Developmentally appropriate criteria for evaluating sexual abuse prevention programs

Many sexual abuse prevention programs originally designed for school children are inappropriately used with preschool children. Programs used with young children need to take into consideration their unique learning abilities. This paper uses a developmentally appropriate practice framework as a guide in helping early childhood professionals evaluate sexual abuse prevention programs.     

Altruism, aggression, and social interactions in young children with a manic-depressive parent

This is an exploratory study of the emotional and social functioning of young children with a manic-depressive parent. Seminaturalistic observations and experimental manipulations of the affective environment were used to assess 2-year-old children's regulation of emotion, as well as their aggression, altruism, and affiliative interactions. Children with a bipolar parent sometimes showed heightened distress and preoccupation with the conflicts and suffering of others, especially disturbances in adults. These children had difficulty in maintaining friendly social interactions, in sharing, and in helping their playmates. They also had difficulty modulating hostile impulses; they showed more maladaptive patterns of aggression toward peers and adults. These interpersonal and emotional problems of offspring of manic-depressives were often similar to those problems of manic-depressives that have been implicated in the clinical literature as possibly associated with the transmission of the disorder. This apparent congruence of findings obtained from different disciplines employing very different research strategies and studying people of different ages, attests to the utility of an explicit interdisciplinary approach in the area of developmental psychopathology.     

Schools,families, and the development of young children

From a developmental perspective, hothousing is a matter of concern, for it is based on a conception of the preschool child's future which is too narrow to include the complex creative and social needs these children will face. The idea that children must be prepared for a technologically dominant future may be responsible for a mandate for hothousing. Preschool children need a “Back to Basics” preschool program which focuses on broad psychological goals and a developmental base rather than the limited achievement goals usually associated with such programs. Outside of the school, parents influence the preschool child's attitudes about intellectual growth, individuality and belonging, and coping with change. Parents and schools should provide complementary systems to deal with the challenging developmental needs of preschoolers.     

The effectiveness of an expanded interrogative training technique for young deaf children

This study investigates the development of language interrogatives in deaf children through a program using expanded question structures. Ten young deaf children, (age range 6 to 8 years) were assigned to matched groups on the basis of chronological age and results of Raven's Progressive Matrices. One group was given six traditional question structures and the other was given six expanded question structures, on each of four consecutive days. On the fifth day, the traditional question structures were asked of all the subjects. The analysis of responses showed that even with a small sample the expanded question structures affected the number of accurate responses for the conceptual type of “wh” questions.     

Vocabulary training for children with dyslexia

A vocabulary training program, using the parents as sole instructors, led to significant and lasting improvements in word knowledge and lexical access speed for 13 adolescents with dyslexia. Furthermore, when the trained words matched the current vocabulary age of the child, the improvement generalized to untrained words.     

Hyperactive or “activity hyper”: Helping young children attend in appropriate environments

Why is it that young children can attend to activities at free play but have trouble paying attention during circle time? Children can be in constant motion during large group activities, but yet attend for long periods of time at the block center or while playing with puzzles. Teachers may make the premature judgment that certain children are “hyperactive,” when they may actually be “activity hyper.”     

Stimulant medication and parent training therapies for attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder

The present article provides a brief overview of the clinical use of two of the most commonly used and effective therapies for Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children: stimulant medication treatment and training parents in child behavior management skills. The clinical issues involved in the use of each treatment, as well as their limitations, are reviewed, along with evidence for their efficacy. It is concluded that ADHD is a developmental disorder of attention, impulse control, and regulation of activity level that requires multiple treatment methods, which must be applied over long time intervals if they are to produce an impact on the outcome of children with ADHD.     

Software for young children

Due to the pervasive nature of computers in all areas of our society, it comes as no surprise that they are creeping into the world of preschoolers. The issue is no longer whether or not it is appropriate to use computers with very young children, but rather how they can be used effectively with them.Janet Fowle McLanahan is an Associate Professor and Chair of Early Childhood Education at North Shore Community College in Beverly, MA.     

The effects of parent self‐recording and home feedback in systematic parent training

This study experimentally evaluated the effects of three parent‐ training phases on the parents’ use of consequences to appropriate and deviant behaviour, and the frequency of deviant child behaviour in the home, within a single subject partial reversal design. Instruction No Feedback comprised didactic lecture presentation, verbal and written instruction in a group training setting to teach the parent to use behavioural procedures at home. Self‐monitoring Plus Feedback comprised the parent self‐recording aversive comments to the child and differential therapist feedback on her performance of various behavioural skills. Feedback Alone involved the continuation of feedback sessions but the withdrawal of self‐monitoring. Observation results indicated that Self‐monitoring Plus Feedback produced higher levels of parent attention to appropriate behaviour, lower levels of attention to deviant behaviour and low levels of deviant child behaviour when compared to Baseline, Instruction No Feedback and Feedback Alone conditions. The implications of the results for parent training were discussed.     

Home-start: A voluntary home-visiting scheme for young families

Very often statutory intervention in child abuse cases can prove to be costly, inappropriate or even unwelcome. “Home-Start” began as a voluntary home-visiting scheme in Leicester, England, 8 years ago with the objectives of offering support, friendship and a practical approach to any young families experiencing difficulties. A recent evaluation by Willem van der Eyken, suggests that Home-Start enjoys a high success rate, particularly with the 25% of families referred to the scheme, who have children on the nonaccidental injury “At Risk” register. This paper outlines details of the objectives. the volunteers, the families visited and the Home-Start approach with child abuse cases. It highlights some elements of the scheme which have proved vital to its success, such as close liaison with the related statutory agencies, the intensive support to families in their own homes, and the meticulous preparation and support of the volunteers themselves. The Home-Start approach is now being used effectively in many other areas of Great Britain and consequently Home-Start Consultancy has been established at 22 Princess Road West, Leicester. England, to provide the opportunity for consultation, liaison and development with existing and new Home-Start schemes.