; Abiri, Shimrit; Elad, Lili

2014-01-01

The present study aimed to extend understanding of preschoolers' early spelling using the Vygotskian ("Mind in society: the development of higher psychological processes," Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1978) paradigm of child development. We assessed the contribution of maternal spelling support in predicting children's word…

A Systematic Review of the Effectiveness of Early Intervention and the Role of Parents in Language Development of Hearing Loss Children

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Ehsan Shekari

2017-03-01

Discussion: Research showed the effectiveness of early intervention in the early development of language and vocabulary. In addition, early detection of hearing loss in the first 6 months of age has a positive impact on children and families interactions and consequently, on language and vocabulary development. The primary focus in the implementation of early intervention services is to reduce the negative effects of risk factors and facilitate optimum development over time. Finally, the combination of early diagnosis and early intervention for children with hearing impairment is necessary.

Children's Early Child Care and Their Mothers' Later Involvement with Schools

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Crosnoe, Robert; Augustine, Jennifer March; Huston, Aletha C.

2012-01-01

Theory and policy highlight the role of child care in preparing children for the transition into school. Approaching this issue in a different way, this study investigated whether children's care experiences before this transition promoted their mothers' school involvement after it, with the hypothesized mechanism for this link being the…

Language ability in children with permanent hearing impairment: the influence of early management and family participation.

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Watkin, Peter; McCann, Donna; Law, Catherine; Mullee, Mark; Petrou, Stavros; Stevenson, Jim; Worsfold, Sarah; Yuen, Ho Ming; Kennedy, Colin

2007-09-01

The goal was to examine the relationships between management after confirmation, family participation, and speech and language outcomes in the same group of children with permanent childhood hearing impairment. Speech, oral language, and nonverbal abilities, expressed as z scores and adjusted in a regression model, and Family Participation Rating Scale scores were assessed at a mean age of 7.9 years for 120 children with bilateral permanent childhood hearing impairment from a 1992-1997 United Kingdom birth cohort. Ages at institution of management and hearing aid fitting were obtained retrospectively from case notes. Compared with children managed later (> 9 months), those managed early (early did not have significantly higher scores for these outcomes. Family Participation Rating Scale scores showed significant positive correlations with language and speech intelligibility scores only for those with confirmation after 9 months and were highest for those with late confirmed, severe/profound, permanent childhood hearing impairment. Early management of permanent childhood hearing impairment results in improved language. Family participation is also an important factor in cases that are confirmed late, especially for children with severe or profound permanent childhood hearing impairment.

Behavioral and neural plasticity caused by early social experiences: the case of the honeybee

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Andrés eArenas

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Cognitive experiences during the early stages of life play an important role in shaping future behavior. Behavioral and neural long-term changes after early sensory and associative experiences have been recently reported in the honeybee. This invertebrate is an excellent model for assessing the role of precocious experiences on later behavior due to its extraordinarily tuned division of labor based on age polyethism. These studies are mainly focused on the role and importance of experiences occurred during the first days of the adult lifespan, their impact on foraging decisions and their contribution to coordinate food gathering. Odor-rewarded experiences during the first days of honeybee adulthood alter the responsiveness to sucrose, making young hive bees more sensitive to assess gustatory features about the nectar brought back to the hive and affecting the dynamic of the food transfers and the propagation of food-related information within the colony as well. Early olfactory experiences lead to stable and long-term associative memories that can be successfully recalled after many days, even at foraging ages. Also they improve memorizing of new associative learning events later in life. The establishment of early memories promotes stable reorganization of the olfactory circuits inducing structural and functional changes in the antennal lobe. Early rewarded experiences have relevant consequences at the social level too, biasing dance and trophallaxis partner choice and affecting recruitment. Here, we revised recent results in bees´ physiology, behavior and sociobiology to depict how the early experiences affect their cognition abilities and neural-related circuits.

Body experience in children with intellectual disabilities with and without externalising disorders

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Emck, C.; Plouvier, M; van Lee, M.