DEVELOPMENT IN INFANCY AND EARLY CHILDHOOD

by

Dr. Azher ShahAssociate Professor

Department of Paediatric Medicine

GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT

Growth

• Quantitative increase in size of body and can be measured in terms of HEIGHT and WEIGHT

Development

• Qualitative functional maturation assessed in terms of acquisition of skills and ability to cope with the situation

Growth and development are so closely related that they are usually assessed simultaneously

Normal Child Development

Children acquire functional skills throughout childhood

Child development is used to describe the skills acquired by children between birth and about 5 years of age

From Birth to Five years, there is a rapid progress in mobility, speech and language, communication and independence skills

During school age, evidence of developmental progression is predominantly through cognitive development, abstract thinking and skills of conceptualization

Who Should Monitor the Development of a Child?

Parents Health Care Professional

Main Objective to Assess the Development of a Child

Early detection of delayed or abnormal

development• Early Detection Can help •Children achieve their maximum potential •Provide treatment or therapy promptly •An entry point for the care and management of the child with special needs

Influence of Heredity and Environment on Development

Child's development represents the interaction of heredity and the environment on the developing brain

• Infants• Primary school age children• Adolescents

Heredity determines the potential of the child, while the environment influences the extent to which that potential is achieved

For optimal development, the environment has to meet the child's physical and psychological needs

Physical and Psychological needs vary with age and stage of development:

Influence of Heredity and Environment on Development (Cont…)

Fields of Development

Fields of Development (Cont…)Four fields of Developmental Skills• Gross Motor • Vision and Fine Motor • Hearing, Speech and Language • Social, Emotional and Behavioural

Gross motor skills are the most obvious initial area of developmental progress

Fine motor skills require good vision, these are grouped together

Normal speech and language development depends on reasonable hearing

Social, emotional and behavioural skills are a spectrum of psychological development

Deficiency in any one skill area can have an impact on other areas

DEVELOPMENTAL ASSESSMENT

Gross Motor Fine Motor and Vision

Hearing and Speech

Social Behaviour

Influenced by child’s illness, hunger, thirst and alertness or drowsiness

GROSS MOTOR DEVELOPMENT

FINE MOTOR DEVELOPMENT

SPEECH, LANGUAGE & HEARING