NRS-434V Developmental Assessment and the School-Aged Child Solved
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.
Physical assessment of the child and that of an adult is done similarly yet differently. The act of auscultation, palpation, taking the vital signs to get the objective data are done the same but the normal range limits are different. For example, the healthy adult blood pressure normal range is from 90/60 mmHg – 120/80 mmHg, pulse rate 60-100 beats per minute and temperature of 97.8 ‘F to 98.6″F whereas to a 1-11-year-old child has a heart rate of 70-120 bpm, blood pressure of 90-110 systolic and 55-75 diastolic.
Developmental Assessment and the School-Aged Child
Physical assessment helps in determining the health needs of a given population. Different population groups have unique health needs. The current study explores the assessment tools for children aged 12 years. Furthermore, the study analyses how the needs vary among the children and whether they are consistent with the expected child growth and development charts.
Physical Assessment and Different School-aged Children
Children aged below 12 years old are referred to as pediatrics; therefore, their health needs are different from those of the other populations. The emotional and physical systems of the children are significantly different from those of the adults. Similarly, their systems are not fully developed and so their therapeutic interventions have to be modified based on their needs. Understanding the needs of the children is thus critical in meeting their health and emotional needs. Therefore, the assessment will be the same for a given age group; though, the interpretation of the results will vary based on the environment and family backgrounds.
Development Stage
The growth charts indicate the physical and motor characteristics expected of a child at a given age. The developmental characteristics may vary based on environmental factors, parenting, and congenital defects. However, the charts provide information on what is most likely to occur in a child at a given age; the expectations should be given some allowances to cater for the other factors affecting the growth phase of a child (Gaur et al., 2019). For example, children at age of six begin to develop their identity and become aware of their bodies. In addition, as children grow, they become more active and so require a lot of energy. However, there ar
e cases where they may become extremely inactive and develop the risks of obesity. As children grow, the level of engagement in physical and mental activities also increases and so the assessment procedure developed must consider all these factors. There is an increasing concern about obesity among children because they tend to emulate what they see in the environment; this means that they are likely to live a sedentary lifestyle if this is what their parents do.
Assessment Based on Development Theory
The selected child, in this case, is aged 12 years and this is the pre-adolescent stage. As children approach adolescence, they become more aware of their bodies. On the other hand, some may shy on seeing the changes taking place in their bodies. For example, for the boys, the deepening of the voice may become a major concern. Similarly, both boys and girls begin to develop hair in the pubic regions and armpits. Girls may also start their menstrual cycle at this stage. Adequate psychological preparation is important for 12 years old kids to help them overcome the emotional distress and fears associated with the body changes they encounter. According to Erikson’s stages of development, at 12 years old, the children are in the psychological crisis of industry vs. inferiority (Jones & Waite-Stupiansky, 2017). Children become more interested in making friends and demonstrating specific competencies. On the other hand, they are likely to develop low self-esteem when they fail to achieve what they want. Therefore, the assessment should focus on exploring the child’s experiences and how it affects their personality (Darling-Fisher, 2018). Being friendly and compassionate helps in building a corporation during the interview.
Conclusion
The experiences for children vary from one environment to the other and this means that their physical and psychological attributes will also differ. The current study indicated the need to explore children’s experiences and background during the assessment before concluding whether they are appropriate to their stage or not. Such considerations result in accurate assessment and a true indication of the child’s growth characteristics.
References
Jones, E., & Waite-Stupiansky, S. (2017). The Eriksons’ psychosocial developmental theory. Theories of Early Childhood Education, 31-44. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315641560-3
Darling-Fisher, C. S. (2018). Application of the Modified Erikson Psychosocial Stage Inventory: 25 years in review. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 41(3), 431-458. https://doi.org/10.1177/0193945918770457
Gaur, N., Gautam, M., Singh, S., Raju, V., & Sarkar, S. (2019). Clinical practice guidelines on assessment and management of substance abuse disorder in children and adolescents. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 61(8), 333. https://doi.org/10.4103/psychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_581_18
Child development is the constant but expected sequential biological, emotional, and psychological changes in human beings from birth to the end of adolescence. A developmental assessment is conducted for children at this period to evaluate various aspects of a child’s functioning, including motor, cognition, behavior, communication, sensory abilities, adaptive skills, and social interaction (Aylward, 2020). The purpose of this paper is to discuss physical assessments among school-aged children and the typical developmental stages of a 10-year-old.
Physical Assessments among School-Aged Children
School-aged children are those between 6-12 years. Physical assessment of school-aged children takes the same approach, but some aspects differ based on the child’s age. It starts with vital signs and nutritional assessment (height and weight) (Choo et al., 2019). However, the normal range of vital signs differs with age. The physical exam is the same using a head-to-toe approach and applying inspection, palpation, percussion, and auscultation techniques. Dental, visual, and hearing exams are also performed in school-aged children (Choo et al., 2019). Children from 10 years are assessed for physical changes from secondary sexual characteristics, including the growth of pubic hair and breast development.
The physical assessment can be modified to correspond to the school-age child’s age and development by giving simple instructions that the child understands as per their cognitive development. Besides, the examiner should begin with less-invasive and uncomfortable procedures and end with the most invasive and painful exams (Sheldrick et al., 2019). The examination can be done when the parent is present for children below eight years. However, children above eight years may feel uncomfortable having their caregivers around, and thus privacy should be upheld to promote comfort.
Typical Developmental Stages of 10-Year-Old
A ten-year-old undergoes physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development. Physically, they begin exhibiting growth patterns related to gender, and signs of puberty may start showing. They should demonstrate endurance and have more advanced fine motor skills (Misirliyan & Huynh, 2021). In the cognitive aspect, a 10-year-old should: Know the complete date; Name months of a year in order; Read books with chapters; Read and understand a paragraph with complex sentences; Have calculation skills in addition and subtraction; Write simple stories; Have speech patterns almost at an adult level (Misirliyan & Huynh, 2021). Typical development in the emotional and social aspects include: Enjoying interacting with their friends; Having friends of the same gender; Enjoying team and group activities; Being aware of the body.
Developmental Assessment Using Erickson’s Developmental Theory
In Erickson’s psychosocial developmental theory, a 10-year-old belongs to the Industry vs. Inferiority stage. Children in this developmental stage get encouraged and reinforced by their initiative (Maree, 2021). They become industrious and have a high confidence level in their capability to attain goals. However, if the initiative is discouraged or restricted, the child starts to feel inferior, doubting their abilities, and may not attain their potential. The Erickson theory would be employed in developmentally assessing a child by assigning them a task to do independently (Maree, 2021). I would then assess the sense of industry and inferiority by evaluating their feelings after succeeding or failing to complete the task.
Strategies to gain the child’s cooperation include explaining the exams that will be performed in simple terms, including the painful procedures. A non-threatening language will be used in giving instructions to foster cooperation. Besides, I would allow the child to play with some assessment tools, such as the stethoscope, to relieve anxiety during examination and foster cooperation (Choo et al., 2019). I would explain to the child in simple terms the assessment findings, including normal and abnormal findings, probable causes, and further examinations or treatments that will be ordered.
Conclusion
Physical assessment of school-aged children takes a similar approach, and the same exams are conducted in all children. However, different ranges determine the findings as normal or abnormal. The exam can be modified by having painful and invasive procedures last and using simple instructions during the assessment. Erickson’s developmental theory can be applied to assess a child by evaluating their attitude when they succeed or fail in completing a task.
References
Aylward, G. P. (2020). Conducting a Developmental Assessment in Young Children. Journal of Health Service Psychology, 46(3), 103-108. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42843-020-00015-0
Choo, Y. Y., Yeleswarapu, S. P., How, C. H., & Agarwal, P. (2019). Developmental assessment: practice tips for primary care physicians. Singapore medical journal, 60(2), 57–62. https://doi.org/10.11622/smedj.2019016
Maree, J. G. (2021). The psychosocial development theory of Erik Erikson: a critical overview. Early Child Development and Care, 191(7-8), 1107–1121. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2020.1845163
Misirliyan, S. S., & Huynh, A. P. (2021). Development Milestones. In StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing.
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). https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2019-0374