Newsletter, August 2023
Summer Research Event Showcases REU Student Work
The 2022-23 cohort of our National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates program site presented their capstone research projects at the Summer Platform for Undergraduate Research symposium in July. Congratulations to Janine Settle for her award winning poster on "Relating Coordinated Sequential Motor Tasks to Novel Sign Production in Children with Developmental Language Disorder" and to Marley Richter for her award winning poster on "Relations between Parent-Child Discussions on Racism and Ethnic Identity Formation in Black and Hispanic Youth." Thank you to our REU research mentors Drs. Lisa Goffman, Heidi Kane, Pam Rollins, Mandy Maguire, and Margaret Owen for all of your support and guidance. View photos of the event here.
Podcast Highlights Human Development and Early Childhood Disorders Program
The School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences' student-led podcast, "BBS Mindful Minutes," recently featured the Human Development and Early Childhood Disorders masters degree program. The program equips students with necessary skills to support young children (from birth to five years) and their families in early childhood intervention programs, and provides them with parent education in various professional settings. Listen to the podcast here.
Now Enrolling Children (Ages 0-3) and Parents in Fall Programs
CCF is currently enrolling parents and young children (ages 0-3) in our Play With Me playful-learning programs. Fall programs run from September - December:
  • Tuesdays, 10am, Prairie Creek Branch Library, Dallas
  • Wednesdays, 10am, St. Mark Catholic Church, Plano
  • Thursdays, 10am, Vickery Meadow Success Center, Dallas
  • *Saturdays, 10am, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson


*A Play It Forward Site: $120 for 12 parent-child sessions. Enrollment supports Play With Me programs free-of-charge for children and parents in high-need communities.
Recent Faculty Research
Faculty affiliates of the Center are highly productive scholars whose research crosses the fields of human development ranging from parent-child relationships to social-emotional health. Recent publications include:

Denicola-Prechtl, K.M., Abel, A.D., & Maguire, M.J. (2023). What do children’s errors tell us about the strategies used during a word inferencing task? Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2023.105705.

Rollins, P.R., Rangel-Uribe, C., Rojas, R., & Brantley, S. (2023). Examining cultural and linguistic sensitivity of Pathways early autism intervention with Hispanic families. J Autism Dev Disord. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-023-06003-9

Sands, K.R., Monroe, A.J., & Mills, C.M. (2023). "How do fish breathe underwater?": Young children's ability to evaluate and remember different types of explanations regarding biological phenomena. Cognitive Development, 66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2023.101330
Recruiting Children Ages 12 - 42 Months for Social Communication Study
The UTD Social Communication Lab is recruiting caregivers and their children ages 12-42 months who have difficulties with social communication and/or social attention for a study on the effectiveness of a Pathways parent coaching invention compared to a parent education intervention. The study provides 24 weeks of intervention. Families are randomly assigned to an intervention that is intended to improve children's social, communication, and language skills. Please contact socialcommunicationlab@utdallas.edu or call 972-883-3173 if interested in participating.
From the Director
It's still very much summer outside but we are busy making plans for Fall and the start of the new academic year. I'm so proud of our NSF REU site students for their work with us over the past year and we are looking forward to welcoming our next cohort of students very soon. Thanks to recent support received, CCF will be expanding our staff and impacting the lives of more children and families this Fall. We're excited to tell you more about what we have planned.