This study developed and empirically tested two related models of the occupational/career decision-making processes of gifted adolescents using a competing models strategy. The two models that guided the study, which acknowledged cultural orientations, social influences from the family, occupational/career values, and characteristics of…

The current study examined income disparities in a comprehensive set of preschoolers' outcomes (verbal ability, developmental skills, number knowledge, and hyperactivity) and the factors that could reduce differences in outcomes between children in the lowest and highest household income quartiles. Findings using Cycle 6 data from the…

Limited literature exists in the Australian context about first-time mothers' knowledge of early communication milestones, their strategies to facilitate speech and language development and understanding of the relationship between early communication skills and future development. A cross-sectional online survey was administered to 53…

Neural reflexes support homeostasis by modulating the function of organ systems. Recent advances in neuroscience and immunology have revealed that neural reflexes also regulate the immune system. Activation of the vagus nerve modulates leukocyte cytokine production and alleviates experimental shock and autoimmune disease, and recent data have…

Augmentative and alternative communication based interventions support individuals with complex communication needs in becoming effective and efficient communicators. However, there is often a disconnect between language models, communication opportunities, and desired intervention outcomes in the intervention process. This article outlines a…

There are obstacles to creativity: one of them is called fixation effect, the fact that some knowledge about existing or obvious solutions is spontaneously activated and constrains the generation of new solutions. Converging evidence in cognitive psychology has indicated that the ability to generate original ideas can be limited by recently…

Family environment plays a very important role in early child development and the availability of stimulating material in the early years of a child's life is crucial for optimising development. The Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) inventory is one of the most widely used measures to assess the quality and quantity…

White Paper 5's aim is to provide South Africa's children with a solid foundation for lifelong learning and development. Children need to be nurtured and developed holistically for them to participate efficiently in their democratic society. However, South African students continue to perform poorly in Trends in International Mathematics…

Research Findings: Grounded in the investment model and informed by the integrative theory of the study of minority children, this study used the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort data set, a nationally representative sample of young children, to investigate whether the association between socioeconomic status (family income and…

Purpose: The present study aimed at comparing the effects of deep brain stimulation (DBS) treatment of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) and the caudal zona incerta (cZi) on the proficiency in achieving oral closure and release during plosive production of people with Parkinson's disease. Method: Nineteen patients participated preoperatively and…

This report, based on four studies with children with low-functioning autism, aimed at evaluating the effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation delivered on the left and right premotor cortices on eye-hand integration tasks; defining the long-lasting effects of high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation; and…

Modulation of cortical network connectivity is crucial for an adaptive response to experience. In the rat barrel cortex, long-term sensory stimulation induces cortical network modifications and neuronal response changes of which the molecular basis is unknown. Here, we show that long-term somatosensory stimulation by enriched environment…

The proper regulation of translation is required for the expression of long-lasting synaptic plasticity. A major site of translational control involves the phosphorylation of eukaryotic initiation factor 2 a (eIF2a) by PKR-like endoplasmic reticulum (ER) kinase (PERK). To determine the role of PERK in hippocampal synaptic plasticity, we used the…

For children developing language typically, exposure to language through the natural, general language stimulation provided by families, siblings, and others is sufficient enough to facilitate language learning (Bloom & Lahey, 1978; Nelson, 1973; Owens, 2008). However, children with language delays (even those who are receptively and…

A randomized pretest-posttest control group design was utilized to measure the effects of a platform swing on independent work behaviors of 30 children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Participants engaged in two 5-min intervals of independent work. Between the intervals, participants in the treatment group received 5 min of vestibular…