Human Development: Childhood and School

6-12 years old (second half of kindergarten through 5th/6h grade)

What are the ages of middle childhood?

Latency period

• interest shifts from body to body

• relate to self and others

According to Freud, what period are children in during middle childhood?

Industry v. Inferiority

• develop sense of industry through opportunities for healthy competition, positive outcome is sense of competency

• consistent failure may lead to a sense of inferiority

According to Erikson, what stage are children in during middle childhood?

Concrete Operational stage (7-12yrs)

• uses logic, begins to analyze, can generalize

• grasp the concept of identity, mathematical concept and understand relationship

According to Piaget, what stage are children in during middle childhood?

Hemispheres work separately and more efficiently

• right = space/shapes

• left = language/movement

What is hemispheric specialization (lateralization), and which side does what?

it fully myelinates; growth is mostly in the frontal lobes

What happens to the corpus callosum in middle childhood, and where does much of the brain growth occur?

About 20/400 at birth, developing to 20/20

How deos visual acuity change from newborn to middle childhood?

Low vision

20/70 vision or worse, not fully correctable with glasses

Legally (statutory) blind

20/200 or less in the better eye with best correction

Hearing impairment

• hearing loss ranging from mild to profound

• children with mild-moderate can be easily accommodated in regular classroom

  • children with profound often needs both developmental and educational supports

deafness

unable to understand speech through hearing even in the presence of amplification

Coincidence-anticipation of time (CA)

• Gross motor skill

• increased ability to precisely calibrate movement to task demands (e.g., catching or throwing a ball)

Hand dominence

consistent and more proficient use of the preferred hand in functional, skilled tasks

• established by age 5

• Complex rotation (flipping a pencil to erase)

• In-hand manipulation (picking up pennies and storing them on the ulnar side of the same hand)

• Complex shapes with scissors (simple shapes: 4-6)

• Dynamic tripod grasp by age 6

What are the fine motor milestones at 6-7 years?

Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency

Which fine/gross motor assessment covers ages 5-21?

Peabody Developmental Motor Scale (PDMS-2)

Which fine/gross motor assessment covers ages birth-5?

Attention

• the ability to stay focused on a task from the beginning until completion

• Children in the age range of 5 to 12 years of age are more susceptible to distraction than adolescents and young adults

• The ability to attend to relevant information and inhibit irrelevant information will be key skills as children progress through middle childhood

Cognitive monitoring

Any activity aimed at evaluating or regulating one's own cognition

Cognitive map

Are higher-level cognitive functions that we use to construct and accumulate spatial knowledge, allowing the "mind's eye" to visualize images and enhance recall and learning of information

Temporal awareness

A complex understanding of the passage of time. It is not about time in the academic sense but rather as it relates to the planning, sequencing, and altering of movements.

• Manifests in many ways, including the experience of the passage of time, in the experience of the movement of objects across space, and in the experience of timing in the sense of music and rhythms

Auditory development

• able to associate a variety of auditory stimuli with their sound source

• able to search for and find the auditory stimuli

• Utilizes auditory information to process language

Fine dexterity

the ability top make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to use or manipulate very small objects

• required for handwriting, keyboarding, texting, and for using most game controllers

• as children mature, the complexity of bimanual task demands increases

ADHD

developmental/behavioral disorder first noticed in middle childhood

• tied to inattention and impulsivity

• trouble with classroom behavior and peer relationships

Can be thought of as a “mental workspace” that we can use to store important information while performing mental activities

supports attention, language comprehension, and language production

• improves dramatically after age 7

What is working memory? At what age does it improve significantly?

Metamemory

a type of metacognition that involves a conscious awareness of one’s memory capabilities and the intentional strategies to aid memory

Common strategies:

• rehearsal

• organization

• mnemonics

Pyschomotor function/abilities

specific mental functions of control over both motor and psychological events at the body level, including the capacity to manipulate and control objects

Reaction time

a psychomotor ability that allows the person to quickly move the arms and/or legs in response to a stimulus

• the time delay between the presentation of a stimulus and the motor response to that stimulus

• these abilities increase from the ages 5-12

Positive stress

stress is moderate, short lived and results in learning and positive growth

Tolerable stress

stress is intense but short lived

• with support this stress resolves and does not result in lasting changes in the brain

• without support this type of stress can lead to toxic stress

Toxic stress

stress is result from intense adverse experiences that may be sustained over a long period of time

• can lead to permanent change in the development of the brain

Visual perception

mature extensively, supports development of reading, writing, and IADLs

Kinesthetic perception

stereognosis, playing musical instrument, sports

Play and friendships become gender segregated; play is tied to cognitive development, emotional well-being, language and social skills

• Friends also offer emotional support, social knowledge, and better communication skills, and friendships become more adult-like

Which describes play and friendships in middle childhood?

• follow 1-2 step directions

• follow simple conversation

• be understood

• answer yes/no questions

• retell a story

• participate in appropriate conversation

By the end of Kindergarten (around age 5), what can be seen in their speech and language development?

• follow 2-3 step directions

• respond to instructions

• be easily understood

• answer more complex yes/no questions

• express ideas with a variety of complete sentences

• stay on topic and take turns in conversation

• reflects culturally prescribed rules

• understand metaphors, and riddles

By the end of 1st grade (around ages 6-7), what can be seen in their speech and language development?

• Follow 3-4 oral directions

• Understand direction words

• Correctly answer questions in grade level story

• Be easily understood

• Use increasingly complex sentence structure

• Give 3-4 step directions

• Use oral language to inform, persuade and entertain

• Stay on topic, take turns, eye contact, open/close conversation appropriately

By the end of 2nd grade (around ages 7-8), what can be seen in their speech and language development?

• Listen in group situations

• Understand grade-level material

• Speak clearly

• Ask/respond to questions

• Participate in conversations

• Use subject related vocabulary

• Stay on topic, eye contact, take turns

• Summarize story accurately

• Explain what has been learned

By the end of 3rd grade (around ages 8-9), what can be seen in their speech and language development?

• Listen & understand info presented by others

• Form opinions

• Listen for specific purposes

• Use words appropriately

• Language for variety of purposes

• Participate in group discussions

• Summarize and restate ideas

• Organize information

• Effective oral presentations

By the end of 4th grade (around ages 9-10), what can be seen in their speech and language development?

• Listen and draw conclusions in subject area learning activities

• Oral presentations

• Maintain eye contact, use gestures, facial expressions appropriate voice

• Participate in class discussions

• Summarize main points

• Report information gathered in group activities

By the end of 5th grade (around ages 10-12), what can be seen in their speech and language development?

Able to dress and undress independently; may require assistance with fasteners and in putting shoes on the right feet in the early years; needs parental guidance choosing correct clothing for environmental context

Dressing during middle childhood?

Dresses independently; is able to dress appropriately for the weather and other environmental contexts; has developed a sense of clothing preferences that are expressed in clothing choice

Dressing during preadolescence?

Takes bath or shower with parental reminder, may require supervision in early years

Bathing/showering during middle childhood?

Independent in initiating and performing bathing or showering

Bathing/shower during preadolescence?

Able to eat all types and textures of food using familiar utensils

• preadolescence = no change

Eating during middle childhood? Does this change during preadolescence?

Able to effectively brush hair

Hair care during middle childhood?

Able to effectively wash, brush, and style hair

Hair care during preadolescence?

Can fix a simple cold meal, such as a bowl of cereal or a sandwich

Meal preparation during middle childhood?

Varies with practice, but potentially able to prepare complete meal

Meal preparation during preadolescence?

Able to manage basic personal hygiene and toileting tasks independently

Personal hygiene during middle childhood?

Gains new skills based on culture and gender; may apply deodorant, floss teeth, apply makeup

Personal hygiene during preadolescence?

Can convey important information and seek help from appropriate adults; remembers to keep in touch via cell phone when this is expected by parents

Can dial and initiate a telephone call (without using speed dial)

Communication/safety during middle childhood?

May choose to communicate with peers rather than parent

Increased skill in using text messages and computers as reading level increases

Communication/safety during preadolescence?

Will require supervision with managing assistive devices such as glasses, contact lenses, hearing aids, and orthoses

Personal device care during middle childhood?

With instruction and practice, will be able to managing assistive devices such as glasses, contact lenses, hearing aids, and orthoses

Personal device care during preadolescence?

Needs parental supervision and prompting to manage bed times and wake-up times

Sleep/rest during middle childhood?

Is able to take responsibility for waking self up in the morning for school; may continue to need bedtime prompts

Sleep/rest during preadolescence?