Development of abilities in children

Question 1

in first month of life what is ability of

visual acuity? [1]
hearing? [1]
body movement? [1]
sensory stimuli processing? [1]

Answer 1

in first month of life what is ability of

visual acuity: limited (6/60)
hearing: good - can make out phonetic distinctions. no understanding or production of language
body movement: mass body movments
​sensory stimuli processing: basic neural processing

Question 2

childhood development is related to the maturaion of which system? [1]

development progresses in a WHAT direction: from your WHERE to WHERE

Answer 2

childhood development is related to the maturaion of which system? [1]
nervous system

Development progresses in a cephalo-caudal direction: from your head to tail. The first things we see in terms of ability is smiling, then arm control and leg control.

Question 3

which neurological processes underpin chilhood development? [5]

Answer 3

• Myelination of axonal pathways is vitally important, so signals can be conducted along the axon much faster so we can control our movements very quickly via rapidly-conducting neural signals
• Growth in neuronal numbers
• Growth in neuronal connections: vital process to increase visual acuity, as neuronal connections in visual cortex necessary for good visual acuity, development of cerebellar programmed actions (coordination)
• Acquisition of memories (knowledge)
• Increase in cognitive abilities (thinking): how to think and solve problems, develop strategies, make sense of situations

Question 4

Along with the anatomical changes occurring in the brain, we need environmental stimulation to help development. What are they? [4]

Answer 4

• Sensory stimulation: Vision and Hearing
• Physical environment
• Opportunity for movement & play
• Caring emotionally supportive environment with opportunities for social interaction

Question 5

why does having a squnit and young age lead to reduced acuity?

Answer 5

We have cells in our optic cortex that respond to binocular input; input from both eyes. If a child has a squint, i.e. eyes are pointing in different, cells responsible for binocular vision do not receive same input from both eyes. Correction of squint after 2 years gives less chance of binocular vision. In chronic squint the brain suppresses input from the squinting eye – even after correction of squint this eye will have reduced acuity (amblyopia).

Question 7

overall development in children is due to: [2]

Answer 7

Development of the brain at a cellular level is dependent on a complex interaction between innate processes (i.e. myelination) and environmental input. Development of abilities in children mirrors this interaction. Development of complex skills are also dependent on structurally normal brain and good environmental input.

Question 8

what 6 things do u measure to assess ares of early development?

Answer 8

1. Growth
2. Sensory abilities
3. Motor skills
4. Language
5. Cognitive – intellectual skills
6. Emotional and social

Question 9

what are developmental milestones associated with [1] not associated with? [1]

Answer 9

Milestones are most important in defining normality/disability, not in defining intelligence. There is a very weak association between early milestones and later ability. This is measurable in population studies only

Question 11

Major problems with development should be detected before the age of:

1 years
2 years
3 years
4 years
5 years

Answer 11

Major problems with development should be detected before the age of:

1 years
2 years
3 years
4 years
5 years

Question 12

which conditions should be detected prior to 4 years of age? [5]

4+ years: development beyond the early years should include which characterisitcs? [5]

Answer 12

which conditions should be detected prior to 4 years of age? [5]

• Cerebral palsy
• Sensorineural hearing loss
• Severe visual impairment
• Severe and moderate learning difficulties
• Autism
• Functional diagnoses

4+ years: development beyond the early years should include which characterisitcs? [5]

• • Energetic & eager
• Friendly and outgoing
• Talkative
• Love play
• Imagination and ideas
• Innocent, naivety

Question 13

what are the paigets stages [4]

Answer 13

• Sensorimotor (0-2 years): Integration of perception & motor actions. At this stage children are dominanted by their physical environment and the sensory input they receive from it (I.e. seeing an interesting toy and grabbing the toy to bring it into their mouth/vision)
• Preoperational (2-6 years): Internalisation of actions. This includes working out what they are doing, mentally rehearsing it before they perform the action.
• Concrete operational (7-12 years): Use of logical rules to solve problems.
• Formal operational (12-19 years): Abstract reasoning. This is when you can begin thinking about concepts that don’t always have physicality (good vs evil, etc)

Question 14

explain what should be going in the preoperation stage (2-6 yrs)

and 7-13 years - concrete operation reasoning

Answer 14

2-6 years: Preoperational stage

• No longer dominated by sensory input
• Only considering one feature of a problem at a time (conservation and reversibility not understood)
• Egocentrism (considering the world from one’s own point of view). This doesn’t mean they’re selfish, they just expect everyone to feel and see like them.
• Animism (attribution of feelings to non-living things: i.e. teddy bear might be sick or feel pain)
• Centration: being able to only focus on one aspect of a situation and neglect any others.
• Conservation: the ability that something remains the same even though it transforms in appearance (Moving water from one glass shape to another and unable to understand the volume was still the same)

7-13 years: Concrete operational reasoning

• Use logical rules to solve problems
• Can solve conservation of matter problems – no longer perceptually dominated
• Control of behaviour through language
• Still not able to deal with abstract problems