Background: Sleep affects children's cognitive development, preparedness for school and future academic outcomes. People with Down syndrome (DS) are particularly at risk for sleep-disordered breathing (SDB). To our knowledge, the association between SDB and cognition in preschoolers with DS is unknown. Methods: We assessed sleep by using…

In May 2010, the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform (CJJR) at Georgetown University released the monograph "Addressing the Unmet Educational Needs of Children and Youth in the Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare Systems" (Leone & Weinberg, 2010). The monograph examined a number of topics relevant to the education and experiences of…

Prenatal alcohol exposure can result in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), which can include physical and neurobehavioral disorders, including cognitive, social, language, and motor impairments that can persist throughout life. In order for children with FASD to receive the full benefit of services, recognition of their disability needs to…

Describes the Screening and Evaluation Project (SEP), a longitudinal study examining the range of problems in 167 children entering protective custody in Sacramento, California, for reasons of abuse or neglect. Found that 68% of the children were at risk according to one or more of the four standardized assessment instruments that measured…

In the late 1990s, a National Educational Goal was set in the United States that by the year 2000 all children should start school with the skills necessary for learning (Meisels, 1995 ) and assessment measures should be put in place to provide the screenings. Thus, readiness testing became widespread and kindergarten curricula shifted to more…

This study of 86 children (ages 30-67 months) attending a community screening clinic found that 2 factors--parents' concerns about speech, language, or cognitive skills, and parents' ratings of the child's activity on a temperament scale--accounted for 27% of the variance in the likelihood of referral to early intervention services. (Author/JDD)

A major aim of this study was to determine if Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) type behaviors observed at the age of 30 months in low birth weight children are predictive of ADHD and school difficulties at 5 and 8 years of age. Three major questions were addressed: (1) Do children who exhibit ADHD characteristics at 30 months differ…