Unit 1 Child Development

1. QQI LEVEL 5 COMPONENT CERTIFICATES IN “CHILDREN WITH ADDITIONAL NEEDS” AND“SPECIAL NEEDS ASSISTING”

2. Unit 1 Child Development

3. Physical Development • In the simplest of terms physical development refers to movement. • For example, it includes the waddling, stumbling, ungainly movement of the toddler, the skill of ice-skating and the delicate touch of the glass blower coaxing a vessel at the end of the tube. • It is said that children who do not have a good grasp of motor skills will function like a car missing one cylinder.

4. Motor development: The development of control over bodily movements through the co-ordinated activity of the nerve centres, the nerves and the muscles. • Skill:The co-ordination of sensory information and purposive behaviour requiring muscular response to attain some specific goal. • Gross Motor skills: Involves the large areas of the body, and includes for example, walking, swimming, running, jogging, climbing, playing football etc. • Fine Motor skills: involve using the smaller muscles in the body (especially the muscles in the hand) and include skills such as grasping, catching, writing, threading, making a jigsaw etc.

5. There is generally a sequence in which skills emerge. This means that a degree of prediction is possible. For example, we may confidently say that a baby who sits early will walk early. (A formula for predicting the age of walking is to multiply the age of sitting by 2) • However, motor development is not in itself a predictor of general intelligence. There is no correlation between how early a child is walking and the way they develop academically in later years. • Stages of development are observable, e.g. one cannot run before one can walk.

6. Gross motor development follows the Cephalocaudal Law: Development goes from the head downwards. For example, a baby learns to hold his head up before he can sit up, learns to sit up before he can stand etc. • Fine motor development follows another law call the Proximodistal Law: Development proceeds from near to far.

7. FINE MOTOR SKILLS • The most important point to note about fine motor skills is the crucial part played by the thumb and Dr. Maria Montessori stressed that the development of the hand and the brain (intelligence) go together. • The development of the ‘PINCER grip’ is given much weight in textbooks and development scales in view of the increased versatility that this grip provides. • The first grasp that most children employ is referred to as ‘PALMER’: An object is swept up by all the fingers into the outside of the palm. Gradually the grip shifts towards a position in which the thumb is in opposition to the other fingers, culminating in the precise grip that adults use.

8. An example of fine motor skills is that of handwriting. • C. Tarman has observed seven stages of writing, which have been linked to approximate age ranges.

9. Up to 5 years -Copying is frequent • 5 - 6 years- Children learn to write their own name with large writing and some reversals (e.g. b for d) • 6 - 7 years-The alphabet can be printed on request, but there is still some reversing. • 7 - 8 years- Most children can now write and most attempt to make their letters smaller. There is some evidence of consciousness of design

10. 8 - 9 years- Some, but not all, letters are joined. This can lead to untidiness and an apparent deterioration in ability, madeworse if the child is also mastering skills of punctuation and spelling. • 9 - 11 years- Writing is now well established with each child’sindividuality beginning to show. • 11 + - Individual styles flourish and should be encouraged

11. COGNITIVE (INTELLECTUAL) DEVELOPMENT • Cognitive development covers thinking, reasoning, problem solving, memory, and aspects of perception through the senses, concept formation, concentration, attention and many other mental functions.

12. Intelligence Testing • Intelligence testing has come under much fire in the last thirty years or so, with some of the criticism being justified. • These tests were supposed to measure how intelligent a person was and to predict future achievement. • Testing children in this way led to ‘labelling’ them either bright or weak academically. • Further research showed that such labelling leads to adults having lower expectations of the children and the ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’ i.e. children fulfil those low expectations and do not reach their full potential

13. Later work has challenged the idea that it is possible to test intelligence fully and that the best that can be done is to test certain components such as memory span or number ability. • Many researchers do not agree with tests on the grounds that intelligence as a separate concept is not open to definition and that these types of tests can be biased, for example socially.

14. Nature V Nurture • There is considerable discussion concerning whether intelligence is determined by genetic inheritance or by the environment in which a child is brought up. • Some educationalists and psychologists believe that the environment and educational experiences to which a child is exposed are more important than genetic inheritance.

15. The degree of cognitive development that a child has will depend very much on the environment they grow up in and the quality of care they receive. • In a stimulating environment, adults take a keen interest in reading stories, painting etc, which will enhance the child’s level of cognitive development. • However, if the home environment is not stimulating, the child may not reach its potential as regards cognitive development. • The evidence is there to show that attendance at a pre-school can enhance a child’s cognitive development

16. Language Development • Generally speaking school-going children have extensive language, 3000+ words. • Their ability to number write, letter write, read, colour and draw will all be improving. • The use and variation of language will improve and most children are learning a second language. • Conditions such as dyslexia may emerge as the child’s writing/reading may show some warning signs. • Their ability to read alone slowly develops and most can read a short story book at about eight years.

17. At this age many children become aware of their cognitive ability and start to compare their progress against others. This may introduce a competitive element which in turn may motivate a child to work or practise harder.

18. Why intelligence has been so narrowly defined: • Recent work in America has given academic weight to the theory that intelligence (or ability) has at least seven different forms, which do not necessarily correlate with each other. • In concentrating on analytical intelligence as measured by IQ tests, we have down-graded the rest. The other six types of intelligence (multiple intelligence) are:

19. Spatial intelligence, creativity, i.e. the creative artist or the creative scientist; the ability to see patterns in things and to connect the unconnected • Musical intelligence, clearly seen in musical prodigies, but also in the pop / rock groups of the young, who may not necessarily score highly on analytic intelligence tests • Physical intelligence, more naturally called ability, obvious in athletes, swimmers, dancers

20. Practical intelligence, e.g. someone who is able to fix a motor-cycle whilst failing engineering examinations • Intra-personal intelligence, which is the ability to know oneself and to be sensitive to one’s inner being, evidence in much poetry and literature • Inter-personal intelligence, the ability to • co-operate with and work through others, essential for managers and leaders. • See further: Gardner, H. Frames of Mind (1983).

21. Social and emotional development • A definition of social development is the ‘acquisition of the ability to behave in accordance with social expectations’ (Lansdown 1983) • A less formal definition might be ‘learning the rules of the game’. • The process by which one learns the rules is called socialisation, a process that includes 3 components.

22. Learning how to behave This involves first of all coming to understand what the rules are and learning to obey them. 2. Playing approved social roles • Every group has its own defined roles that people are expected to play: parents are not supposed to behave like children, medical students are indulged but once they qualify they are expected to behave like doctors.

23. 3. Developing social attitudes • Children realise the value of group membership and feel a need to join in. At this age they will want to be part of whatever social fad is in at the time e.g. Manchester United t-shirts are in vogue with the group, then he/she will want one and won’t take ‘no’ for an answer or won’t accept a promise that he/she will get one next week. “I want it now” is the usual reply.

24. As they progress towards 7 and beyond they are less influenced by the social group and can accept a promise that they can get it next week. • At this age also, children integrate more in the social events at home. They tend to discuss their problems and they help out with chores around the house. • Social development lays the foundation for closer • communities in the future. They often become attached to a pet and will enjoy caring for it.

25. They enjoy having pocket money and this can be used to teach them budget control and saving. • Sexual matters and sexuality can be slowly introduced and most children learn the ‘Stay Safe Code’ at school.

26. Many children get involved in club activities, depending on interests. These clubs and also libraries are extremely good for children. • At this age their preference for a particular hobby or interest emerges and this can be enhanced by providing opportunities for them to develop them e.g. music, art, sport etc. They also become more efficient at board games. • ey enjoy being ‘busy’ and derive much pleasure from camps and outings. Their preference for different types of music also becomes obvious.

27. Additional needs • When talking of children with additional or special needs, it is important to remember that most children at some point will differ in their development from the so called “norm”. • A child may develop speech at an early age such as 12 months onwards, whereas another child may not develop this until much later. • Therefore the theories developed by Piaget and other Developmental Psychologists can differ depending on the child and their life experiences.

28. The child with additional Needs cannot be categorised so easily into a developmental chart. As you will discover throughout this course the child’s developmental levels will vary depending on the difficulties they are presented with. • The child with Autism or Autistic Spectrum Disorders or Persuasive Developmental Disorders will have an “Atypical development” which means that the child’s development will follow no particular order.

29. The child with Down’s Syndrome will have “delayed development” which means the development will occur in the pattern expected but at a later stage. • A child with Attention Deficit Disorder will have difficulty with the area of Social and Emotional development finding things such as eye contact and turn taking extremely difficult. • The course will focus on child development in each of the sections which deal with specific special needs and you will become more aware of the difference of development of each child throughout.

30. The most important thing to remember through this course is that every child is an individual and he/she will reach different milestones at different stages throughout his/her life.

31. Ages and stages • See word doc attached

32. Observation • There is no substitute for observation. You can obtain valuable information through watching someone. • The observation must be objective and unbiased. This may be difficult as the child you are watching may be aware of the observer and therefore act accordingly. • There may also be a ‘history’ attached to the child and you may subconsciously be aware of negative behaviour as this is the behaviour that is most prominent. • Consequently, your interpretation of what you observed may be coloured by your bias.

33. Observation of the child is required as part of an assessment for learning disabilities and the information it produces can make a valuable contribution. • Many attributes of the child are adequately identified through testing as he/she is usually assessed in several different settings during the early years. • skilful observer can often detect important characteristics and behaviours of the child in the setting where the child’s behaviour will be more consistent.

34. Direct Observation • occurs in the natural settings for the child i.e. • the classroom • dining room • playground • Structured Observation • occurs when a situation is structured so as to watch the child i.e. • giving the child his favourite activity • giving the child a less preferred activity • inviting the child to do something specific e.g.. get his coat • If a particular behaviour had been noted, a structured observation could be used to confirm the behaviour. This would give the observer the opportunity to intervene in future, if necessary.

35. Observer Bias • Occurs when the observer is influenced by his/her own judgements based on a previous knowledge of the child.

36. Why Observe • Observation is useful in many different ways and from many different aspects of the curriculum. • Observation can detect: • if a child is attending to a lesson or activity • if a child understands what is being asked • if a child can follow a sequence of directions • when a child is unhappy, angry, frustrated • when a child is ready to move on to the next step of a task

37. fluctuating hearing loss • vision difficulties • physical difficulties • co-ordinations difficulties • communication difficulties • behaviour difficulties

38. Observation can detect improvement in all the above areas. • Through objective observation we can facilitate the learning process by allowing the child to learn at his own pace, removing obstacles that may lead to frustration and gain a greater awareness of the individual and his preferences, needs and abilities.

39. Observation is a valuable skill to develop. • Looking at the end product of a child’s efforts, for example, a piece of writing often tells us much less than if we have seen the processes through which the child reached that final stage. • OBSERVATION IS ABOUT WATCHING AND LISTENING. • We can observe children from a distance but we can observe them also whilst we are playing and working with them. • However, when evaluating what you have observed, it is important to take the following factors into account:

40. Did the child know what was expected? • Was the task planned or unplanned? • What was the composition of the group? • Were there equal opportunities for the child to participate? • What did the child already know and understand? • What new learning took place? • What difficulties did the child experience: • Did the child have access to sufficient appropriate resources?

41. It would be most unfair to assume that a child is not very competent at cutting out, for instance, when in fact, the scissors she was using when you observed the child were blunt. • In other words, observations need to consider factual information rather than judgmental opinion.

42. It should not be obvious to the child that he / she is being observed, you will find that the child may begin to “perform” or may feel under stress. • In the beginning you can explain yourself simply by saying “I have to do my work” and after a while the children won’t even notice you. • For the check-list method you may decide to set up a game that will cover the milestones, you can include all the children as they don’t have to know there is one in particular you are interested in.

43. You should write your observation as it happens, DO NOT rely on your memory. • As you become more practised you will develop a short hand, which will help.

44. As with all areas of school life you need to keep in mind confidentiality; these observations are only for use in the classroom. • If there is a particular concern with a child they may be used then but only with the full knowledge of the teachers concerned.

45. Gardner, H. (1983) Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences New York Basic Books. • Gronlund, G. & James, M. (2005) Focused Observations: How to Observe Children for Assessment and Curriculum PlanningRedleaf Press, USA. • Hobart, C. & Frankel, J. (1994) A Practical Guide to Child Observation and Assessment Published by Nelson Thornes • Meggitt, C.& Sunderland, G.(2000) Child Development: An Illustrated Guide Heinemann Child Care. • Sheridan, M. (revised and updated by Frost, M. & Dr.Sharma, A.) (1997) • From Birth to Five Years:Children’s Developmental ProgressRoutledge Press. • Sheridan, M. (1988) From Birth to Five Years Hyperion Books. • Smith, P.& Cowie, H.(1988)Understanding Children’s Development Blackwell Publishing.