Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) children need to master at least one language (spoken or signed) to reach their full potential. Providing access to a natural sign language supports this goal. Despite evidence that natural sign languages are beneficial to DHH children, many researchers and practitioners advise families to focus exclusively on spoken…

Harsh environments are known to predict deficits in children's cognitive abilities. Life history theory approaches challenge this interpretation, proposing stressed children's cognition becomes specialized to solve problems in fitness-enhancing ways. The goal of this study was to examine associations between early environmental harshness and…

The goal of the present study was to investigate the role of early social deprivation in shaping the effectiveness of parent support to alleviate hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-axis-stress responses of children (ages 8.9-11, M = 9.83 years, SD = 0.55). The sample was equally divided between children who had been adopted internationally from…

This brief summarizes the working paper, "The Science of Neglect: The Persistent Absence of Responsive Care Disrupts the Developing Brain," and explains why neglect, or the absence of responsive, supportive care, can affect the formation of the developing brain, impairing later learning, behavior, and health. The brief also includes…

Analyzes cultural deprivation as a factor affecting children's acquisition, development and utilization of language. Finds that social class, home and environmental variables are among the most significant underlying dimensions of language patterns. Their influence on language is described as a series of conditioned responses reinforced in the…

Investigates three central findings in human malnutrition research: (1) behavioral changes in infants and young children are observable outcomes of malnutrition; (2) non-nutritional factors in the environment affect child development; (3) nutritional supplementation with a consistent and varied regimen of stimulation hold potential for reversing…

This report describes the relationship between maternal malnutrition and child development. The report is divided into three sections. The first section, which describes child development, focuses on brain, mental, and psychomotor development. The second section describes the methodological difficulties of measuring effects of malnutrition on the…

Research relevant to planning and practice in the area of infant mental health is discussed in this paper. First, three examples of research approaches that reflect current attitudes are given. The first example represents those studies in which there is an effort to closely coordinate physiological and behavioral studies. The second example…

Describes obstacles presented by poverty in the fulfillment of the basic needs of children. Individually addresses Maslow's five basic needs with regard to children reared in poverty: (1) physiological needs; (2) safety needs; (3) belonging and love needs; (4) self-esteem needs; and (5) self-actualization needs. (Author/SD)

This report describes the development, implementation and evaluation of a pilot early intervention program for parents and their infants 1 to 36 months old. Parents were trained by paraprofessionals (under the direction of professionals) to increase their psychomotor areas. The pilot project included 90 families with children under three years of…

AN INTERVENTION PILOT PROGRAM WAS DEVELOPED TO PROVIDE DISADVANTAGED INFANTS WITH STIMULATING EXPERIENCES TO HLEP THEM ACHIEVE HIGHER LEVELS OF INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT THAN MIGHT NORMALLY BE EXPECTED IN CHILDREN FROM DEPRIVED HOMES. FIFTEEN DISADVANTAGED WOMEN TRAINED AS "PARENT EDUCATORS" WENT INTO 100 HOMES ONCE A WEEK FOR 40 WEEKS…

Children born to heroin-dependent mothers (n=83) were compared to 76 children born to heroin-dependent fathers and to 3 control groups with and without environmental deprivation and health problems. Results found that developmental delays and behavioral disorders found among heroin-exposed children resulted primarily from severe environmental…

In Latin America and the Caribbean, 240 million people, or 50 percent of the population, live in poverty. This report, written in Spanish, summarizes research by the Proyecto Costa Atlantica into the effects of such widespread poverty on the cognitive and social development of children. After an introduction on the general responses of the…

A case study of a pair of extremely deprived twin boys focuses on their verbal communication. Talkativeness alone was not regarded as a measure of intelligence, but attention was paid to the less talkative twin's greater use of imaginative speech. Speculations are made on the evolutionary role of creative speech. (IS)

This review of child development research (primarily British and American) is organized around three major themes: the parental role and women's liberation; the role of educators in enhancing or hindering the life chances of pupils; and the problems of disadvantagement and the feasibility of intervention to prevent, minimize or eliminate its long…