Child Development, Communication and Management Flashcards
Milestones in Development - describe features of the pre-school child (2 years) - 5
- can be awkward to deal with (pre-cooperative stage)
- v dependent on parent - poor communication skills do not share or play well
- communicate mostly by crying ie thirsty, tired, hungry scared etc seperation anxiety
- time issues ie cant sit still
- PARENTAL support and education is key in this age!
Child development - describe features of a 3 y/o(4)
- similar aspects in crying for communications but should have some verbal skills to enhance understanding which relieves frustration
- try to be grown up - mimic adult behaviour
- should respond well to colourful descriptive stories to capture imagination
- still time issues - need to be quick
child development - describe features of a 4 y/o
- start to test boundaries and impose their will
- I do it! - battle for them toothbrushing begins
- communication and interaction skills improve
- most children who will find dentistry difficult will fall into this group (POTENTIALLY COOPERATIVE)
Child development - describe features of the school child (5)
- egocentric and inflexible this is constant until around 7/8
- need less parental support and are more independant. concentration improving but still a problem for long periods
- respond to praise and flattery. constant positive feedback is needed, use language that they will understand.
- love to show of there posessions
- children of 7 can seperate messages and deem ones that arent important and which ones are.
child development - describe features of teenagers (4)
- increasing independance
- major emotional, hormonal and physical changes
- moody, sensitive to criticism so comments need to be delivered with care.
- difficulties with motivation but can deal with cause and effect relationships in health but still better in the present day than future
tactics when treating a 2y/o(5)
- keep appts short
- avoid asking questions that can get a no answer as thats there fav word
- invite parent into surgery
- full concentration on child
- avoid sudden scary movements, never work from behind
tactics when treating a 3 y/o(4)
- get and keep attention by arousing curiosity
- might touch things - keep control of this
- positive attitude - its easier/ better to do this/ ive got a better way etc
- no negative attitude - may frighten
tactics for treating a 4 y/o
- explain simple procedures. why do u need to stay open/suction etc
- keep control, work steady and avoid delays
tactics for treating 5-8 y/o(5)
- show interest in clothes in items that are brought into surgery hair bobbles clips etc
- appeal to egocentric - clean the dirty tooth to fill with a silver star etc
- give lots of praise
- steady concentration on child
- teach stop signals and practice to reassure child
what are the 3 relationships between age and behaviours
charactierised in 3 ways -
- cooperative
- potentially cooperative
- pre-cooperative - lacking cooperative ability.
MOSTLY COOPERATION IS AGE DEPENDANT
when are management techniques put into place/for what kind of patient(3)
- these are appropriate for cooperative and potentially cooperative children.
- pre cooperative is a child who lacks the ABILITY to be cooperative and includes communication issues in the preschool child and with certain disabilities
- this category may need dfferent approaches which may include GA
describe the two locus of control methods we have in a child
INTERNAL - they can control what happens to them/ are responsible for there own health
EXTERNAL - what happens is down to chance and has no personal input
describe what needs to happen when giving information to INTERNAL locus children
- these children need specific information regarding treatment sessions as it gives them a feeling of expectation and control over the procedures. if this is ignored the child is more likely to feel anxious
describe what needs to happen when giving information to EXTERNAL locus children
- the OPPOSITE is true for the child who has an external locus of control
- they respond better to an outline of session as DETAILS will increase anxiety so try to avoid this.
describe what it means by the term trait anxiety
- this is a term used for patients who seem to be more anxious than others
- prone to anxiety and worry in other areas, especially if it can involve failure
- a routine appt can raise the same level of anxiety as an operative appt.
- NEED CONTINUING SUPPORT TO MANAGE CONTROL
how do we communicate well with a child patient (5)
- a balancing act
- inform child AND parent
- remember the message you are sending may not be the one the family are receiving
- in young children, words used will have less of an impact than the tone of your voice!
- in older children, long explanations to the parents may use up their attention span or make them more anxious if they dont understand.
how do we communicate well with parents(7)’
- gain the parents concerns about there childs dental health
- respect the parents desires and feelings even if you disagree
- relieve some of the parents guilt and anxiety
- encourage positive health, promoting behaviour
- encourage parent to reinforce the childs positive, cooperative behaviour
- explain planned procedures - NO JARGON
- discuss various treatment options without biasing the decision
Verbal Communication - what would the outcome be if we used jargon infront of the child when treating them
child may misunderstand or become anxious as the treatment sounds frightening to them
Verbal Communication - what do we need to consider when speaking at a level to the child
- words used need to be age? appropriate for the person you are speaking to
- explanations given at the wrong level may be insulting, frightening or confusing
- difficult if you need the child and adult to understand but most of the time the parents will understand that you are trying to make things easier for the child. - the parents will usually understand what you are saying to them
Verbal Communication - things we need to consider when speaking to the child - how is there listening
- we must remember that we only listen to 25% of our potential
- listening decreases if we are anxious or awaiting treatment
- this means we may need to GIVE SOME INFO IN ADVANCE OF THE APPOINTMENT
how much information is RETAINED when verbally communicating with someone
- 50 % of information is forgotten within 5 mins of leaving the surgery
- it may be helpful to WRITE DOWN ANY INFORMATION FOR FUTURE REFERENCE
name the types of non-verbal communication we have
- FACE
- EYES
- GESTURES/BODY POSTURE
- BODY CONTACT
what are the 2 steps that will ensure success on almost all occasions with almost all patients…
- gain RAPPORT with the patient (eye contact, make them smile)
- give CONTROL TO THE PATIENT (raise your hand if you want me to stop)
specific techniques for patient management (6)
- introduce in STAGES
- teach them relaxation breathing/imagery
- tell - show - do
- reinforcement and reward
- modelling (puppets)
- distraction
describe some ways in which we can get the dental environment right for children/make it children friendly (11)
- communicating with a child has to be age specific
- childrens corner in waiting room
- child friendly colours
- childrens books/toys
- posters positioned at childs height
- pinboard for drawings
- colouring sheets and badges
- puppets
- friendly staff
- put the child at the CENTRE
- remember COMMUNICATION IS MORE THAN JUST WORDS
