Syntax allows human beings to build an infinite number of new sentences from a finite stock of words. Because toddlers typically utter only one or two words at a time, they have been thought to have no syntax. Using event-related potentials (ERPs), we demonstrated that 2-year-olds do compute syntactic structure when listening to spoken sentences. We observed an early left-lateralized brain resp...

Children learn from their environments and their caregivers. To capitalize on learning opportunities, young children have to recognize familiar words efficiently by integrating contextual cues across word boundaries. Previous research has shown that adults can use phonetic cues from anticipatory coarticulation during word recognition. We asked whether 18-24 month-olds (n=29) used coarticulatory...

Caregiver speech is not a static collection of utterances, but occurs in conversational exchanges, in which caregiver and child dynamically influence each other's speech. We investigate (a) whether children and caregivers modulate the prosody of their speech as a function of their interlocutor's speech, and (b) the influence of the initiator of the conversation on durational characteristics of ...

BACKGROUND Restrictive feeding by parents has been associated with greater eating in the absence of hunger (EAH) among children, a risk factor for obesity. However, few studies have examined the association between restrictive feeding and EAH longitudinally, raising questions regarding the direction of associations between restrictive feeding and child EAH. Our objective was to examine the bidi...

Children who "fail to thrive" are frequently referred to occupational therapists. Yet there is no organized protocol that therapists could use to assess these children. This paper reviews criteria that distinguish organic from nonorganic "failure to thrive" and describes the occupational therapist's contribution to the evaluation process. An occupational therapy protocol is presented to facilit...

Adolescence, migration and sex work are independent risk factors for HIV and other poor health outcomes. They are usually targeted separately with little consideration on how their intersection can enhance vulnerability. We interviewed ten women in Zimbabwe who experienced sex work and migration during adolescence, exploring implications for their health and for services to meet their needs. Fo...

The Secretary issues final regulations governing the Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities. These regulations are needed to reflect changes made to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, as amended by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (Act or IDEA).

Background A successful therapeutic course in children infected with HIV relies heavily on their adherence to antiretroviral treatment (ART). The adherence is influenced by every child’s particularities, his family or caregivers and, last but not least, by the selected therapeutic regimen. In newborns and toddlers, who depend completely on their family or caregivers, issues affecting adherence ...

Imitation has long been considered a mechanism for the development of conscience. Despite the central role of imitation in theories of moral internalization, the prediction from imitation to moral behavior has not been tested using an individual differences approach. In a longitudinal design, we examined whether individual differences in toddlers' responsive imitation predict preschool-age cons...

Synchrony has been broadly conceptualized as the quality of the parent-child dyadic relationship. Parenting, factors that compromise caregiving quality, and child characteristics have all been theoretically linked to synchrony, but little research has been conducted to validate such associations. The present study examined correlates of synchrony including parenting, maternal psychological reso...