Childhood cancer changes the lives of all that it touches. The treatment is often as harmful as the disease itself and can impact the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional development of the child. Long term effects can manifest years after treatment. This capstone was based on a vision of providing these young cancer survivors an opportunity…

Studies of infant motor development in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have increased in recent years. This article synthesized this literature through meta-analysis to assess (a) whether infant motor ability differs in ASD relative to neurotypical controls; and (b) whether motor ability and communication are related in infants with ASD. Study 1…

Early childhood development (ECD) policies and programs are increasingly recognized as having a strong, positive impact at both the individual (e.g., learning, health, behavior) and societal (e.g., inclusion, social cohesion, earnings) levels. Yet, little attention is given to the lived experiences and working conditions of the workforce who…

The general gender discourse has currently revealed gender gaps as early as at preschool age. To analyze developmental differences between boys and girls in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, n = 4,251 preschoolers aged 48-83 months were examined by means of the 'Dortmund Developmental Screening for Preschools 3-6' (DESK 3-6). Using the…

The purpose of the study was to research the personal influences of African American female education leaders that contributed to their success. The research study explored the intersectionality of race and gender while identifying personal influences of successful African American women leaders. Over centuries African American women have taken on…

The Doris Duke Fellowships for the Promotion of Child Well-Being were launched in 2010 to promote interdisciplinary learning and advance research that improves public policy and practice. The Doris Duke Fellowships Equity Study examined the perspectives of multiple key constituencies--academic and policy mentors, staff members, national advisory…

An effective transition to school occurs when children and families feel a sense of belonging in their new school community, and when this is also recognised by teachers and educators. While various definitions of effective transitions to school exist, this definition provides an especially useful starting point for improving practice. This…

Effortful control, or the ability to suppress a dominant response to perform a subdominant response, is an early-emerging temperament trait that is linked with positive social-emotional development. Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a single-gene disorder characterized by hallmark regulatory impairments, suggesting diminished effortful control. This…

This article describes some of the extraordinary accomplishments of the second cohort of states to participate in the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Financing Policy Project (IECMH-FPP). The purpose of the IECMHFPP is to support states' advancement of IECMH assessment, diagnosis, and treatment policies that will contribute to the healthy…

Research on the early lexical-semantic system has described how toddlers organize word representations based on semantic and phonological features. This study is a longitudinal investigation of the development of this organization during infancy. Middle-high socioeconomic status Mexican toddlers (n = 28, 15 female) were presented with a…

When perceiving emotional facial expressions, adults use a template-matching strategy, comparing the perceived face with a stored representation. A rejection of unnaturally exaggerated faces is characteristic of this strategy because the exaggerated expressions do not match the stored template. In contrast, a rule-based perceptual strategy (e.g.,…

Pauses when reading aloud play an essential role in reading and listening comprehension (for a review: Godde et al., 2020). Among the various types of pauses, breathing pauses during oral reading are particularly important. Their placement, frequency and duration tell us about breath and voice coordination as well as articulatory planning. These…

Is early reasoning about an agent's knowledge best characterized by a mentalistic stance, a teleological stance, or both? In this research, 5-month-old infants (N = 64, 50% female, 83% White) saw a novel eyeless agent consistently approach object-A as opposed to object-B. Although infants could always see both objects, a screen separated object-B…

Developmental vulnerability in children often impacts social, educational, and health outcomes that then determine a child's developmental trajectory into adolescence and adulthood. It is widely accepted that early detection of vulnerability and implementation of targeted educational support can optimise children's outcomes, particularly when…

The role of school has drastically changed over the past several decades. Standards and added subjects lead to a challenging and narrow view of education. The consequences of added pressure undermine the role of play throughout K-12 school systems. Research studies continue to describe play as vital for the success of children's development and…