EDS 248 Human Development and LearningStephen E. Brock, Ph.D., NCSP 1Early and Middle ChildhoodStephen E. Brock, Ph.D., NCSPCalifornia State University, SacramentoThe Power of the Developmental History Referring concerns for Julie (age 5, kindergarten) Poor interpersonal skills Julie doesn’t know how to play with other children. Tends to be aggressive. Delayed language MLU good, but poor syntax.  Vocabularies (expressive & receptive) are very low.  The teacher wonders if there is an auditory processing delay?The Power of the Developmental History Pregnancy Full term (with prenatal care?) Birth weight 5 pounds Cord wrapped around neck at birth Developmental history Spoke first word at 18 months Combined words at 3 years Walked at 15 months Family history Parent was a special education student (SDC) Maternal aunt was also a special education student (DCH)What initial hypothesis would you develop?What additional questions should be asked?EDS 248 Human Development and LearningStephen E. Brock, Ph.D., NCSP 2Early ChildhoodEDS 248Stephen E. Brock, Ph.D.,NCSPEarly Childhood:Motor Milestones Walking (late 2 into 3rd year)  Become more steady, rhythmic, arms swing (no longer extended outward). Stair climbing (late 3rd year)  Alternate feed without support to ascend. Stair climbing (end of 4th year)  Alternate feet without support to descend. Running (4 to 6 years)  Leg thrusts that make the child momentarily airborne.Early Childhood:Motor Milestones Jumping (end of 2nd year)  Simple two legged jump off ground. Hopping (4th year) Skipping and Galloping (5th year) Dress and feed self (by 4 years) Toilet trained (by end of 3rd year)  Delayed bladder control = enuresis. Delayed bowel control = encopresis.  ERIC Online Enuresis Resource & Information CenterEDS 248 Human Development and LearningStephen E. Brock, Ph.D., NCSP 3Early Childhood:Illness and Injury Illness is very common What should you watch out for? Injury is also very common Psychological characteristics associated with frequent injury Frequent temper outbursts Irritability Inattentiveness Activity level Diagnostic significance ADHDEarly Childhood:Stress Direct and indirect effects of stress Illness Injury Self-destructive behavior  Diagnostic Significance A viable hypothesis for learning difficultiesEarly Childhood:Stress Common sources of stress Moving to a new neighborhood Parental job change Conflict within the immediate family Death of a close friend or relative Unemployment or underemployment Financial problemsEDS 248 Human Development and LearningStephen E. Brock, Ph.D., NCSP 4Early Childhood:Stress Common sources of stress Separation/divorce Serious illness/accident/death of a family member Family violence Substance abuse Pregnancy Day care Legal problems (being accused or convicted of a criminal offenseEarly Childhood:Stress Assessing the Impact of StressEarly Childhood:Child Maltreatment Types Physical Sexual Psychological Neglect Effects/Indicators of Physical Abuse Aggression Poor interpersonal skill Learning delaysEDS 248 Human Development and LearningStephen E. Brock, Ph.D., NCSP 5Early Childhood:Child Maltreatment Effects/Indicators of Sexual Abuse Same as physical abuse. In addition,may include  Inappropriate precocious sexual behavior/verbalizations Feelings of guilt, shame, fear, anger, etc. Reporting Requirements Sample FormEarly Childhood:Suspected Child Abuse ReportAny child care custodian …who has knowledge of or observes a child in his or her professional capacity …whom he or she reasonable suspects has been the victim of child abuse shall report such suspected instance of child abuse to a child protective agency immediately or as soon as practically possible by telephone and shall prepare and send a written report within 36 hours of receiving the information concerning the incident.Early Childhood:Cognitive Development Sensorimotor Reasoning Children are bound by perceptions. Live in the moment. End of Sensorimotor >> Preoperational Symbolic function begins to emerge (e.g., object permanence). Preoperational though is not always logical. Fails to achieve logical operational thought of middle childhood. Unfortunately, the preconcept is all that the child has to use to think about that experience. Thus, reasoning with preconcepts (transductive reasoning) tends to be illogical.EDS 248 Human Development and LearningStephen E. Brock, Ph.D., NCSP 6Early Childhood:Cognitive Development Egocentrism The inability to recognize the perspective of others. Irreversibility  The inability to mentally reverse transductive thoughts. Centration Focus on (often irrelevant) parts Sees parts of the field, not the whole, centration.Early Childhood:Language Development Semantics Vocabulary continues to grow. Syntax Learn rules, but over generalize. Examples? Pragmatics Social conventions are lacking. Egocentric Often fail to consider listeners Early Childhood:Environmental Influences Extreme neglect results in delays. Social, cognitive, academic, language Nursery school some advantages Day care quality low makes a bad situation worse high may make a bad situation better.EDS 248 Human Development and LearningStephen E. Brock, Ph.D., NCSP 7Early Childhood:Play Parallel play playing beside but not with Associative play interacting with no consistent theme/roles Cooperative play sharing roles and extend play themes Diagnostic significance If you do not see parallel or associative play by then end of the 3rd year, consider PDDEarly Childhood:Developmental Levels of Play12-15 monthsPretend acts performed near other children with eye contact but no other response (feeds self, other ignores)15-20 monthsSimilar/identical pretend acts performed with eye contact (both hug teddy bears)20-24 monthsEngagement in similar pretend activities accompanied by social exchanges24-30 monthsReflect the same theme but their actions show no within pair integration30-36 monthsJoint pretend activity involves complementary roles such as “mother-baby.”12-15 monthsParallel play with eye contact, and/or exchanges of social behavior (smiles in response to vocalization of other)15-20