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different people approached he would look up at them and smile. As they greeted him or passed
by he would turn his head to follow them and bounce on his bottom with his arms extended out
to his side and flap his hands. As a staff member entered the room the child extended his arms
and she said to him, Do you want me to pick you up? The child smiled and the caregiver said,
Okay Im going to pick you up. As the caregiver picked up the child he rested his head on her
shoulder and she asked him, Are you tired? Are you ready to rest? The child continued to rest
his head on her shoulder. The care giver said, Okay, lets go rest, goodbye everyone Jami is
going to rest. As caregiver said the words, Goodbye everyone Child lifted his head and with
his hand facing backward he opened and closed his fingers.
Comparing this child to the other two 1 year old children in the classroom Jami was more
mobile and socially developed. He crawled quickly and by his repeated action of pulling himself
up and attempting to take steps showed me that he was ready to take his first steps to walk.
When he smiled as he fell onto his bottom as he let go of the security of holding the furniture,
showed me that at this young age he was confident and was already developing a positive selfesteem. His smiles and eye contact reflected that socially he was interested in what was going on
around him. Although his verbal language was very limited his body language and facial
gestures enabled him to communicate clearly.
In our book, Children with Challenging Behavior: Strategies for Reflective Thinking, by
Linda and Tom Brault, The Program for Infant/Toddler Care or PITC has a three step method of
working with infants and toddlers and developing a curriculum, Watch, Ask, and Adapt.
Watch for cues, ask the child, and adapt to whatever the childs needs are. The care giver in the
classroom did this. By speaking out loud to Jami she let him know that she understood his needs
and was there to carry out those needs.