Case Study: Development Milestones during the Transition from Early to Middle Childhood

The General Context of Development and the Specific Context of the Child 

The transition between early and middle childhood occurs at the age of six years. While significant cognitive and physical development occurs in early childhood, as the child moves into middle childhood, relationships are based on social interactions with their peers. At this stage, gender awareness occurs, children engage in functional play, and learn from each other while forming their first social connections outside their families. Research based evidence shows that the experiences of early and middle childhood are determinant of a child’s further development and lifelong learning. Therefore the cognitive, physical, emotional, and social skills learnt here ensure that the child is equipped to achieve more complex developmental milestones in adolescence and adulthood. Various social, environmental, and biological factors can cause delays in childhood development. 

This assessment will be based on “Daniel Spectrum Disorder: Development to an Identified Diagnosis.” It describes the case of a six year old boy, Daniel, who was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) from an early age. His parents enrolled him into an intervention program when in preschool to help him cope with his shortcomings. His mother even left her job so she can make time for Daniel and his younger sister. Although Daniel still exhibits several traits associated with ASD as observed by his teacher, the intervention program has helped him in following routines so that he can operate in a normal class. Daniel comes from a supportive family where he is well taken care of. However, he still has significant deficiencies in school that could impede his ability to transition typically into middle childhood. He is particularly lacking in social skills that he should have developed. It is however unclear whether ASD has affected Daniel’s cognitive development 

General Expectations for Healthy Development during the Transition from Early to Middle Childhood 

There are several milestones that every child should have achieved in their development by a certain age. These milestones are grouped into physical, social, emotional, and cognitive domains. Each domain has a set of skills that should be acquired during early childhood for a successful transition into middle childhood. 

Physical development 

Physical development is the most noticeable development milestone. By the age of five a child should have increased in height, developed gross motor skills and began to develop their fine motor skills. Gross motor skills include balancing on one foot, skipping, throwing or jumping (Damovska, Shehu, Janeva, Palcevska, & Panova, 2009). During the transition into middle childhood, physical growth slows down and fine motor skills become refined. These skills require the use of fingers such as writing, coloring, buttoning, or operating simple machines such as scissors. At this age, children begin to understand the consequences that their physical activities have towards the health (Damovska, Shehu, Janeva, Palcevska, & Panova, 2009). For instance, if you jump from a high place you can break a leg or eating candy can cause tooth decay. They therefore begin engaging in activities that protect them from physical harm. Children also learn to use their senses to regulate movement such as using hand eye coordination to learn a sport. 

Social and emotional development 

During the first three years of life, children spend most of their time surrounded by their family or other caregivers. Towards the end of early childhood, they have already been placed in school for a while and have interacted with the peers and other adults in the school. According to Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development, during early childhood, children deal with the crisis of initiative versus guilt (Papalia, Olds, & Feldman, 2007). Children are expected to develop a sense of purpose in performing various activities; their self-concept and the self-esteem also emerge. Peer relationships and friendships are very crucial in this stage as they help children learn adaptive social behavior and values such as empathy, respect, and thoughtfulness (Damovska, Shehu, Janeva, Palcevska, & Panova, 2009). The parents’ social skills and their encouragement of peer interactions influence how children develop socially (Gavrilov, Rotem, Ofek, & Geva, 2012). During this age, children are expected to learn how to control their emotions, understands their own and others’ emotions, and construct a positive self-image. 

Cognitive development, language, and communication 

Physical, social and emotional changes affect cognitive development which is depicted by an increase in children’s mental and intellectual capabilities. The knowledge and skills acquired are used to conduct a child’s everyday activities, and affects how the child learns down the line. According to Jean Piaget’s theory, children at the age of six are in the pre-operational stage of cognitive development (Papalia, Olds, & Feldman, 2007). Here the child is mostly involved in interactions with his peers in a school environment and this affects their acquisition of cognitive skills. The child is involved in more advanced functional play with their peers from which they gain an awareness of themselves in relation to others. Children also learn to use symbols to interpret their world and develop memory, language, and imaginative skills (Damovska, Shehu, Janeva, Palcevska, & Panova, 2009). They develop simple problem solving skills and the ability to acquire and utilize new information. However, a child’s thinking is egocentric and intuitive and they cannot tackle complex problems. Piaget also believes that children need stimulation from their environment to achieve the required cognitive skills and success in this stage depends on how children interact with their peers ( Pellicano, 2010) . 

Language development also advances in this stage. A child has a vocabulary of at least 1500 words at the age of five, they can make sentences of between five and seven words, can interpret visual cues using words, and grasp the use of the past and future tenses. Children need language to communicate with others and express their thoughts and feelings. However, during this age they should also be able to engage in simple non-verbal communication. Language acquisition is determined by a cultural context and primary social environment at the home, school and larger society (Damovska, Shehu, Janeva, Palcevska, & Panova, 2009). A child should be able to understand others, listen, speak eloquently, and have basic writing and reading skills. 

The Ecological Perspective: How Family, Society, and Cultural Factors Impact Children Development 

Urie Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems model is used to determine social and environmental factors that affect child development. Bronfenbrenner states that there are various systems that surround a child as they grow. The microsystem is the immediate environment which includes a child’s personal relationships with their family, teachers, or peers (Damon & Lerner, 2011). The mesosystem describes the connections created by interactions of two or more aspects of the child’s microsystem such as how their parents and teachers relate. The exosystem includes factors in the mesosystem that the child cannot control but which affect them indirectly (Gavrilov, Rotem, Ofek, & Geva, 2012). For instance, if a parent lost their job, it will affect their child emotionally. The macrosystem describes the society that the child belongs to and its cultural values and beliefs that the child has to conform to. The chrono-system includes events over the life course and socio-historical influences such as the emergence of the LGBTQ community or the increase in career opportunities for women (Damon & Lerner, 2011). These five systems affect how a person develops because they determine the environment, stimuli, social interactions that shape behavior. 

Case Analysis 

In the case of Daniel, the only development milestones that Daniel had met fully are physical ones as he has developed his gross and fine motor skills. The Primary developmental concern is his social and emotional withdrawal. The evaluation conducted by his teacher indicates that although Daniel is able to communicate with his peers and other adults, this is limited to the expression of his needs. At his age, Daniel should also be able to engage in social communication where he is able to express his emotions and understand those of others, and exhibit thoughtfulness and empathy. During group activities, he is described as less engaged which is a concern since according to Erikson’s theory, children at this age should find enjoyment in completing activities that involve peer interaction (Papalia, Olds, & Feldman, 2007). According to Piaget’s theory children learn best when they are stimulated by their parents and other caregivers to do so. Although Daniel’s mother feels that it is helpful for her to drive him to and from school, it does not provide a stimulating environment for Daniel to learn how to interact with others socially. 

The secondary concern is Daniel’s cognitive development. His evaluation shows that he can comprehend basic concepts such as matching, color recognition, and orientation to books. However, she is unsure whether he is developing normally according to his age. Language development is a critical aspect of cognitive development at this age according to Jean Piaget (Papalia, Olds, & Feldman, 2007). His inability to focus on the broader aspects of learning and social situations shows that he is cognitively deficient and it may affect his ability to acquire and retain information ( Pellicano, 2010) . 

Conclusion 

Child development is divided into physical, socio-emotional, and cognitive milestones. In Daniel’s case, his development has been affected by ASD so he tends to rag behind his peers in all but physical milestones. His social interactions are limited to greetings and expressing his needs and although he engages in group activities and follows the norm of the class room such as lining up and sitting down when necessary, he is withdrawn and prefers to be alone. His cognitive skills are also a little underdeveloped in some areas and completely fine in others. Failure to achieve these milestones at the right age leads to problems with his social interactions even in adulthood. 

ASD is usually a life-long issue that cannot be treated, but some behavioral problems can be rectified to help a child function effectively in society (National Autistic Society, 2017). Behavioral modification interventions which use operant conditioning have proven to be successful with children who have ASD (Brookman-Frazee, Stahmer, Baker-Ericzén, & Tsai, 2006). Rewards and punishments can be administered both at school and at home to help Daniel learn the right behaviors. Daniel’s parents also need to provide a more stimulating environment for Daniel so he can interact more with his peers. He should be allowed to ride the school bus, participate in play-dates, or made to engage in play at a public playground where he has to interact with other children (National Autistic Society, 2017). His parents should also allow Daniel to participate in their own social interactions so that they can serve as role models for his social behavior (Gavrilov, Rotem, Ofek, & Geva, 2012). Further evaluation is needed to determine whether his cognitive development is on track for his age so that interventions can be formulated if he is not. 

References  

Brookman-Frazee, L., Stahmer, A., Baker-Ericzén, M. J., & Tsai, K. (2006). Parenting Interventions for Children with Autism Spectrum and Disruptive Behavior Disorders: Opportunities for Cross-Fertilization.  Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review ,  9 (3-4), 181-200. doi:10.1007/s10567-006-0010-4 

Damon, W., & Lerner, R. M. (2011).  Theoretical models of human development . Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. 

Damovska, L., Shehu, F., Janeva, N., Palcevska, S., & Panova, L. S. (2009).  Early learning and development standards for children from 0-6 years . Retrieved from Macedonia Ministry of Labor and Social Policy ; UNICEF website: https://www.unicef.org/tfyrmacedonia/MK_Pub_ELDS_ENG.pdf 

Gavrilov, Y., Rotem, S., Ofek, R., & Geva, R. (2012). Socio-cultural effects on children's initiation of joint attention.  Frontiers in Human Neuroscience ,  6 . doi:10.3389/fnhum.2012.00286 

National Autistic Society. (2017, May 9). Teaching young children - National Autistic Society. Retrieved from https://www.autism.org.uk/professionals/teachers/teaching-young-children.aspx 

Papalia, D. E., Olds, S. W., & Feldman, R. D. (2007).  Human Development  (10th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Co. 

Pellicano, E. (2010). The Development of Core Cognitive Skills in Autism: A 3-Year Prospective Study.  Child Development ,  81 (5), 1400-1416. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01481.x