Despite their range and complexity, adherence to Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network guideline for the diagnosis and assessment of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) was shown to be high within child development and specialist diagnostic clinics serving a geographical cohort of children diagnosed under the age of 7 years. A retrospective…

Typically developing (TD) infants could capitalize on social eye gaze and social contexts to aid word learning. Although children with autism disorder (AD) are known to exhibit atypicality in word learning via social eye gaze, their ability to utilize social contexts for word learning is not well understood. We investigated whether verbal AD…

Individual differences in infant attention are theorized to reflect the speed of information processing and are related to later cognitive abilities (i.e., memory, language, and intelligence). This study provides the first systematic longitudinal analysis of infant attention and early childhood executive function (EF; e.g., working memory,…

Children's emotional and behavioural difficulties are the result of multiple individual, social and contextual factors working in concert. The current paper proposes a theoretical framework to interpret students' emotional and behavioural difficulties in schools, by taking into consideration teacher-student relationships, students'…

There is a definite need for effective intervention programmes that address the social-emotional, character and healthy development of preschool children. Strong social-emotional skills are necessary for successful transitions to formal schooling and for healthy developmental trajectories. The "Positive Action" ("PA") programme…

Background: Delayed, abnormal language is a common feature of autism and language therapy often a significant component of recommended treatment. However, as with other disorders with a language component, we know surprisingly little about the language trajectories and how varied these might be across different children. Thus, we know little about…

In this essay Naomi Mulvihill uses vignettes from her bilingual kindergarten classroom to explore the dynamic processes by which young children make sense of language, focusing on instances in which she asks her students to compare texts presented in English and Spanish. Using Piaget's concept of disequilibrium as a guiding framework,…

This article scrutinises the ways in which young children are described and supported as active participants for change within the Australian and Swedish national steering documents for early childhood education. A critical theory lens was applied, in combination with document analysis that looked for concepts related to environment and…

Children's play contributes to their overall development. Yet, not all types of play have the same effects. On the contrary, nonsocial play has been found to be correlated with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. The present study had a twofold aim. On the one hand it aimed at assessing Greek preschool children's social and nonsocial…

Language acquisition is a process embedded in social routines. Despite considerable attention in research to its social nature, little is known about developmental differences in the relative priority of certain social cues over others during early word learning. Employing an eye-tracking paradigm, we presented 14-month-old infants, 24-month-old…

Emily Shubitz appreciates the Nido and all of its facets and is well aware of the pioneers--Adele Costa Gnocchi and Silvana Montanaro--as she emphasizes the Nido being a developmental force rather than just a babysitting source. Her list for creating a Nido environment is thoughtful, extensive, and inclusive: home-like wood furniture, soft rugs,…

For the past decade, a diverse group of distinguished scientists has worked to translate complex research about early brain development into language that is scientifically accurate, highly credible, understandable to nonscientists, and useful to public decision makers. Across the United States and around the world, in both public and private…

Schools play a key role in child and youth development as both social microcosms of the broader society and reciprocally influencing people and communities. As such, schools can function as a protective factor that promotes safety, motivation, relationships, and support for positive student outcomes. However, schools may also function as a risk…

A significant number of young children exhibit challenging behaviors in preschool settings. A tiered framework of intervention has documented effectiveness in elementary and secondary schools, and recently has been extended to preschool settings. Although there is emerging research to support the effectiveness of Tier 1 (universal) and Tier 3…

This case study reflects upon the use of den-building as a research method to examine the emotional dimensions of children's school lives. It draws upon a collaborative ethnography conducted in a junior school (ages 7-11) where there was an explicit emphasis on the development of children's 'emotional skills'. Here, I focus upon the ways that…