ABSTRACT
All chapters in this volume address two fundamental questions: What is the appropriate model for accounting for behavior in the developing child and what are the implications of such a model for clinical assessment and treatment? The chapters do not offer a single answer nor are they all concerned with the same developmental domains; they look at everything from neuromotor processes to child rearing practices among the !Kung San. What they do provide, however, is a reevaluation of some fundamental assumptions about development and suggestions for new models which arise from changes in these assumptions. These new models are interesting not only in themselves, but also because they have direct consequences for clinical practice in both the assessment and treatment of developmental disorders. The goal of the book, therefore, is to establish a dialogue between theoreticians and clinicians so that clinical practice can be guided by the best informed theories and so that clinical data can in turn provide a testing ground for these new theories.
