The effects of developmental delay on sustained attention in young children

The development of developmentally delayed young children is similar to that of normal children in sequence and organization. The hypothesis of this research was that delayed children do differ from the norm when tasks involve discerning nuances, balancing competing stimuli, or acquiring and retaining selected information. Using a videotaped free-play situation, we examined attention deployment behaviors of 3 groups: normally developing (ND), Down syndrome (DS), and developmentally delayed with uncertain etiology (UE). Gesell DQ scores ranged from 50 to 75 in the latter 2 samples. In Study 1, infants had developmental ages of 12-24 months. The UE subjects spent less time engaged with toys than ND or DS subjects, and both delayed groups had less simultaneous appraisal of the environment, more time unoccupied in any way, and more throwing behavior than the ND group. In Study 2, at the 22-30-month developmental age range, DS and UE subjects had patterns of play that included many primitive activities such as banging and mouthing. Taken together, the results show reductions in ongoing acquisition and elaboration of information during play; these in turn may have significant developmental ramifications.     

Behavior of young children with Down syndrome before the mirror: exploration

Exploratory behaviors of Down Syndrome (DS) and Nondelayed (ND) young children between the mental ages of 16 and 32 months were examined in 4 situations involving finding things seen in a large standing mirror: free play, marked face, finding the reflected mother, and finding a reflected toy. Behaviors coded from videotape included observing the self making faces, kissing the mirror, patting the mirror, comparing a person or object with the mirror image, looking behind the mirror, touching own body, and staring at another's image. Both ND and DS children used these behaviors and were able to adapt their choice of behaviors to demands of particular tasks. However, DS and ND children differed in number, type, and frequency of exploratory behaviors. DS children used a greater variety of behaviors and used them more frequently than ND children. DS children used a less focused selection of behaviors, and behaviors involving switching attention were performed only by ND children. For most behavior examined, mental and chronological age were not related to amount of exploration. Results are interpreted in terms of the role of different behaviors in exploration of the mirror.     

Ontogeny of infantile oral reflexes and emerging chewing

The ontogeny of rooting, lip, lateral tongue, mouth opening, biting, and Babkin reflexes and emerging chewing behaviors were observed in 2 normal infants from 1 week to 35 weeks of age. These behaviors were videotaped at 9 monthly test sessions, and their movement patterns analyzed during slow-motion playback. The reflex responses were elicited in both infants through 35 weeks of age. They consisted of those characteristic movements described in the literature plus additional movements that elaborated the characteristic pattern. The complexity of the reflexes and the quality of movement changed with age. Components of chewing, which emerged sequentially from 1 week of age, were cyclical mandibular elevation and depression, lateral tongue movements, transport of the bolus from lateral to medial oral position, mandible retrusion, lateralization and protrusion movements in association with mandibular elevation and depression, increase in speed of rhythmical chewing movements to the mature speed of 1 cycle per second, and mastication. Chewing and oral reflexes contained similar movements but differed in the relative frequency of certain characteristic movements and in the stimulus response relationship.     

Taking the Initiative in Learning: A Developmental Investigation of Infants with Down Syndrome

A GROUP OF 16 infants with Down syndrome (DS) aged between 6 and 24 months were exposed to two operant learning tasks. One schedule allowed the infant 100% control over delivery of reinforcement (the rotation of a mobile); the other also allowed the infant total control but included a small proportion (10%) of ‘free’, computer‐inserted reinforcement. The response of subjects with DS to both tasks was compared with that of two control groups of nonhandicapped subjects, one matched for chronological age with the infants with DS, the other matched for developmental age. The performance of DS and ‘matched’ subjects differed on a number of levels, with a developmental pattern emerging in subjects with DS of increasing adoption of counterproductive learning behaviours with increasing age.     

From spontaneous to instrumental behavior: kinematic analysis of movement changes during very early learning

3-month-old infants who can activate a mobile with their spontaneous leg kicks increase their kick rate over baseline. Kinematic analyses of the temporal and topographic characteristics of reinforced leg kicks were compared with those of infants who saw noncontingent mobile movement. In both experimental and control groups, the flexion and extension movement phases of the kick remained remarkably invariant in duration. Pauses between movements varied inversely with rate. Kick amplitude increased with increasing rate except in the extinction phase, where in some infants, kicks became less frequent but more forceful. Movement duration was unaffected by reinforcement condition. By varying amplitude and frequency domains, infants adjusted movement by neuromuscular mechanisms similar to those of mature humans. The experimental imposition of a voluntary component on spontaneous kicking did not alter the modifiability of the movement control parameters.     

The Transition to Reaching: Mapping Intention and Intrinsic Dynamics

The onset of directed reaching demarks the emergence of a qualitatively new skill. In this study we asked how intentional reaching arises from infants' ongoing, intrinsic movement dynamics, and how first reaches become successively adapted to the task. We observed 4 infants weekly in a standard reaching task and identified the week of first arm-extended reach, and the 2 weeks before and after onset. The infants first reached at ages ranging from 12 to 22 weeks, and they used different strategies to get the toy. 2 infants, whose spontaneous movements were large and vigorous, damped down their fast, forceful movements. The 2 quieter infants generated faster and more energetic movements to lift their arms. The infants modulated reaches in task-appropriate ways in the weeks following onset. Reaching emerges when infants can intentionally adjust the force and compliance of the arm, often using muscle coactivation. These results suggest that the infant central nervous system does not contain programs that detail hand trajectory, joint coordination, and muscle activation patterns. Rather, these patterns are the consequences of the natural dynamics of the system and the active exploration of the match between those dynamics and the task.     

Effective Action by Infants to Contact Objects by Reaching and Leaning

The ability of infants aged 8–12 months to coordinate their arm and trunk movements to contact an object located in different positions was investigated in 2 experiments. In the first, 8- and 10-month-old infants reached for near objects but both reached and leaned for more distant ones indicating that they perceived that forward leaning extends the range of contact beyond that of reaching alone. In addition, arm and trunk movements were initiated simultaneously; visual information concerning object distance was sufficient to activate an integrated reaching-and-leaning response. Object distances were increased and a mechanical aid was provided on half the trials in the second experiment with 10- and 12-month-old infants. For both age groups the degree of leaning was reduced for objects that were out of reach without the aid. Only older infants were able to use the aid to extend partially their range of contact. Overall the results support the conclusions that, by at least 8 months, infants perceive that leaning extends their effective reaching space; by 10 months they perceive the limits within which reaching together with leaning is likely to be effective; and by 12 months they begin to perceive how this space may be extended by a mechanical aid.     

农村3-5岁幼儿分享行为的观察研究

分享行为是亲社会行为的一种表现形式,幼儿分享意识和分享行为的发展是幼儿建立良好同伴关系、形成道德的基础。通过创设糖果分享、玩具分享和奖品分享3种情景,对农村3-5岁幼儿的分享行为进行观察与分析。结果显示：农村幼儿的分享水平较低,分享水平随年龄的增长而提高;玩具分享上存在性别和是否独生的差异,不存在年龄差异;糖果分享和奖品分享上存在年龄差异,但不存在性别和是否独生上的差异。基于对农村3-5岁幼儿分享行为的特点分析,进一步提出提高农村幼儿分享水平的建议。     

Compulsive-like behavior in individuals with Down syndrome: its relation to mental age level, adaptive and maladaptive behavior

This study examined the nature of repetitive, ritualistic, and compulsive-like behaviors in 50 typically developing children and 50 individuals with Down syndrome (DS), matched on mental age (MA; M = 59.72 months). Parents reported on their children's compulsive-like behaviors-including ritualistic habits-and perfectionistic behaviors, as well as their children's adaptive and maladaptive behaviors. Results indicated that children with DS show similar MA-related changes in compulsive-like behaviors compared to the MA-matched comparison group. Younger children (both typical and DS) exhibited significantly more compulsive-like behaviors than older children. In general, children with and without DS did not differ from each other in terms of the number of compulsive-like behaviors they engaged in, although participants with DS engaged in more frequent, more intense repetitive behaviors. Compulsive-like behaviors were differentially related to adaptive and maladaptive behaviors across the MA and mental retardation groups. The results extend the "similar sequence" model of development to the construct of compulsive-like behaviors, and also suggest that some repetitive behaviors may be among the behavioral phenotype of individuals with DS.     

Infants in group care: Patterns of despair and detachment

Ninety nine infants were observed at entry into child care and at 3-month intervals during the first 6 months. We examined changes in relations among indices of adjustment and caregiver behaviors and which entry variables predict patterns of 6-month adjustment. Toy play shows no systematic relation with infant affective behavior at entry, yet 6 months later it is associated with positive affect and reduced social involvement. Caregiver interaction also changes; after 6 months expressive children receive more and different forms of attention than do nonexpressive children. Bowlby's (1969) account of institutionalized infants was used to identify different patterns of adjustment. Despair-like infants were distressed, immobilized, and self-soothing at entry. Infants who were detachment-like (i.e., object centered, happy, and socially unengaged after 6 months) received less attention from caregivers at entry. Some 6-month patterns have their roots in temperament dispositions, with differential outcomes determined largely by caregiver responsiveness.     

Behavior of young children with Down syndrome before the mirror: finding things reflected

Children with Down syndrome (DS) and normally developing (ND) children of comparable mental age (16-32 months) were compared in their ability to find things seen in the mirror. Tasks included finding a rouge mark on the face, finding the mother, finding a toy, as well as free play before the mirror. The 2 groups were found to be equally likely to solve each task and did not differ in pattern of tasks solved or amount of prompting to notice the stimulus. With increasing mental age, both groups required less prompting and were more likely to locate the stimulus. Children with and without DS were not equally interested in particular tasks, and children with DS were more attentive to the mirror overall, whereas ND children tended to lose interest more rapidly in some task situations. The significance of incorrect strategies in searching for the reflected mother or toy was also examined. It was concluded that the ability of children with DS to solve different kinds of mirror tasks paralleled that of ND children, but that motivational, attentional, and exploratory differences may exist.     

Adults'' Responses to Infants Varying in Appearance of Age and Attractiveness

The relations among age appearance, facial attractiveness, and adult expectations of the developmental maturity of infants were examined in 3 studies. In Study 1, a relation was demonstrated between ratings of the attractiveness (77 judges) and age appearance (53 judges) of 6-month-olds: less attractive infants were judged to be older than their attractive age-mates. In Study 2, 75 parents judged the specific developmental abilities of 6-month-old infants and estimated the age of the babies. Parents overestimated both the age and the developmental abilities of the unattractive infants. Furthermore, ability estimates for the unattractive infants were significantly higher than judgments of the typical abilities of 6-month-olds made by another group of 35 parents. Finally, the results of Study 2 were replicated in Study 3 conducted with 348 mothers. It was also demonstrated in Study 3 that, although mothers expected unattractive infants to be capable of more specific developmental skills, they nevertheless rated the general competence of the unattractive infants to be lower than that of attractive infants. Specious contradictions in the attractiveness and age appearance literatures are resolved by these results: age appearance seems to function as an informational cue with respect to specific age-appropriate abilities, whereas attractiveness elicits evaluative attributions of general competence. Both types of information conveyed in faces may have important implications for adult evaluations of infants and older children.     

Intermodal Perception of Adult and Child Faces and Voices by Infants

This research investigated the ability of 4- and 7-month-old infants to match unfamiliar, dynamic faces and voices on the basis of age or maturity. In Experiment 1, infants received videotaped trials of an adult and a child of the same gender, side by side, speaking a nursery rhyme in synchrony with one another. The voice to one and then the other face was played in synchrony with the movements of both faces in a random order across 12 trials. On one block of 6 trials a man and a boy were presented, and on the other block a woman and a girl. Results indicated significant matching of the faces and voices at both ages, and the infant's prior experience with children appeared to facilitate matching at 7 months. Further, a visual preference for the children's faces was found. Experiment 2 assessed matching to the same events by 7-month-olds, only with the faces inverted. Results indicated no evidence of matching; however, the visual preference for the children's faces was replicated. Together, the findings suggest that infants are able to detect invariant intermodal relations specifying the age or maturity of a person's face and voice. This matching was most likely based on information that was degraded by inverting the faces, including invariant relations between the sound of the voice and configurational aspects of the face, or between temporal aspects of the voice and the relative motion of facial features.     

Mastery Motivation in Deaf and Hearing Infants

The motivational characteristics of a small sample of normally developing deaf and hearing 12-month-old infants were assessed using procedures derived from Yarrow's work. The data supported the following conclusions: 1. Both deaf and hearing infants exhibit similar amounts of motivated behavior toward objects which suggests that auditory contact with their surroundings is not a determining factor in infants' attempts to master objects. 2. The deaf infants spent a longer period of time engaged in social behaviors than did the hearing infants and without any apparent sacrifice to the deployment of their task- and goal-directed activities. This finding implies that the deaf infants were more skillful at integrating the competing demands of social- and object-oriented endeavors than were their hearing peers. 3. The deaf infant engaged with the social environment and displayed a positive emotional response to the situation sooner than the hearing infants. Positive affect also was more likely to be followed by a social behavior for the deaf infants which indicates that the integration of social- and object-oriented activities serves either a different or more potent function in the early development of deaf infants. We believe that these data offer some preliminary, empirically based support for a developmental difference model when intervention strategies for deaf infants are contemplated. The policy implications for such a move may include a reduction in cognitively oriented activities and an increase in activities designed to capitalize on deaf infants' social and visual compensatory skills.     

Storage-retrieval processes of normal and learning-disabled children: a stages-of-learning analysis of picture-word effects

Previous research comparing acquisition performance of learning-disabled and normally achieving children has led to the suggestion that the locus of memory differences lies in either the storage or retrieval components of recall. In this paper we report a free-recall experiment in which a new stages-of-learning model was used to examine the effects of a picture-word manipulation on storage and retrieval differences between nondisabled and disabled grade 2 and 6 children. Although the results of this experiment were consistent with the idea that disabled students are poorer at memory tasks than nondisabled students, the stages-of-learning analysis provided information regarding the precise locus of the deficiencies. Specifically, although disabled and nondisabled children benefited from the presentation of information in pictorial format, normally achieving children were consistently better than their learning-disabled counterparts at storing and learning to retrieve both pictures and words. From a developmental standpoint, the most important finding was that while differences between learning-disabled and normally achieving students at storage remained age invariant, differences in learning to retrieve increased with age. As it turned out, however, differences between disabled and nondisabled children were absent when it came to retaining traces once they had been stored in memory and in retrieval performance between the time a trace was stored and retrieval learning was complete. These results are consistent with previous research in which it has been shown that the ability to learn how to reliably retrieve information that has been stored in memory develops more slowly for disabled than nondisabled children.     

Treadmill-elicited stepping in seven-month-old infants

When infants begin to walk independently, their step patterns, while not fully mature, are different in kinematic details from those of newborn stepping and supine kicking. 6 7-month-old infants, who performed little or no stepping movements, were supported over a small, motorized treadmill. All showed immediate alternating stepping. These movements were more similar to adult-like steps than newborn steps. The implications of eliciting a more mature pattern by the treadmill are discussed. Although infants normally perform few steps at this age, the underlying mechanism has not "disappeared."     

Infants Segment Continuous Events Using Transitional Probabilities

Throughout their 1st year, infants adeptly detect statistical structure in their environment. However, little is known about whether statistical learning is a primary mechanism for event segmentation. This study directly tests whether statistical learning alone is sufficient to segment continuous events. Twenty‐eight 7‐ to 9‐month‐old infants viewed a sequence of continuous actions performed by a novel agent in which there were no transitional movements that could have constrained the possible upcoming actions. At test, infants distinguished statistically intact units from less predictable ones. The ability to segment events using statistical structure may help infants discover other cues to event boundaries, such as intentions, and carve up the world of continuous motion in meaningful ways.     

Emotion socialization and expressive development in preterm and full-term infants

The expressive behaviors of full-term and preterm infants and their mothers were examined during face-to-face interaction when the infants were approximately 2 1/2, 5, and 7 1/2 months old. Videotapes of the sessions were coded on a second-to-second basis using Izard's discrete emotion coding system. Overall, infants showed a linear increase in positive effect, especially interest and joy, and a corresponding decrease in negative affect, especially pain and knit brow, with age; decrease in negative affect was accounted for largely by the preterm infants. In terms of maternal responses, there was an increase in contingent responding to infant interest expressions and a decrease in contingent responding to infant pain expressions over time, especially in the case of the preterm infant. The data set as a whole was examined further to establish the directionality of influence between mothers and infants in change patterns over time. There was evidence of learning effects in infants as a function of maternal modeling and contingency patterns. Anomalies in maternal responses to preterm infant affect expressions were observed. Mothers of these infants displayed significantly less matching or imitation of their infant's facial expressions, showed random rather than contingent responsiveness to sadness, and a significant ignoring response to infant anger. These differences were attributed to differences in gazing patterns and negative emotion expression in preterm infants. The results are discussed within a framework of emotion socialization that recognizes bidirectionality of influence in the emotional patterns of mothers and infants.     

幼儿游戏治疗中家长介入方式及指导策略研究

游戏治疗是通过解决情绪问题来增强儿童适应性行为的一种有效方式,家长在其过程中有着重要的作用。在幼儿游戏治疗中,家长需要根据情况采取不同的介入方式和指导策略。在间接介入指导中,家长应积极配合治疗师,跟进治疗,观察幼儿行为,适度给予孩子鼓励和支持。在直接介入指导中,可采用玩偶会谈和故事讲述等方式进行干预。家长明确自己的角色和职责定位,端正治疗心态,掌握一定的治疗技巧,有助于矫正并预防孩子的一些行为、情绪问题。     

2004～2009年青岛市幼儿体质状况的动态分析

为了解青岛市3-6岁幼儿的体质状况,探讨幼儿体质发展变化的规律及完善国民体质监测网络,对青岛市七区和五市的805名幼儿进行了测试与分析。结果表明：青岛市3-6岁幼儿体质总体状况良好,身体形态方面,男幼儿好于女幼儿,城市幼儿好于农村幼儿,但身体素质发展不平衡,下肢力量和平衡能力有所提高,而上肢力量出现下降。对此,幼儿教师和家长应转变观念,树立＂健康第一＂和教育始于体育的思想,合理安排幼儿的体育活动。