Development Milestones
Development milestones are behaviors or physical skills seen in children as they grow up and develop. Development milestones offer vital signs regarding a child’s development health. If they fail to reach a specific milestone as expected, it may reveal a sign of delayed development (Scharf & Stroustrup 2016). On the contrary, milestones being met earlier or during the typical age show that the child may be advanced or is developing as expected. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) divides these development milestones into groups, movement/physical, cognitive, language/communication, social /emotional. Moreover, they list specific levels of achieving for each age, beginning from one month to adolescence.
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a neurobiological Specific Learning Disorder, characterized by difficulties in single word decoding, reflecting insufficient phonological processing. It is manifested by difficulty with different forms of languages and a problem with acquiring proficiency in writing and spelling. Students with this disorder have poor reading skills; hence it is difficult for them to read comprehensions. This disorder also affects phonological processing; therefore, such people have difficulties hearing, identifying, and manipulating the sound structure of a word. Socially, children suffering from this disorder are likely to have low self-esteem. The education system ought to provide appropriate instructional approaches to assist children with this condition. This can be done by ensuring they have phonological awareness training and instructions in phonics and fluency. Also, there are specific steps that can be taken to accommodate students with this disorder. For instance, the teacher can use audio, visual, and kinesthetic methods to enable the student to achieve proficiency in processing the language.
Intellectual disability
Intellectual disability is used to refer to mental retardation, which generally indicates a shortfall in the cognitive function that emerges during childhood. Intellectual disability is usually several conditions that are caused by genetic disorders such as. Children born with intellectual disability can be identified by reduced ability to understand new information or learn new skills, difficulties in communication and social skills, and difficulties understanding complex concepts. Children suffering from intellectual disabilities are less likely to have friends due to the challenges they encounter with communication and socialization (Scharf & Stroustrup 2016). However, students suffering from this disorder can acquire new information with the help of their teachers in school. The teachers can assist them by providing an outline of what will be taught before the commencing of that class, using clear and straight forward language when teaching a new concept and using a variety of teaching methods such as charts.
Emotional, behavioral disorders
An emotional, behavioral disorder can be defined as a condition in which the behavioral or emotional responses of an individual in school are so different from the generally accepted age-appropriate, ethnic, or cultural norms hence affecting a person’s performance in social relationships, academic achievement and classroom behavior. This disorder is characterized by disruptive classroom behavior, aggression, social withdrawal, and unsatisfactory interpersonal relations. Some instructional strategies can be employed in school to assist students suffering from this disorder (Canavese & Deslandes 2015). For instance, where the student is having challenges with his/her academic learning, the teacher can use direct instruction to emphasize academic engagement. The teacher can also ensure continuous monitoring of the student’s performance. Also, teachers dealing with students suffering from Behavioral, emotional disorders may need to exercise special skills to deal with severe cases of behavioral disorders.
Autism Spectrum disorder (ASD)
ASD is a condition related to brain development that affects how people connect and socialize with others, causing difficulties in social interactions and general communication. Development milestones offer vital signs regarding a child’s development health. If they fail to reach a specific milestone as expected, it may reveal a sign of delayed development. On the contrary, milestones being met earlier or during the typical age show that the child may be advanced or is developing as expected. Children with autism do not reach all of their development milestones at the proper time. Most are diagnosed as early as three years.
Social and emotional, these children may take turns in games, show a variety of emotions, copy adults, and their friends. They may tend to separate from their parents, get upset with changes in routine, and show affection to friends. Concerning language, they may follow instructions with 2 or 3 steps, talk well enough for strangers to comprehend. They can also name a friend and understand some words, i.e. “under,” carry on a conversation using 2 to 3 sentences, and name familiar things. Addressing their cognitive skills, these children may tend to turn book pages one at a time, the play makes them believe with dolls, work with toys, and moving parts. Moreover, they can copy a circle with a crayon, build towers of six blocks or more and complete puzzles with 3 or 4 pieces. When it comes to movement and physical development, they can climb, run pedal a tricycle and walk up and down the stairs, placing one foot on each step (Canavese & Deslandes 2015).
It is essential to understand how an autistic child learns. Many of them may learn better visually. Therefore, it is vital to understand what will help their visual study. Moreover, breaking things up for them to understand is crucial. In the classroom setting, it may be essential to have a “shadow teacher” or an aide to assist the autistic child catch up with the rest of the other students and guide him when he is inattentive.
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
TBI is a common cause of disability among adults. It happens when an external physical assault damages the brain. The nature of the injury and its effects can vary from mild to severe. Moreover, impairments in one or more areas, i.e., cognitive function, communication, social behavior, and physical abilities, are common. Cognitive wise, these children may face short term memory deficits, impaired concentration, limited attention, and slow thinking (Lumba-Brown et al., 2018).
Furthermore, their reading and writing skills may be affected; their judgment, communication, and perception may also be affected. Physically, children affected by TBI may show signs of slow speech and hearing; they may experience poor vision, constant headaches, seizures disorders, paralysis, and fatigue. Emotionally, due to the effects of TBI, these children may experience mood swings, anxiety, self-centeredness, lower self-esteem, lack of motivation, and depression.
To enhance the academic achievement of a student impacted with TBI, it’s necessary to provide repetition and consistency for them to understand and grasp ideas. Furthermore, the learning environment should be distraction-free to enable them ample time to concentrate. Teachers should demonstrate new tasks, instructions, and provide illustrations and concepts to allow the student to comprehend and internalize ideas.
Orthopedic Impairments (OI)
OI is defined as a disability concerning the bone, joints, or muscles that is so severe that it affects the child’s education negatively. The causes of OI range from disorders like cerebral palsy to genetic abnormalities, i.e., a missing arm or leg.
Students with OI have the same cognitive abilities as others who are without disabilities. However, some students with OI may experience neurological or motor issues that may impact their sensory processing and affect their learning. For example, impairments such as amputations may affect a student’s movement, impacting their attendance, making it hard for them to cope academically. These students may require different accommodations and assistance in schools and at home (Canavese & Deslandes 2015).
Some challenges they may encounter include; seating a student may require unique accommodation to help him with posture because moving around may be difficult. To mitigate this, schools may need to arrange schedules and provide elevators to prevent them from traveling long distances. When it comes to technology, these children may also require assistive technology to enable them to communicate quickly and improve their motor skills. Such devices include wheelchairs, crutches, speech recognition software, specialized chairs, and desks. Because they may face difficulty in physical education, they may need to be excused from gyms and other exercises, which they might not be able to participate like typical students. In terms of their behavior, Teachers should consider the impact of orthopedic disability on students’ behavior. For example, they may tend to get tired faster than normal children, and therefore they ought to be excused and pardoned.
References
Canavese, F., & Deslandes, J. (Eds.). (2015). Orthopedic Management of Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Comprehensive Approach. Nova Biomedical.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC. (2016). Prevalence and characteristics of autism spectrum disorder among children aged 8 years–Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 11 sites, United States, 2012. Morbidity and mortality weekly report. Surveillance summaries (Washington, DC: 2002), 65(3), 1-23.
Lumba-Brown, A., Yeates, K. O., Sarmiento, K., Breiding, M. J., Haegerich, T. M., Gioia, G. A., & Joseph, M. (2018). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guideline on the diagnosis and management of mild traumatic brain injury among children. JAMA pediatrics, 172(11), e182853-e182853.
Scharf, R. J., Scharf, G. J., & Stroustrup, A. (2016). Developmental Milestones. Pediatrics in review, 37(1), 25.