Developmental Assessment Techniques

 The needs of the pediatric patient differ depending on age, as do the stages of development and the expected assessment findings for each stage. In a 500-750-word paper, examine the needs of a school-aged child between the ages of 5 and 12 years old and discuss the following:
Compare the physical assessments among school-aged children. Describe how you would modify assessment techniques to match the age and developmental stage of the child.
Choose a child between the ages of 5 and 12 years old. Identify the age of the child and describe the typical developmental stages of children that age.
Applying developmental theory based on Erickson, Piaget, or Kohlberg, explain how you would developmentally assess the child. Include how you would offer explanations during the assessment, strategies you would use to gain cooperation, and potential findings from the assessment.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.
A detailed comparison of physical assessments among different school-aged children is presented. How assessment techniques would be modified depending on the age and developmental stage of the child is thoroughly described. Insight is demonstrated into the physical assessment of school age children.
The typical developmental stage of a child between the ages 5 and 12 is accurately and thoroughly described.
A child assessment based on a developmental theory is thoroughly described. Well-developed strategies to gain cooperation and for how explanations would be offered during the assessment are presented. The potential findings expected from the assessment are all accurate and described in detail.
Clear and convincing argument that presents a persuasive claim in a distinctive and compelling manner. All sources are authoritative.

Children have been seen to develop in a predictable and natural sequence from one developmental stage to the next. Developmental Assessment Techniques. However, every child grows and gains knowledge and skill at a different pace. There are instances where some children may advance faster in one area such as language but remain behind in other skills such as motor and sensory development (Sheldrick et al., 2019).

This case focuses on the development of a child at the age of nine. By this age, most children grow about 2.5 inches annually and gain about 7 lb. The growth patterns of the different genders begin to become visible a girls gain more weight and become taller than boys. Where reasoning and thinking are concerned, nine year olds can both read and understand sentences up to twelve words long. They are also capable of subtracting two digit numbers. Children at this age also like to organize and plan. Nine year olds also possess unique social and emotional development milestones. They can recognize appropriate behaviour and basic norms, most of the time; they can control their anger and have gained a strong sense of empathy. Nine year olds are curious about relationships with only a few admitting their interest in the same (Sheldrick et al., 2019).

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There are also milestones in language development present at the age of nine. Children at this age are able to read and enjoy books. They read with a goal to learn about something that interests them. The speech patterns of nine year olds are at nearly the adult level. Nine year olds enjoy active play and become interested in team sports. They can use simple tools and like to paint, draw and do other activities that require motor skills (Sheldrick et al., 2019).

According to Erik Ericson’s theory of psychosocial development, nine year olds fall within the Industry vs. Inferiority state. At this stage, children are seen to enter the greater society outside their family. If a child succeeds in navigating this particular stage, they will be positioned to develop meaningful social roles and become part of the society. Developmental Assessment Techniques. Children at this age become industrious, hence the name of the stage. This refers to their contributions to society as well as their overall productivity towards the same. However, should a child fail to successfully get through this stage, they risk developing low self-esteem and develop a sense of inferiority (Syed and McLean 2017).

The key to assessing the development of children in the above age bracket lies in understanding the above mentioned milestones. It begins with fostering a trusting relationship with the child. This can be done by allowing the child to assist with the assessment while making conversation about topics that are of interest to the child such as school, friends and their performance. Once such a relationship is in place, the child, being at a curious age, will ask questions regarding the different tests. It is the responsibility of the examiner to answer these questions in a manner that the child will understand. Children at this age are then more likely to cooperate and volunteer information that they would have previously withheld that would be useful to the assessment (Lake et al., 2017).

Ethical safeguards need to be in place during the above assessment. The examiner will need to get consent from the child’s legal guardian ahead of time. They should also be open about the strategies the plan on deploying to gain the cooperation of the child during the examination (Lake et al., 2017).  Developmental Assessment Techniques.

References

Lake, E. T., de Cordova, P. B., Barton, S., Singh, S., Augusto, P. D., Ely, B., & Aiken, L. H. (2017). Missed nursing care in paediatrics. Hospital Paediatrics, 7(7), 378-384.

Sheldrick, R. C., Schlichting, L. E., Berger, B., Clyne, A., Ni, P., Perrin, E. C., & Vivier, P. M. (2019). Establishing new norms for developmental milestones. Pediatrics, 144(6).

Syed, M., & McLean,  K. C. (2017). Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development. Developmental Assessment Techniques.