Development of Abilities in children

Question 1

name the factors in the process of development

Answer 1

• vision
• hearing
• movements
• interaction

Question 2

describe how..

• vision changes
• hearing changes
• movement changes
• interaction changes

Answer 2

Vision
neonate - limited visual acuity 6/60
adolescent - visual acuity and accommodation at adult levels

hearing
neonate - Hearing good, can make phonetic distinctions, but no understanding or production of language
adolescent- adult hearing and linguistic abilities

movements
neonate - mass body movements with sub-cortical and spinal reflexes
adolescent- high levels of gross and fine motor coronation

interaction
neonate - basic neural processing of sensory stimuli
adolescent - intellectual abilities close to adult levels

Question 3

what are the 4 parts of piagets theory

Answer 3

sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years old)

preoperational stage (ages 2-7)

concrete operations (ages 7-11)

formal operations (beginning at ages 11-15)

Question 4

describe the 4 parts of pigaets theory

Answer 4

Sensorimotor stage ages birth to 2 years old – learn how to interact with the envrornment and you use all of your 5 senses, also object permanence develops – see that the object exists even if they have dropped it and cannot see it

Preoperational stage ages 2-7– this is when the child thinks in symbols (use of toys to represent things) or represential thought, it makes error in judgements and rational animism, egocentric

Concrete operations ages 7-11 – can think rationally like an adult minus hypothetical and abstract thinking, conversation and reversibility develops,

Formal operations (beginning at age 11-15) – by this point the child’s cognitive structures are like those of an adult and include hypothetical and abstract reasoning

Question 5

what are the relevant neurological processes that have to happen

Answer 5

• myelination
• increase in neuronal numbers
• increase in neural connections

Question 6

what do the relevant neurological processes lead to

Answer 6

Increase in visual acuity

Development of cerebellar programmed actions (coordination)

Acquisition of memories (knowledge)

Increase in cognitive abilities (thinking)

Question 7

what is the cause of a squint

Answer 7

Cells responsible for binocular vision do not receive same input from both eyes

Question 8

what happens if you don’t fi a squint

Answer 8

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 there is reduced acuity

Question 9

when do primitive reflexes develop and when do they disappear by

Answer 9

• they develop during gestation

- disappear by 3-6 month

Question 10

what are primitive reflexes an important sign of

Answer 10

they are an important sign of nervous system development and function

Question 11

what happens if primitive reflexes end by

Answer 11

persist of a primitive reflex is a neurological sign

Question 12

name some examples of primitive reflexes

Answer 12

• rooting
• steeping
• moro
• palmar grasp reflex
• asymmetric tonic neck reflex

Question 13

describe when the primitive reflexs disappear

Answer 13

• rooting - 6 months
• steeping - 6 weeks
• moro - when they spread there arms out - 4 months
• palmar grasp reflex - 3 months
• asymmetric tonic neck reflex - 3 months

Question 14

what are the factors that are to do with child development

Answer 14

• child factors
• family factors
• environmental factors
• societal factors

Question 15

describe the factors that are to do with child development

Answer 15

• Child development – factors to do with the child itself, genetic prenatal temperatnat
• family factors – nutrition, knowledge, stimulation and play
• Environmental factors – smoking, pollution, housing
• Societal factors – healthcare, education and housing

Question 16

how do we assess developmental domains

Answer 16

• growth parameters

- developmental domains 
Gross motor
Fine motor & vision
Speech & language
Social/interaction

Question 17

what are the formal tests that can be used to test development

Answer 17

Griffiths – used by people who assess day in day out like community paediatrician

Schedule of Growing Skills (SOGS)

Bayley’s – research point of view

Test of Motor Impairment

Language scales

Question 18

do milestones correlate with later IQ

Answer 18

There isn’t much of a correlation between early milestones and later IQ

Question 19

when should you be worried about development and delay

Answer 19

Global developmental delay (GDD):

• delay in two or more
• developmental domains

Question 20

describe the breakdown of global developmental delay

Answer 20

Mild : functional age <33% below chronological age

Moderate: functional age 34%–66% chronological age

Severe: functional age <66% chronological age, or > 2 SDs below mean

Prevalence of GDD = 1-3%

Question 21

what are the red flags

Answer 21

• no responsive smile - vision worry - by 8 weeks
• No eye contact – vision worried - 3 months
• Not reaching for objects- motor skills - 5 months
• Not sitting –motor skills - 9 months
• Not walking – lack of coordination- 18 months
• Not saying single words – speech and language - 18 months
• No 2/3 word sentences – speech and language - 30 months

Question 22

what is development related to

Answer 22

• it is a continuous process

- it is related to maturation of the nervous system