Clara Horn

Child & Adolescent Development

 Provides an overview of growth in physical, motor,
perceptual, cognitive and social/emotional
development as well as the development from birth
to adolescence. It analyzes the influences such as,
social, parental, cultural, brain and economic status
has on development.
Ethan is a fun loving, and sarcastic 12-year-old. He currently stands 5
feet and 7 inches tall and weighs about 135 pounds. He attends school
at La Crescent middle school. He lives in a 4-person household with his
mother, Sara, father Scott and sister, Molly. His parents have very
different parenting styles. His mother is very authoritative while his
father is permissive. In his free time, Ethan loves to go fishing at his
family’s boat house, hunting, four wheeling/snowmobiling and building
things with his dad. Ethan was diagnosed with dyslexia and ADD in first
grade and tried coping with it until third grade when he was put on
medication to help his focus while doing his homework and while
sitting in class. Since he started his medication, it is much easier to talk
to him and he is doing better in school.
Physical Development:
Physical development is the process that starts at infancy and continues into late
adolescent years. It concentrates on gross and fine motor skills. Gross motor skills
refer to the large muscles and their movements such as walking, running, sitting
and crawling. Fine motor skills refer to small movements like picking up small
objects.
Child Exceeds this Child Meets this Child is working on
5 Gross Milestone Milestone this Milestone
Motor Skills
Participate in team X
sports
Demonstrate ability X
to swim

Improves strength to X
run faster
Participate with X
confidence in
movements
Show awareness of X
own physical skills
5 Fine Motor
Skills
Demonstrate linear X
perspective in
drawings
Display automatic X
handwriting
Write well without X
ruled lines
Writing speed X
increases
Can use tools like X
saws and hammers
Source:
http://www.pmh.health.wa.gov.au/general/CACH/docs/manual/4%20School%20Aged%20Child
ren/4.4/4.4.2/4.4.2.2.7_How_Children_Develop_11-12_year_olds.pdf
Comments: Overall, he meets and exceeds milestones for his age group. There are,
however, some areas that he could use some help with.
Cognitive Development:
Cognitive development refers to the process of growth and change in
intellectual/mental abilities such as thinking, reasoning and understanding.
Child exceeds this Child meets this Child is working on
Cognitive milestone milestone this milestone
Skills
Develop new thinking X
skills
Challenge adult X
knowledge
Develop solutions X
and responses based
on logic
Display improved X
long-term recall
Use their long-term X
memory
Use humor focused X
on satire or sarcasm
Ability to apply skills X
Think abstractly X
Can answer who, X
what, when and
where questions
Thinks beyond X
personal experiences
Source:
http://www.pmh.health.wa.gov.au/general/CACH/docs/manual/4%20School%20
Aged%20Children/4.4/4.4.2/4.4.2.2.7_How_Children_Develop_11-
12_year_olds.pdf
Comments: Overall, he meets all these milestones and doesn’t struggle with
them.
Affective Development:
Affective development relates to how we emotionally process information.
Feelings, values, appreciation, enthusiasm, motivations and attitude all relate to
affective development. It can also be referred to as social-emotion development.
Child exceeds this Child meets this Child is working on
Social/Emotional milestone milestone this milestone
Skills
Beginning to develop X
personal values
Learning to analyze risk X
factors
Developing leadership skills X
Identifying themselves with X He mostly hangs
a peer group out with the same
3 friends or by
himself
Showing empathy X He typically only
cares about how
things will affect
him.
Learning to handle X
emotions like fear and
frustrations
Developing persistence X
Learning to accept and X
value others opinions
Beginning to accept X
responsibility
Understands that there are X
consequences to their
actions
Source: https://www.kidcentraltn.com/article/social-and-emotional-
development-ages-11-13
Comments: For the most part, he does well socially. His ADD makes it hard for him to
socialize. He never understood how his actions and words affected others and it’s been fun to
see him mature with that over the years.
Fine Motor Development Red Flags:
 Has difficulty with construction and fine manipulative work
 Handwriting isn’t fluid and automatic
 Has difficulty keeping up with
written demands in class
 Relies heavily on structures/lines
for setting-out written work
 Gets tired when completing fine
motor tasks or writing tasks
Gross Motor Development Red Flags:
 Avoids sports in general
 Avoids team sports
 Has decreased levels of
endurance and fitness
 Child is excessively clumsy
 Child complains of persistent
pain or fatigue

Source:
http://www.pmh.health.wa.gov.au/general/CACH/docs/manual/4%20S
chool%20Aged%20Children/4.4/4.4.2/4.4.2.2.7_How_Children_Develo
p_11-12_year_olds.pdf
http://www.kamloopschildrenstherapy.org/school-aged-gross-motor-
milestones
  Struggles with curriculum expectations
 Displays frustration about learning or trying new things
 Has difficulty following instructions
 Struggles to remember important information
 Has trouble stay focused class

Source:
http://www.pmh.health.wa.gov.au/general/CACH/docs/manual/4%20S
chool%20Aged%20Children/4.4/4.4.2/4.4.2.2.7_How_Children_Develo
p_11-12_year_olds.pdf
 Has little to no capacity to see things from another’s point
of view
 Has a poorly developed idea of right and wrong
 Has a poor ability to see how they can help in a problem
situations
 Shows lack of compromise
 Shows frustration and/or poor self-control

Source:
http://www.pmh.health.wa.gov.au/general/CACH/docs/manual/4%
20School%20Aged%20Children/4.4/4.4.2/4.4.2.2.7_How_Children_D
evelop_11-12_year_olds.pdf
Nutrition:
 Nutrition during the seventh grade is vital due their hormone changes and
their activity levels.
 This child grew up in a house where he wasn’t allowed to leave the table
unless he at least tried everything on his plate. Though he’d prefer eating
sweets and burgers all
day, he is typically good
about eating fruits and
vegetables.

Source: https://www.livestrong.com/article/314427-a-healthy-
diet-for-a-12-year-old/

Sleep:
 Recommended sleep for adolescents 10-17-year-old is 8-10 hours of sleep.
 This child usually goes to sleep between 8:00-10:00pm and wakes up at
around 6:00am. He is not allowed to have a TV in his room due to house
rules and phones must be on the kitchen table at 9:00pm so screen time
before sleep is not an issue. He should get 8-10 hours of sleep and if he
does go to bed at 8 or 9, he will get the recommended sleep.
Source: https://www.todaysparent.com/kids/school-age/how-much-sleep-
should-your-kids-get/
Exercise:
 Physical activity guidelines for seventh graders recommend that each day:
o They get at least 60 minutes of moderate physical activity
o They get at least 20 minutes of vigorous activity 3-4 times a week
o They don’t have sedentary time for more than 2 hours
 This child participates in track and cross country through his school. He
would rather be outside walking through the woods or fishing than inside
playing video games or watching TV.

Source: https://www.healthykids.nsw.gov.au/kids-teens/stats-and-facts-
teens/teens-physical-activity/guidelines-and-recommendations.aspx

Recreational Activities:
 Goes fishing almost daily
 Goes hunting while season is open
 Goes boating when weather permits
  Respect, value and accept children
 Make it a priority to get to know each child
well
 Create and intellectually challenging and
responsive environment
 Invite children to help with daily tasks
 Set time in schedule for a “brain break”
 Set aside family time for a hike, walk or
visit a nearby park
 Promote exploration and discovery
 Incorporate technology when it can be and
when it makes sense
 Create engaging opportunities for learning
 Make visuals where it makes sense

Source: https://www.childtime.com/parent-resource-center/parenting-
articles/promoting-healthy-physical-development-in-your-child/

https://www.virtuallabschool.org/school-age/cognitive/lesson-5
There are many factors that affect a child’s growth and
development. Every child has different factors they are
born into and can’t control. This sets up the foundation for
their lives. In Ethan’s case, he was born with dyslexia and
ADD. Growing up he struggled with school and keeping his
grades up. It would take him hours to do one worksheet. He
is a healthy young man and since his mother advocated for
help from the schools and he was put on medication to
help him focus, he has been doing much better. It’s
amazing to see his accomplishments in family settings. He is
very shy, but sweet and intelligent. I learned that each child
grows and develops differently and that is okay. We are
here to guide them to reach their full potential. I feel
identifying the red flags in the different domains; physical,
cognitive and affective, was the most helpful because they
enabled the child to get the help he needed sooner rather
than later. This project was very helpful to me and will be
an excellent resource in the future.