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Welcome to EarlySteps: Spectrum of Child Development. Early Steps: Spectrum of Child Development is a web supported interactive module that can be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection at your convenience. Typically it takes about 3 hours to
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Welcome to EarlySteps: Spectrum of Child Development
Early Steps: Spectrum of Child Development is a web supported interactive module that can be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection at your convenience. Typically it takes about 3 hours to complete this module. Participants in the training session will complete a post exam. The results will provide feedback about what you have learned from the module and will provide EarlySteps with data about the effectiveness of the instructional content in this training module.
Throughout this module you will be able to click on: Rainbow for a closer look at required reading materials and helpful information. Several Websites are listed as direct links for more information. The cloud is a signal for you to take time to reflect, journal, or take a learning checkpoint about what you are learning and how it applies to you as a service provider in EarlySteps. On the left of the screen, we show the information to be covered in this module.
Developed by EarlySteps CSPD University Consortium Members: Gina Easterly-Taylor, Ph.D., CCC-SLP JoAnn Clarey, M.Ed. LSUHSC-HDC, New Orleans, LA Debra Judd, Ph.D., LOTR David L Irwin, Ph.D., CCC-SLP LSUHSC Shreveport, LA Donna Wadsworth, Ph.D. University of Louisiana at Lafayette, LA Patricia Snyder, Ph.D. (Project Consultant) Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN For: Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals These modules are considered intellectual property of CSPD University Consortium members and were produced for the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals. The modules are to be used in accordance with standard expectations and disseminated in their entirety. No revisions may be made without written consent from the authors.
Learning Objectives: List 9 major principles of child development. Describe how brain research informs early intervention Describe the importance of using everyday routines and activities , including play, as contexts for the provision of early intervention. List modifications and adaptations that can support children’s development and learning. Describe how children’s learning styles should inform the provision of early intervention Identify how to promote language/communication and early literacy skills for children enrolled in EarlySteps. Identify how to promote positive healthy social/emotional development including social relationships for children enrolled in EarlySteps. Identify ways to support children’s ability to use appropriate behaviors to meet their needs
Growth and Development “Children . . . are born to learn: competent little scientists driven to move, to experiment, to know, and to connect with and learn from the people around them. Our job is to offer them a safe, rich world at their fingertips, and our knowledge, support, and love.” Jim Greenman People who spend time with young children, know that the early years are a magical time. A time of rapid growth, development and learning. We know from the science of early childhood development that all children benefit from nurturing responsive interactions with consistent, stable caregivers. These interactions should occur in environments that support children’s growth, development, and learning.
As we work with families and children with disabilities it is important to remember several key factors of early childhood development as described in an important book published by the National Academy of Science titled, Neurons to Neighborhoods: Human development is shaped by a dynamic and continuous interaction between biology and experience. Culture influences every aspect of human development and is reflected in childrearing beliefs and practices designed to promote healthy adaptation. Human relationships, and the effects of relationships on relationships, are the building blocks of healthy development.
The broad range of individual differences among young children often makes it difficult to distinguish normal variations and maturational delays from transient disorders and persistent impairments. The development of children unfolds along individual pathways whose trajectories are characterized by continuities and discontinuities, as well as by a series of significant transitions. The growth of self-regulation is a cornerstone of early childhood development that cuts across all domains of behavior. Children are active participants in their own development, reflecting the intrinsic human drive to explore and master one's environment.
The course of development can be altered in early childhood by effective interventions that change the balance between risk and protection, thereby shifting the odds in favor of more adaptive outcomes. Human development is shaped by the ongoing interplay among sources of vulnerability and sources of resilience. The timing of early experiences can matter, but, more often than not, the developing child remains vulnerable to risks and open to protective influences throughout the early years of life and into adulthood.
Historically, in early childhood, we have emphasized domains of development such as motor, cognition, communication, social, and adaptive. We have learned from the science of early childhood development that children do not grow or develop in discrete domains. We also have learned that child development is not linear. Learning in one developmental domain impacts learning in other domains.
More contemporary views of child development emphasize supporting children’s engagement, participation, and social relationships in everyday routines and activities. In EarlySteps, children need to learn skills that help support their engagement, participation, and social relationships.
They need to learn how to take appropriate actions to meet their needs, to communicate with others, and to interact with peers and adults. These are the new functional “domains” of early childhood development.
To promote optimal growth and development: Young children need consistent, caring, attentive adults in their lives to develop trust and to learn how to form relationships with others. It is very important that children learn to form relationships with others and that they experience nurturing interactions with caregivers. Children who live in violent circumstances or who do not have the opportunity to form relationships with stable caregivers are at risk for less than optimal outcomes.
Each child is unique and has her own timeline. It would not be fair to compare children based upon age or other factors. Milestones found in charts are useful guidelines to help us understand this marvel of growth and development, not to be considered absolute goals of accomplishment.
Sooner is not better. We cannot teach children to walk, talk, or think abstractly, before they are ready developmentally. Simply because a child walks at 9 months does not mean that child is smarter or more advanced than the child who walks at the typical 12 month milestone, or even the child who walks at 18 months. Knowing the sequence of typical development allows caregivers to provide an environment rich with opportunities for the child to practice newly gained skills, master skills already gained, and explore emerging skills. Poor nutrition, neglect or abuse, prenatal drug and alcohol exposure, certain chemical and environmental toxins, illness, chronic stress can cause harm to the child’s development.
Learning Checkpoint 1 Take time to answer the questions about what you’ve learned so far about child development in the first learning checkpoint of this module.
