Assessments of play, sensorimotor, language, and general developmental skills were administered to two preterm and 20 full-term infants. Preterm infants showed some delays greater than would be predicted from biological maturity alone, but delays were not present for all skills and generally were not maintained beyond 2 years of age. (Author/RH)

Attention patterns of 93 preterm infants were observed and measured at term, at four months of age, and at eight years. Suggests that preterm infants who continued to fixate an unchanging stimulus for protracted periods of time were less intellectually able in childhood. (Author/DR)

Discusses the use of pretend play as a cognitive assessment tool. Examines the failure of developmental progression of play in preterm, drug-exposed, malnourished, Down's syndrome, mentally retarded, and autistic children. Examines individual differences in play, and the relationship between language and play, in these groups. (AC)