Infant and childhood development

Question 1

Define development?

Answer 1

The processes that drive the origins and course of individual behaviour and adaptation throughout the life course

Question 2

Which factors must be considered when determining whether or not behaviour is normal/abnormal?

Answer 2

Is the behaviour appropriate for age and for context?

Question 3

Apart from abnormal behaviour, which other types of behaviour can be concerning during development?

Answer 3

Unproblematic behaviour

Question 4

Across which domains does development occur in childhood?

Answer 4

Physical

Cognitive

Social and emotional

Question 5

Describe some of the development that occurs in the physical domain in childhood?

Answer 5

Physical growth

Gross motor skills

Fine motor skills

Physical changes associated with puberty

Health/illness

Question 6

Describe some of the developmental changes that occur across the domain of cognition during childhood?

Answer 6

Language

Knowledge

Memory

Reasoning

Planning

Question 7

Describe some of the development that occurs across the social domain during childhood?

Answer 7

Development in cognition allows for new ways of understanding self and others, and reasoning about moral dilemmas

Changes in nature of social interactions (eg. family to peers)

Question 8

Describe some of the developmental changes that occur across the emotional domain during childhood?

Answer 8

Changes in emotional language, knowledge, recognition and regulation

May have emotional difficulties (eg. difficulty feeding/sleeping/settling)

Question 9

Describe how the presentation of a disease can vary during childhood?

Answer 9

Same disorder may present differently at different ages

Question 10

Describe some of the risk factors which influence childhood development?

Answer 10

Poverty

Harsh or inconsistent parenting

Family violence

Other trauma exposure

Single parent family

Parental mental health

Question 11

Describe some of the protective factors that influence child development?

Answer 11

Easy temperament

Positive stable relationship with an adult other than parents

High intelligence

Positive parenting

Question 12

Describe the risks associated with inadequate understanding of disease in childhood?

Answer 12

Increased anxiety

Impact on adherence

Question 13

Describe the long-term effect that illness during childhood may have on development?

Answer 13

Can interfere with achievement of normative developmental tasks

Question 14

Describe some of the difficulties associated with treating infants and toddlers?

Answer 14

Motor and sensory exploration prominent

Limitations in verbal expression

Struggle with logical explanations

Focus on ‘here and now’

Limited understanding of illness

Early experiences influence susequent coping

Question 15

Descirbe some of the considerations that must be taken into account when treating preschoolers?

Answer 15

Thinking is relatively literal, concrete, egocentric

Developments in independence, curiosity, language

Literal interpretation may lead to misinterpretation

Struggle with analogies and hypotheticals

Like to have choices

Illness understood as contagion/contamination

May attricute cause to something that co-occurred temporally

Magical thinking common

Question 16

Describe some of the considerations that must be taken into account when treating children in primary school?

Answer 16

Developments in logical thinking and abstract reasoning

Understand causes of disease beyond contagion

Peers of increasing importance

Simple analogies and hypothetical examples can be understood

Question 17

Describe some of the considerations that must be taken into account when treating adolescents?

Answer 17

More advanced reasoning and problem solving skills

Regulation of emotion and behaviour still developing

Peers and identity formation

Illness understood in terms of: organs and their functions, disease processes/mechanisms, role of own behaviours in causing/preventing illness, physical and psychological aspects of illness

Question 18

Describe some of the factors that must be taken into account when communicating in paediatric contexts?

Answer 18

Consider developmental factors

Children are not just little adults

Children communicate in many different ways, often non-verbally

Question 19

Describe some communication strategies that can be employed when working in a paediatric setting?

Answer 19

Developmentally appropriate, unambiguous language

Check understanding by allowing opportunities for questions

Reduce threat-related language

Honesty whilst prompting coping

Provide choices within limits

Use of visual aids and concrete referents