COURSE OUTLINE

EPSC 121: DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

Y1S2 C.F 3.0 (45 Hours)
Stream: B.Ed. (Arts & Science)
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
By the end of the course, the students should be able to:
1. Discuss the basic Principles and concepts of Human Development.
2. Explain the Biological and Environment factors that influence development and their
Educational Implications.
3. Discuss the significance of the study of human development to teachers.
4. Explain the Developmental aspects during.
 Prenatal Stage
 Infancy Stage
 Early childhood Stage
 Middle childhood
 Late child hood Stage
 Adolescent Stage
 Young adulthood
 Middle adulthood
 Late adulthood/old age
I.e. Motor, Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, Language, Moral, Social & Personality
Development.
5. Discuss the special needs and categories of Exceptional children.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Basic principles of human development. Biological and environmental factors that influence
development and the educational implications. Significance of the study of human development
to teachers. Developmental aspects during the prenatal, infancy, early childhood, late childhood
and adolescence stages (i.e., motor, physical, intellectual, emotional, language, moral, social and
personality development) and the exceptional child.
CONTENT:
WEEK TOPIC
1 Concepts of Human Development.
2 Principles of Human Development.
3 Biological and that Influence Development
4 Significance of Study of human development to teachers.
5 Developmental Aspects during: prenatal
6 Infancy
7 Early childhood

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 8 Late child hood
9 Adolescence
10 Young adulthood
11 Middle adulthood
12 Late adulthood i.e. Motor, Physical, Intellectual,
Emotional, Language. Moral, Social & Personality
development
13-14 Exceptional children
14-15 Evaluation

TEACHING METHODS
Lecture method
Discussions and Presentations
Tutorials

LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of the course, the learner should:
 Be able to write a term paper and Sit in for a CAT and answer the questions asked.
 Apply the knowledge acquired in the unit in class during discussions and in teaching.
 Understand and cater for individual differences of learners.
ASSESMENT /EXAMINATIONS:
C.A.T/Assignment and Term paper 30 marks
Final examination 70 marks
Total 100 marks

REFERENCES
Child, (1997) Psychology and the Teacher 6th (Edition) Cassel Education.

FitzGerald, H.E. &Strommen, E. (1972) Developmental Psychology. Michigan State

University: Leaning state Company.

Harring N.G& McCormick, L. (1986).Exceptional Children and Youth. (4th

Edition): An Introduction to Special Education. London: Merrill
Publishing Company.

Sindabi A.M & Omulema, E.B, (2001) General Psychology-Njoro: Egerton

University Press
Internet sources: Novita Children's Services http://www.novita.org.au/
SpeechBetter Health Channel
http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/
EPSC 121: DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY NOTES
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INTRODUCTION
The period of growth and development extends throughout the life cycle.
Changes occur in human beings from conception to the adolescence.
Growth and development are two processes, which are intertwined where the
person experience changes, thinks normally, and eventually takes a
responsible place in society.
It is important for one to understand the early periods as well as the total life
cycle of an individual to better understand the behavior of learners, parents
and others who provide care of the child.
TERMINOLOGIES AND CONCEPTS
Growth
 Growth refers to an increase in physical size (quantitative) of whole or any
of its part and can be measured i.e. generally refers to increase in size,
length, height and weight
 Changes in the quantitative aspects, which could be objectively observed
and measured.
Characteristics of Growth
 It refers to increase caused by becoming larger and heavier.
 It is qualitative, additive and arguemental.
 It is objectively observable and measureable.
 Growth does not continue throughout life.
 Growth may or may not bring development.
 Rate of growth is not uniform.
 Individual differences among children is due to growth.
 The rate of growth of different parts of the body is different.

Development
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 Development means “a progressive series of qualitative changes that occur
in an orderly predictable pattern as a result of maturation and experience”.
The development of human being is a continuous process from conception to
death.
 It implies overall changes in shape, form or structure resulting in improved
working or functioning.
 It indicates the changes in the quality or characteristics.
 It is the result of growth, maturation and learning.
Characteristics of Development
• It occurs in an orderly, predictable pattern because of maturation and
experience.
• Development is continuous in all areas of mental activity.
• The goal of development is to adapt to the environment.
• It is a complex process of integrating many structures and functions.
• It contains many aspects (physical, emotional, intellectual, social and moral)
• It is not uniform throughout the life span of an individual. (It is spiral and
not linear)
• Development is influenced by maturation and learning.
• It is very much related to one’s environment.
• It is based on modeling the parents, teachers and other elder members.
• It is qualitative and hence cannot be measured directly.
• Development is possible even without growth.
Difference between growth and development

Qualitative Quantitative

Objectively observed & measured It cannot be measured.

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 It does not continue throughout life It is continuous in all areas of mental
span. Stops after maturation. activity.

It is one aspect of development. It is complex and many sided.

It occurs in different parts. Changes in the organisms.

It is not directional. It is progressive and sequential.

It is not uniform in all the parts. Rate of development is not uniform.

Individual differences exist. Children differs in the level of devp.

It is not affected by learning. Learning & experience affects.

Growth may or not lead to Development is integrative. Devp in one

development. aspects promotes the devp in other aspects.

Developmental Psychology
 Is branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive and social changes
throughout life span.Developmental psychology is concerned with the
scientific understanding of age-related changes in experience and behaviour.
 Developmental psychology is the scientific study of changes that occur in
human beings over the course of their life span.
OR
 The pattern of change that begins at conception and continues through the
life cycle.
Maturation
 The term maturation is the synonym for development in reference to the
development, unfolding and ripening of traits carried through genes.

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 Maturation is a natural process. It is a growth, which takes place within the
individuals. Maturation involves changes that are associated with normal
growth
 Heredity -Refers to the sum total of characteristics biologically transmitted
through parents to offspring and direct determining physical constitution and
traits. It is nature’s way of passing on to children the actual and potential
characteristics of parents. Two Types of Cells of Human Being are:
 Body or Somatic Cells
 Germ or Reproductive Cells
 Heredity is concerned with germ cells. Each of these cells has a nucleus,
which contains set of 46 chromosomes arranged in 23 pairs.
Chronological age—number of years elapsed since person’s birth. Many
develop mentalists argue that chronological age is not very relevant to
understand a person’s psychological development. A person’s age does not
cause development. Time is a crude index of many events and experiences and
it does not cause anything
Chromosomes
Are the physical vehicles that contain the estimated quarter of a million
genes that each human being possesses?

Genes
Are large molecules of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)? - Are the actual
hereditary units that combine and act to determine the individuals’ unique
physical structure?

Biological age—age in terms of biological health.

 Determining biological age involves knowing the functional capacities of a
person’s vital organ system.

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 The younger the person’s biological age, the longer the person is expected to
live, regardless of chronological age.
Psychological age—individual’s adaptive capacities compared to those of other
individuals of the same chronological age.
 Thus older adults who continue to learn, are flexible, are motivated, control
their emotions, and think clearly are engaging in more adaptive behaviors
than their chronological age mates who do not continue to learn, are rigid,
are unmotivated, do not control their emotions, and do not think clearly.
Social age—social roles and expectations related to person’s age.
 Consider the role of a mother and the behaviors that accompany the role. In
predicting an adult woman’s behavior, it may be more important to know
that she is the mother of a 3-year-old child than to know whether she is 20 or
30 years old.
DEVELOPMENTAL ISSUES
A) Nature & Nurture
 Extent to which human development is influenced by biological and
environmental factors. The nature-nurture-issue revolves around the idea
that both nature and nurturing may play a role in the growth and
development of an individual. Some argue the tabula rasa theory, that every
person's mind is a blank slate at birth, while others believe that some traits
are inborn. Some researchers place a great deal of emphasis on the nurturing
a child receives during his or her formative years, believing this nurturing
results in the formation of traits and characteristics in an individual.
b) Stability & Change
Degree to which early traits and characteristics persist through human life or
change.
 Deals with whether the early traits and characteristics in life continue
throughout the individual's life, or change. Some researchers believe that
stability in traits is the result of heredity, or early-life experiences.

 Contrarily, researchers who lean more towards change believe that

experiences later in life can lead to change.
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 c) Continuity Discontinuity
The continuity-discontinuity-issue involves the gradual cumulative change
versus distinct changes that occur over time in an individual.
 The idea of continuity revolves around continual development that takes
place in an extended period of time, such as a child learning to speak for the
first time.
 The idea of discontinuity revolves around the sudden and abrupt changes, in
distinct stages, that occur during an individual's life, such as a child gaining
the ability to think abstractly

STAGES OR PERIODS OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

 The interplay of biological, cognitive, and socioemotional processes
produces the periods of the human life span.
 A developmental period refers to a time frame in a person’s life that is
characterized by certain features.
 For the purposes of organization and understanding, we commonly describe
development in terms of these periods/stages.
 The most widely used classification of developmental periods involves the
eight-period sequence as shown. Approximate age ranges are listed for the
periods to provide a general idea of when a period begins and ends.

1. Prenatal
The prenatal period is the time from conception to birth. It involves tremendous
growth—from a single cell to an organism complete with brain and behavioral
capabilities—and takes place in approximately a nine-month period.

2. Infancy

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Infancy is the developmental period from birth to 18 or 24 months. Infancy is a
time of extreme dependence upon adults. During this period, many psychological
activities—language, symbolic thought, sensorimotor coordination, and social
learning, for example—are just beginning.
This is called the age of trust v/s mistrust. The infant who comes to the new
environment, from mother’s womb needs only nourishment. The newborn infant
must make four major adjustments to post-natal life.
 To temperature changes
 To sucking and swallowing
 To breathing
 To elimination.
If the child’s caretaker, the mother anticipates and fulfils these needs consistently,
the infant learns to trust others, develops confidence. Inevitably, the child will
experience moments of anxiety and rejection. If the infant fails to get needed
support and care, it develops mistrust, which affects the personality in later stages
of life.

3. Early childhood- This stage ranges from 18 months to 3 years. Early

childhood is the developmental period from the end of infancy to age 3 years. This
period is sometimes called the “preschool years.” During this time, young children
learn to become more self-sufficient and to care for themselves, develop school
readiness skills (following instructions, identifying letters), and spend many hours
in play with peers. This typically marks the end of early childhood.
By second year of life, the muscular and nervous systems have developed
markedly, and the child is eager to acquire new skills, is no longer content to sit
and watch.
The child moves around and examines its environment, but judgement develops
more slowly. The child needs guidance. In the crisis of autonomy v/s doubt faced
during this period, the critical issue is the child’s feeling of independence.
In an extremely permissive environment, the child encounters difficulties that it
cannot handle, and the child develops doubt about its abilities.

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Similarly, if the control is severe, the child feels worthless and shameful of being
capable of so little. The appropriate middle position, respecting the child’s needs
and environmental factors, requires the caretaker’s careful and constant attention.
Activities include:
 Learning to take solid foods
 Learning to walk and talk
 Learning to control the elimination of body wastes
 Learning sex differences and sexual modesty
 Getting ready to read
 Learning to distinguish right and wrong and beginning to develop
conscience.
3. Middle childhood- 3-5 years
Middle childhood is the developmental period from about three to 5years of age,
approximately corresponding to the preschool years. During this period, the
fundamental skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic are mastered. The child is
formally exposed to the larger world and its culture. Achievement becomes a more
central theme of the child’s world, and self-control increases.
The crisis faced during this period is initiative v/s guilt. Once a sense of
independence has been established, the child wants to try out various possibilities.
It is at this time the child’s willingness to try new things is facilitated or inhibited.
If the caretaker recognises the child’s creative effort in attempting to do some
activities is encouraged, the crisis will be resolved in favourable direction
4. Late childhood- 5-12 years
During this period the child develops greater attention span, needs less sleep, and
gains rapidly in strength; therefore, the child can expend much more effort in
acquiring skills, and needs accomplishment, regardless of ability.
The crisis faced during this period is industry v/s inferiority. The child aims to
develop a feeling of competence, rather than inability. Success in this endeavour
leads to further industrious behaviour, failure results in development of feelings of
inferiority. Hence, the caretakers should guide the child to take up appropriate
tasks.
Activities include:

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 Learning physical skills necessary for ordinary games
 Learning to get along with age-mates
 Developing fundamental skills in reading, writing and calculating.
 Developing concepts necessary for everyday living
 Developing a conscience, a sense of morality, and a scale of values
 Developing attitudes toward social groups and institutions.
 Achieving personal independence.
5. Adolescence- 12-20 years
 Adolescence is the developmental period of transition from childhood to
early adulthood, entered at approximately 10 to 12 years of age and ending
at 18 to 20 years of age. Adolescence begins with rapid physical changes—
dramatic gains in height and weight, changes in body contour, and the
development of sexual characteristics. At this point in development, the
pursuit of independence and an identity are prominent. Thought is more
logical, abstract, and idealistic. More time is spent outside the family.
 During this period the individual attains puberty leading to many changes.
These changes have enormous implications for the individual’s sexual,
social, emotional and vocational life that is why Stanley Hall has rightly
described this period as a “period of storm and stress”. These changes make
the individual to find an identity, which means developing an understanding
of self, the goals one wishes to achieve and the work/occupation role.
 The individual craves for encouragement and support of caretakers and peer
groups. If he is successful he will develop a sense of self or identity,
otherwise he will suffer from role confusion/ identity confusion.
Activities include:
 Achieving new and more mature relations with age-mates of both sexes
 Accepting one’s physic and using one’s body effectively
 Desiring, accepting, and achieving socially responsible behaviour
 Achieving emotional independence from parents and other adults
 Preparing for an economic career
 Preparing for marriage and family life
 Acquiring a set of values and an ethical system as a guide to behaviour
developing an ideology.
6. Early adulthood- 20-30 yearsEarly adulthood is the developmental
p period that begins in the early twenties and lasts through the thirties. It is a
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 time of establishing personal and economic independence, career
development, and, for many, selecting a mate, learning to live with someone
in an intimate way, starting a family, and rearing children.
 As an adult, the individual takes a firmer place in society, usually holding a
job, contributing to community and maintaining a family and care of
offspring.
 These new responsibilities can create tensions and frustrations, and one
solution involves is, an intimate relationship with family.
 This situation leads to a crisis called intimacy v/s isolation. If these
problems are solved effectively by the love, affection and support of family
the individual leads a normal life, otherwise he will develop a feeling of
isolation, which in turn affects his personality negatively.
 Activities include:
 Getting started in an occupation
 Selecting a mate
 Learning to live with a marriage partner
 Starting a family
 Rearing children
 Managing a home
 Taking on civil responsibility
7. Mature/middle adulthood- 30-60 years
 Middle adulthood is the developmental period from approximately 40 years of
age to about 60. It is a time of expanding personal and social involvement and
responsibility; of assisting the next generation in becoming competent, mature
individuals; and of reaching and maintaining satisfaction in a career.
 During this stage of life, the crisis encountered is generativity v/s stagnation.
This requires expanding one’s interests beyond oneself to include the next
generation.
 The positive solution to the crisis lies not only in giving birth to children, but
also in working, teaching and caring for the young.
Activities:
 Adjusting to decreasing physical strength and health
 Adjusting to retirement and reduced income
 Adjusting to death of spouse
 Establishing an explicit affiliation with members of one’s age group
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  Establishing satisfactory physical living arrangements
 Adapting to social roles in a flexible way.

This response reflects a desire for wellbeing of the humanity rather than
selfishness. If this goal is not achieved the individual will be disappointed and
experience a feeling of stagnation.
9. Old age/Late adulthood
 This is womb to tomb stage of 65 years until death. By this age people’s goals and
abilities have become more limited. Late adulthood is the developmental period
that begins in the sixties or seventies and lasts until death. It is a time of life review,
retirement, and adjustment to new social roles involving decreasing strength and
health. Late adulthood has the longest span of any period of development; the
number of people in this age group has been increasing dramatically. As a result,
life span develop mentalists have been paying more attention to differences within
late adulthood (Scheibe, Freund, & Baltes, 2007).
 A major change takes place in older adults’ lives as they become the “oldest-old,”
on average at about 85 years of age. For example, the “young-old” (classified as 65
through 84 in this analysis) have substantial potential for physical and cognitive
fitness, retain much of their cognitive capacity, and can develop strategies to cope
with the gains and losses of aging.
 In contrast, the oldest-old (85 and older) show considerable loss in cognitive skills,
experience an increase in chronic stress, and are weaker (Baltes & Smith, 2003).
 Considerable variation exists in how much the oldest-old retain their capabilities.
Thus, Baltes and Smith concluded that considerable plasticity and adaptability
characterize adults from their sixties until their mid-eighties but that the oldest-old
have reached the limits of their functional capacity, which makes interventions to
improve their lives difficult.
 The crisis in this stage is the integrity v/s despair in which the person finds
meaning in memories or instead looks back on life with dissatisfaction.
 The term integrity implies emotional integration; it is not accepting one’s life as
one’s own responsibility. It is based not so much on what has happened but as on
how one feels about it. If a person has found meaning in certain goals, or even in
suffering, then the crisis has been satisfactorily resolved. If not, the person
experiences dissatisfaction, and the prospect of death brings despair.
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PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT
 Growth proceeds from the head down to the tail, or in a cephalocaudal
direction.
This is particularly evident during the period of first year of life after the birth, the
head end of the child enlarge and develops before the tail end
 Growth proceeds from the center, or midline, of the body to the
periphery, or in a proximodorsal direction.
During the prenatal period, the limb buds develop before the rudimentary fingers
and toes.
During infancy, the large muscles of the arms and legs are subject to
voluntary control earlier than the fine muscles of the hands and feet. This
proximodorsal development is bilateral and symmetric, for most of the parts and on
both sides of the body.
 As the child matures, general movements become more specific.
Generalized muscle movements occur before fine muscle control is possible. At
first, infants can make only random movements of the arms. Gradually they learn
to use the whole hand in picking up a small object, than learn to pick it up with a
pincer grasp i.e. between thumb and forefinger. As development progresses, the
child can eventually learn to move just one finger or a thumb at a time.
 Development Is Lifelong In the life-span perspective,
Early adulthood is not the endpoint of development; rather, no age period
dominates development. Researchers increasingly study the experiences and
psychological orientations of adults at different points in their lives.
 Development Is Multidimensional
Whatever your age, your body, your mind, your emotions, and your relationships
are changing and affecting each other.
Development consists of biological, cognitive, and socioemotional dimensions.

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Even within a dimension, there are many components—for example, attention,
memory, abstract thinking, speed of processing information, and social intelligence
are just a few of the components of the cognitive dimension.

 Development Is Multidirectional Throughout life,

Some dimensions or components of a dimension expand and others shrink.
For example, when one language (such as English) is acquired early in
development, the capacity for acquiring second and third languages (such as
Spanish and Chinese) decreases later in development, especially after early
childhood (Levelt, 1989).
During adolescence, as individuals establish romantic relationships, their
time spent with friends may decrease.
During late adulthood, older adults might become wiser by being able to call
on experience to guide their intellectual decision-making, but they perform
more poorly on tasks that require speed in processing information (Baltes,
2009; Baltes & Kuntzman, 2007; Salthouse, 2009).
 Development Is Plastic /spiral vs linear advancement
Develop mentalist’s debate how much plasticity people have in various
dimensions at different points in their development. Plasticity means the
capacity for change.
For example, can you still improve your intellectual skills when you are in
your seventies or eighties?
 Alternatively, might these intellectual skills be fixed by the time you are in
your thirties so that further improvement is impossible? Researchers have
found that the cognitive skills of older adults can be improved through
training and developing better strategies (Boron, Willis, & Schaie, 2007;
Kramer, 2009). However, possibly we possess less capacity for change when
we become old (Baltes, Reuter-Lorenz, & Rosler, 2006). The search for
plasticity and its constraints is a key element on the contemporary agenda
for developmental research (Kramer & Morrow, 2009).

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  Developmental Science Is Multidisciplinary
Psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, neuroscientists, and medical
researchers all share an interest in unlocking the mysteries of development through
the life span. How do your heredity and health limit your intelligence? Do
intelligence and social relationships change with age in the same way around the
world? How do families and schools influence intellectual development? These are
examples of research questions that cut across disciplines.

 Development Is Contextual All development occurs within a context, or

setting.
Contexts include families, schools, peer groups, churches, cities,
neighborhoods, university laboratories, countries, and so on. Each of these
settings is influenced by historical, economic, social, and cultural factors
(Matsumoto & Juang, 2008; Mehrotra & Wagner, 2009).
Contexts, like individuals, change. Thus, individuals are changing beings in
a changing world. As a result of these changes, contexts exert three types of
influences (Baltes, 2003):
 normative age-graded influences,
 normative history-graded influences, and
 Non-normative or highly individualized life events. Each of these
types can have a biological or environmental impact on development
a) Normative age-graded influences are similar for individuals in a
particular age group.
 These influences include biological processes such as puberty and
menopause. They also include sociocultural, environmental processes such
as beginning formal education (usually at about age 6 in most cultures) and
retirement (which takes place in the fifties and sixties in most cultures).
b) Normative history-graded influences are common to people of a
particular generation because of historical circumstances.
 Examples of normative history-graded influences include economic,
political, and social upheavals such as the Great Depression in the 1930s,

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 World War II in the 1940s, the civil rights and women’s rights movements
of the 1960s and 1970s, the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001, as well as the
integration of computers and cell phones into everyday life during the 1990s
(Elder & Shanahan, 2006; Schaie, 2007).
 Long-term changes in the genetic and cultural makeup of a population (due
to immigration or changes in fertility rates) are also part of normative
historical change.
c) Nonnormative life events are unusual occurrences that have a major
impact on the individual’s life. These events do not happen to all people, and
when they do occur, they can influence people in different ways.
Examples include the death of a parent when a child is young, pregnancy in
early adolescence, a fire that destroys a home, winning the lottery, or getting
an unexpected career opportunity.
 Development involves Growth, Maintenance, and Regulation
As individuals, age into middle and late adulthood, the maintenance and
regulation of loss in their capacities takes center stage away from growth. Thus,
a 75-year-old man might aim not to improve his memory or his golf swing but
to maintain his independence and his ability to play golf at all.
Principle of continuity.
• Development is continuous.
An individual starts his life as a tiny cell and develops his body, mind and other
aspects of his personality
Other principles
• Principle of individual differences.
• Rate of growth & development is not uniform.
• Uniformity of pattern.
• Development proceeds from general to specific.
• Development is predictable.
FACTORS AFFECTING HUMAN GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT

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There are two major factors that affect human growth and development, which
includes:
Nature and nurture Factors-They are also referred as biological/environmental
or internal /external factors. They affect development at either prenatal, perinatal or
post-natal stages. A mother can infect her child in three ways: 1) during gestation
across the placenta, 2) during delivery through contact with maternal blood or
fluids, and 3) postpartum (after birth) through breast-feeding

A.BIOLOGICAL FACTORS
 HEREDITY
 The heredity of a man and a woman determines that of their children.
 Embryonic life begins with the cytoplasm and nucleus of the fertilized
ovum, genetically determine by both parents.
 The rate of growth is more alike among siblings than among unrelated
persons.
 Some children are small not because of endocrine or nutritional
disturbances but because of their genetic constitution.
 INTELLIGENCE
 The child of high intelligence is likely to be taller & better developed than
is the less gifted child. In addition, intelligence influences mental and social
development.
 HORMONAL INFLUENCES
 There is evidence that all the hormones in the body effect growth in some
manner. Although 3 hormones are very important, others also influence
growth to an extent.
a) Somatotropic hormone (STH) or growth hormone:
 Its major effect is on linear growth in height because it is essential in the
proliferation of cartilage cells at the epiphyseal plates. The growth hormone
stimulates skeletal and protein anabolism through the production of
somatomedins or intermediary hormones. An excess of growth hormone
causes gigantism & lack results in dwarfism.

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b) Thyroid hormone:
 Thyroxine (T4) & Tri Iodothyronine (T3) Thyrotrophic hormone (TH),
produced by adenohypophysis stimulates the thyroid gland to release T3, T4,
TH. These thyroid hormones stimulate the general metabolism & therefore
are necessary for advanced linear growth
 Whereas a deficiency produces cretinism with stunted physical growth &
mental retardation.
c) Hormones that stimulate the gonads. The adrenocorticotrophic hormone
(ACTH):
• ACTH is produced by the adenohypophysis; stimulate the hypothalamus,
which in turn causes the adenohypophyses to secrete gonadotrophic
hormones. The gonadotrophic hormone stimulate the interstitial cells of the
testes to produce testosterone & the interstitial cells of the ovaries to produce
estrogen.
• Testosterone stimulates the development secondary sexual characteristics &
the production of spermatozoa in young man. Estrogen stimulates the
development of secondary sexual characteristics & the results in precocious
puberty, whereas the deficiency results in delay in development.
• Other hormones that less directly influence the process of growth &
development include insulin, parathormone, cortisol, & calcitonin.
 EMOTIONS
 Relationships with significant other persons, mother, father, sibling, peers &
teacher play a vital role in the emotional, social, & intellectual development
of the child.
 Expectant mothers who are stressed in their state give birth to children with
emotional instability. Research shows that mothers who lament after
conception and reject pregnancy produce children who are depressed and
later develop unhealthy personality
 If the child is given the necessary care & love after birth, that promotes
healthy development, otherwise growth & development retardation may
occur.

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 Emotionally deprived children may receive adequate nutrition but do not
gain weight as expected & are pale & unresponsive. If emotional deprivation
continues & loving care is not given over a period of time, the children may
have repeated illness, become emotionally ill, or die at an early age.

 Sex
 The father determines sex of a child and Sex is determined in some countries
at conception but it is not practiced in others i.e. India.
 After birth, the male infants are longer and heavier than female infants are.
Boys maintain this superiority until about 11 Years of age.
 Girls Mature earlier than boys, and are than taller on the average. During
the prepubertal stage of growth and development, boys are again taller than
girls are.
 Bone development is more advanced in girls than in boys. Advance in
osseous development is also demonstrated by the earlier eruption of
permanent teeth in girls.
 Mothers age and parity–Recommended age to give birth by
developmental psychologist is 23-35 yrs. Young mothers experience birth
difficulties due to premature reproductive system. Aged mothers give birth
to children with mental challenges, with low birth weight etc. due to aging
reproductive system. Parity is the number of children a mother has given
birth to in lifetime.
 RACE
Distinguishing characteristics called racial or subracial development in
prehistoric humans. As in addition, height, too short, tall do examples exist
among all the races and sub races.
 Maternal Diseases-Some diseaseases during pregnancy can affect the
unborn children Germany measles can lead to heart related issues and
mental retardation, others is syphilis can lead to blindness, toxemia,pre
eclempsia.Other maternal factors such as Rubella (German Measles),
syphilis, genital herpes, AIDS, nutrition, high anxiety and stress, age (too
early or too late, beyond 30)

20
  Paternal factors-Paternal factors – Fathers’ exposure to lead, radiation,
certain pesticides and petrochemicals may cause abnormalities in sperm
that lead to miscarriage or diseases such as childhood cancer.
As in the case of older mothers, older fathers also may place their
offspring at risk for certain defects. (Santrock, 2002.)

 Drugs and substances-Drug of use or abuse can affect feotal growth i.e.
cigarettes can lead to stunted growth and stillbirths, alcohol can lead to
foetal alcohol syndrome etc.
B.ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
These are external factors before, during or after the child is born
The Harmful prenatal and perinatal factors are-
 The fetus may suffer from nutritional deficiencies when the mother’s diet is
insufficient in quantity or quality, regardless of her socio-economic
standards.
 Mechanical problems may be present leading to malposition in uterus.
 The mother may suffer from metabolic endocrine disturbances, such as
diabetes mellitus, which affects the fetus.
 If the mother is suffering from infectious diseases, the fetus may also be
affected but there is less scientific proof.
 The fetus may also be affected by the treatment of radiation for cancer if the
mother is undergoing.
 The mother may suffer from any infectious diseases during gestation like
TORCH infections 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimesters adversely influence the fetus.
 Erythroblastosis fetalis due to Rh incapability of the blood types of the
mother and the fetus may have a serious influence upon the developing
child.

 Faulty placental implantation may lead to nutritional impairment and anoxia.

21
  Research has shown that smoking or the use of certain drugs such alcohol
and phenytoin by the mother may result in prematurity or deformity of the
child.
 If the mother has good prenatal care, many of these conditions can be
prevented or treated thus ensuring a better prenatal environment for the
fetus.
 Unhygienic environment during birth

 CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT
 The effects of a particular culture on a child begin before birth.
 The nutrients the mother is expected to eat during pregnancy are culturally
determined.
 Delivery of the baby is culturally determined.
 After child is born, the child is cared for according to the culturally
sanctioned pattern of child rearing.
 The behavior expected of the child at each stage of growth & development
is culturally defined.
 SOCIO ECONOMIC STATUS OF THE FAMILY
 The environment of the lower socio economic groups may be less favorable
than that of the middle & upper groups.
 Parents in unfortunate financial circumstances .
 However public health & health education programs are gradually assisting
such parents to provide better care for their children
 NUTRITION
 Nutrition is related to both the quantitative & qualitative supply of food
elements such as proteins, fats, carbohydrates, minerals & vitamins. Lack or
inadequate diet can lead to diseases such as kwashiorkor, scurvy, rickets
The effects of inadequate nutrition or the causes of under nutrition
include:

22
  An inadequate nutrition intake both qualitatively & quantitatively.
 Physical hyper activity or lack of adequate rest.
 A physical illness that causes an increase in nutritional needs but at the same
time results in poor appetite & poor absorption.
 An emotional illness that causes decreased food intake or inadequate
absorption because of vomiting or diarrhea.
 During periods of rapid growth such as prenatal period, infancy, puberty &
adolescence need high amount of proteins & calories are needed
 CLIMATE & SEASON
 Climatic variations influence the infant’s health.
 It is important that parents may be unable to provide adequate refrigeration
and extermination of flies & other insects
 The season of the year influences growth rates in height & weight, especially
in older children.
 Weight gains are lowest in summer & autumn. The greatest gains in height
among children occur in spring. The differences are mainly due to seasonal
variations.
 EXERCISES
 Exercise, increases the circulation, promotes physiologic activity & stimulates
muscular development.
 Fresh air & moderate sun shine favor health & growth.
 Prolonged exposure to sunlight may cause tissue damage of the skin & even
more consequences if the child is unprotected from the rays of the sun
 ORDINAL POSITION IN THE FAMILY
 The first-born child in the family is an only child in a family who receives
all the parental attention until the second child is born.
 The parents of the first-born child are unusually inexperienced & may not
know the successive stages of growth & development.
 NATIONALITY

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 Many of the recent immigrant’s arrivals and their descendants of families in
whom short stature is normally seen in United States. Even with the
influence of good nutrition and environment, these children may not achieve
the same heights as their peers in growth patterns
Others factors
 Irradiations and x ray exposture
 Metals and toxic substances


 DEVELOPMENTAL ASPECTS
1. PHYSICAL GROWTH& DEVELOPMENT
Life begins after conception
That which is in the mother’s womb is indeed developing human being. An
unborn baby of eight (8) weeks is not essentially different from one of
eighteen (18) weeks or twenty-eight (28) weeks. From conception the
zygote, the embryo and the fetus are undeniably human life.Pre-natal
development is divided into three (3) periods-germinal, embryonic and fetal.
1. Germinal Period (First 2 weeks after conception) – This includes the a)
creation of zygote. b) Continued cell division and c) the attachment of the
zygote to the uterine wall.
The Blastocyst, the inner layer of cells that develops during the germinal
period, develops later into the embryo. The trophoblast, the outer layer of
cells that develops also during the germinal period, later provides nutrition
and support for the embryo (Nelson. Textbook of Pediatics, 17th ed., 2004).
2. Embryonic Period (2-8 weeks after conception) – In this stage, the name of
the mass cells. Zygote, become embryo. The following developments take
place:
a) Cell differentiation intensifies
b) Life-support system for the embryo develop and
c) Organs appear

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 The embryo’s endoderm, the inner layer of cells develops into the digestive
and respiratory systems. The outer layer of cells is divided into two parts –
the ectoderm and the mesoderm. The ectoderm is the outermost layer,
which becomes the nervous system, sensory receptors (eyes, ears, nose) and
skin parts (nails, hair).
The mesoderm is the middle layer, which becomes circulatory, skeletal,
muscular, excretory and reproductive systems. This process of organ
formation during the first two months of pre-natal development is called
organogenesis.
3. Fetal Period (2 to 7 months after conception) – Growth and development
continue dramatically during this period. The details of the developmental
process are as follows (Santrock, 2002):
1. 3 months after conception – fetus is about 3 inches long and weighs
about 1 ounce; fetus has become active, moves its arms and legs,
opens and closes its mouth, and moves its head; the face, forehead,
eyelids. Nose and chin can now be distinguished and the upper arms,
lower arms, hands and lower limbs; the genital can now be identified
as male or female.
2. 4 months after conception – fetus is about 6 inches long and weighs 4
– 7 ounces; growth spurt occurs in the body’s lower parts; pre-natal
reflexes are stronger, mother feels arm and leg movements for the first
time.
3. 5 months after conception – fetus is about 12 inches long and weighs
close to a pound; structures of the skin (fingernails, toenails) have
formed; fetus is more active.
4. 6 months after conception – fetus is about 14 inches long and weighs
one and half pound; eyes and eyelids are completely formed; fine
layer of head covers the head; grasping reflex is present and irregular
movements occur.
5. 7 months after conception – fetus is about 16 long and weighs 3
pounds.
6. 8 and 9 months after conception – fetus grows longer and gains
substantial weight, about 4 pounds.

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  Physical growth & development can be divided into 3 areas
 Biological growth
 Motor development
 Sensory development
A) Biological growth
These are changes in general body growth that results from different rates of
growth in different parts of the body during consecutive stages of
development :- the infants head constitutes 1/4th of the entire length of the
body at birth, whereas the adult’s head is only 1/8th of body length
Length or height some children reach adult heights in their early teens, but
others continue to grow throughout late adolescence.
 The periods of rapid growth are infancy & puberty.
Weight
 Weight is influenced by all the increments in size & is probably the best gross
index of nutrition & health.
 Obesity may result from a glandular deficiency, but it is more likely due to over
eating to a diet containing too much starch & fat and too little protein or lack of
exercises.
Head circumference
 The circumference of the head is an important measurement since it is related to
intracranial volume.
 An increase in circumference permits an estimation of the rate of brain growth.
This measurement has a relatively narrow normal range of a particular age
group.
Thoracic diameter
 Chest measurements increase as the child grows & the shape of the chest
changes. At birth, the transverse & anteroposterior diameters are nearly
equal. The transverse diameter increases more rapidly than does the
anteroposterior diameter i.e. the width becomes greater than the depth.
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Abdominal & pelvic measurements
 The abdominal circumference is not fixed by a bony cage as in the chest;
consequently, it is affected by the infant’s nutritional state, muscle tone,
gaseous digestion & even the phase of respiration. The pelvic bi-cristal
diameter (the maximal distance between the external margins of the iliac
crest) is not affected by variations in posture & musculature & is a good
index of a child’s slenderness or stockiness.
B) Motor development
 Gross motor activities include turning, reaching, sitting, standing &
walking.
 Fine motor development is the involvement of reflexes. The child
learns to use hands & fingers for thumb apposition, palmer grasp,
release, pincer grasp and so on.
 Motor development is not affected by sex, geographic residence, or
level of parental education, although adequate nutrition & good health
exert a positive influence. Motor development varies widely in young
children.

C)Sensory Development
The sensory system is functional at birth, the child gradually learns the
process of associating meaning with a perceived stimuli. As myelination of
the nervous system is achieved, the child is able to respond to specific
stimuli.
2. Cognitive Development
Piaget’s Cognitive Developmental Theory
 Children actively construct understanding
 Development proceeds based largely on biology
 Four stages of cognitive development
 Sensorimotor
 Preoperational
 Concrete Operational

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  Formal Operational
 Piaget stated that children actively construct their understanding of the world
and go through four stages of cognitive development.
 Two processes underlie this cognitive construction of the world.
 1. organization
 2. Adaptation
 Organization: to make sense of the world we organize our experiences, e.g.
we separate important ideas from less important ideas.
 Adaptation: we also adapt our thinking to include new ideas as additional
information furthers understanding. we adapt in two ways
 1. assimilation
 2. Accommodation
 Assimilation: occurs when individuals incorporate new information into
their existing knowledge.
 Accommodation: occurs when individual adjusts to new information
Human beings go through four stages in cognitive development
 Each stage is age related
 Consist of distinct way of thinking
 It is the different way of understanding the world that makes one stage more
advance than another does.
 Child’s cognition is qualitatively different in one stage compared to another.
Sensorimotor Stage (0-2 years)
 Constructs understanding by coordinating sensory experiences with motoric
actions.
 The child explores the world surrounding them using its senses
 Initially sucking and grasping reflex and moving onto reaching for objects
out of reach.
 Object permanence-Major development within this stage.
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 Initially the baby cannot understand that an object exists out of sight.
As the baby reaches around 7/8 months a child will begin to understand the
object/person still exists when out of sight.
Pre-Operational stage (2-7yrs old)
 Toddler can understand the use of symbols and language. Pretend play is an
example of symbolic thinking.
 Language is now understood.
 Unable to perform operations.
Operations: The Piaget’s term for internalized mental actions that allow
children to do mentally what they previously did physically.
Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 years)
 Can perform operations about concrete things.
 Able to conserve, i.e., understand that although the appearance has
changed the thing itself has not. What is conservation? “the awareness
that a quantity remains the same despite a change in its appearance”
 Can reason logically about concrete events and classify objects.

Formal Operational Stage (11- 16 years)

 Most of previous characteristics discussed have now developed.
 The child shows logical thinking and is able to work through abstract
problems and use logic without the presence of concrete manipulation.
 E.g., If Kelly is taller than John is and John is taller than Peter who is the
tallest.
 Thinking is more systematic.
3. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Erick Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory
 He developed Eight stages of development:

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  Unique developmental task confronts individuals with crisis that must
be resolved
Positive resolution builds foundation for healthy development
1. Trust versus Mistrust. In the first year, children begin to learn the ability to
trust others based upon the consistency of their caregiver(s). If trust develops
successfully, the child gains confidence and security in the world around him
and is able to feel secure even when threatened. Unsuccessful completion of
this stage can result in an inability to trust, and therefore a sense of fear about
the inconsistent world. It may result in anxiety, heightened insecurities, and a
feeling of mistrust in the world around them.
2. Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt. Between the ages of one and three,
children begin to assert their independence, by walking away from their mother,
picking which toy to play with, and making choices about what they like to
wear, to eat, etc. If children in this stage are encouraged and supported in their
increased independence, they become more confident and secure in their own
ability to survive in the world. If children are criticized, overly controlled, or
not given the opportunity to assert themselves, they begin to feel inadequate in
their ability to survive, and may then become overly dependent upon others,
lack self-esteem, and feel a sense of shame or doubt in their own abilities.
3. Initiative vs. Guilt. Around age three and continuing to age six, children
assert themselves more frequently. They begin to plan activities, make up
games, and initiate activities with others. If given this opportunity, children
develop a sense of initiative, and feel secure in their ability to lead others and
make decisions. Conversely, if this tendency is squelched, either through
criticism or control, children develop a sense of guilt. They may feel like a
trouble to others and will therefore remain followers, lacking in self-initiative.
4. Industry vs. Inferiority. From age six years to puberty, children begin to
develop a sense of pride in their accomplishments. They initiate projects, see
them through to completion, and feel good about what they have achieved.
During this time, teachers play an increased role in the child’s development. If
children are encouraged and reinforced for their initiative, they begin to feel
industrious and feel confident in their ability to achieve goals. If this initiative is
not encouraged, if parents or teacher, then the child restrict it begins to feel
inferior, doubting his own abilities and therefore may not reach his potential.

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5. Identity vs. Role Confusion. During adolescence, the transition from
childhood to adulthood is most important. Children are becoming more
independent, and begin to look at the future in terms of career, relationships,
families, housing, etc. During this period, they explore possibilities and begin to
form their own identity based upon the outcome of their explorations. If their
exploration is hindered, it results in a sense of confusion about themselves and
their role in the world, e.g., “I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.”
6. Intimacy vs. Isolation. In Young adulthood, people begin to share
themselves more intimately with others. They explore relationships leading
toward longer term commitments with someone other than a family member.
Successful completion can lead to comfortable relationships and a sense of
commitment, safety, and care within a relationship. Avoiding intimacy, fearing
commitment and relationships can lead to isolation, loneliness, and sometimes
depression.
7. Generativity vs. Stagnation. During middle adulthood, people establish
their careers, settle down within a relationship, begin their own families and
develop a sense of being a part of the bigger picture. They give back to society
through raising their children, being productive at work, and becoming involved
in community activities and organizations. By failing to achieve these
objectives, they become stagnant and feel unproductive.
8. Ego Integrity vs. Despair. As people grow older, they tend to slow down
their productivity, and explore life as a retired person. It is during this time that
they think of their accomplishments and are able to develop integrity if they see
themselves as leading a successful life. If they see their lives as unproductive,
feel guilty about their pasts, or feel that they did not accomplish their life goals,
they become dissatisfied with life and develop despair, often leading to
depression and hopelessness.

4. LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
 The rate of speech development varies from child to child and directly
related to neurologic competence and cognitive development.
 Critical period of learning language is at 13 months after this the child finds
it hard to learn any language

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 Gestures precedes speech, and in this way, a small child communicate
satisfactorily. As speech develops, gestures recedes but never disappears
entirely.
 At all the stages of language development, children’s comprehension
vocabulary is greater than their expressed vocabulary. In addition, this
development reflects a continuing process of modification that involves both
the acquisition of new words and the expanding and refining of word
meanings previously learned.
NB ASSIGNMENT FROM THIS SECTION (Refer) in page 1

5. DEVELOPMENT OF SELF CONCEPT

The term self-concept includes all the notions, beliefs, and convictions that
constitute an individual’s self-knowledge and that influence those
individuals’ relationships with others.
It is not present at birth but develops gradually because of unique
experiences with in the self, with significant others and with the realities of
the world. Self-concept includes
 Body image Body image refers to the subjective concepts and attitudes that
individuals have toward their own bodies.
It consists of the physiologic, psychological and social nature of one’s
image of self. Body image is a complex phenomenon that evolves and
changes during the process of growth and development.
 Self Esteem
Self-esteem is the value that on individual places on oneself. Self-esteem is
described as the affective component of the self, whereas self-concept is the
cognitive component.
 The term self-esteem refers to a personal, subjective judgment of one’s
worthiness derived-from and influenced by the social groups in the
immediate environment and individual’s perceptions.
 Self-esteem changes with development.

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6. Moral development
Kohlberg
• This theory is a stage theory. In other words, everyone goes through the
stages sequentially without skipping any stage.
• Assessed moral reasoning by posing hypothetical moral dilemmas and
examining the reasoning behind people’s answers.
• All his ideas started from the research he performed with very young
children as his subjects. He found out that children are faced with different
moral issues, and their judgments on whether they are to act positively or
negatively over each dilemma are heavily influenced by several factors. In
each scenario that Kohlberg related to the children, he was not really asking
whether the person in the situation is morally right or wrong, but he wanted
to find out the reasons why these children think that the character is morally
right or not.
• For purposes of illustration, Kohlberg uses the Heinz Dilemma.
Proposed three distinct of moral reasoning: Pre-conventional, Conventional, and
Post-conventional.
Level 1: Pre-conventional Morality [birth-adolescence]
Young children do not really understand the conventions or rules of a society.
Stage 1 - Punishment-Obedience Orientation
- Related to Skinner’s Operational Conditioning, this stage includes the use of
punishment so that the person refrains from doing the action and continues
to obey the rules.
- Stage 2 - Self Interest Orientation / Instrumental Relativist
Orientation
-
- In this stage a good action is seen as one that is in the best interest of the
individual. Favours may be done for another child so that in return favours
will be returned by the other. Lies could be told to cover for another so that
in return a similar favour is owed to the individual. The underlying concern
of stage thinking is “what’s in it for me”.The child will follow rules if there

33
 is a known benefit to him or her. Children in this stage are very concerned
with what is fair.
- Level 2: Conventional Morality [adolescence-young adulthood
- Stage 3 - “Good boy-Good girl" Orientation
- Individuals at this stage of moral reasoning will try to win the approval of others
so that their identity is perceived as good. The acceptance of the individual by the
peer group has a huge impact in terms of what actions are considered good or bad.
At this stage people tend to judge the morality of actions in terms of evaluating
their consequences in relation to a person’s relationships. Good and bad intentions
are recognised. People want their relationships to be characterised by respect,
gratitude and treating others as we wish to be treated. A good action is therefore
on that will bring about this positive result.
Stage four – Law and Order Orientation
The desire to have a functioning society is at the heart of this stage of moral
reasoning. Laws, norms and conventions become very important as far as they
maintain a functioning society. People at this stage of moral reasoning have
moved beyond the strong need for individual approval associated with stage three.
The concern at stage four is transcending individual needs in favour of the needs of
society as a whole
Level 3: Post-conventional Morality [adulthood]
Stage 5-Social orientation legalistic stage
At this stage, it is recognised that individuals can hold different opinions, values,
and these should be respected impartially. It is believed that contracts will allow
the individual and society to both increase their welfare. It is therefore known as a
contractual perspective. Freedom of choice becomes important and certain
fundamental principles are upheld, such as the right to life and the right to choose.
At this stage, no single choice is seen as right or absolute since others do not have
the moral authority to judge the actions of the individual.
Stage 6 – Universal Ethical Principle Orientation
- Moral reasoning is based on abstract reasoning at this stage. Conscience is seen
as an important factor in making moral decisions. Mutual respect is valued as a
universal principle. Laws are seen as valid only in so far as they promote the

34
principle of justice. Therefore, there is an obligation on people to disobey an unjust
law. Decisions are met categorically and in an absolute way rather that with
conditions attached.

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7. Spiritual Development
Fowler asserts that Spiritual beliefs are closely related to the moral and ethical
portion of the child’s self-concept. Fowler (1974) has identified seven stages in
the development of faith, four of which are closely associated with and parallel
cognitive and psychosocial development in child hood.
The stages of spiritual development are:
 Stage 0: Primal faith (undifferentiated infancy): This stage of development
encompasses the period of infancy during which children have no concept of
right or wrong, no beliefs, and no convictions to guide their behavior.
 Stage 1 : Intuitive projective faith (early child hood):
 Toddler hood is primarily a time of imitating the behavior of others.
Children imitate the religious gestures and behaviors of others without
comprehending any meaning or significance to the activities.
 During the preschool years, children assimilate some of the values and
beliefs of their parents. Parental attitude toward moral codes and religious
beliefs convey to children what they consider good and bad.
Stage 2: Individuating Reflexive: Adolescents become more skeptical and
begin to compare the religious standards of their parents with those of others.
They attempt to determine which to adopt and incorporate into their own set of
values. They also begin to compare religious standards with the scientific
viewpoint. It is a time of searching rather than reaching.
8. SOCIAL CULTURAL ASPECT
All human beings are brought up in a cultural background that shapes their
behavior and personality
.Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Cognitive Theory
 Emphasizes how culture and social interaction guide cognitive development
 Social interaction with more skilled adults and peers advances cognitive
development
 claims capture the heart of the Vygotsky’s theory

36
  The child’s cognitive skills can be understood when they are
developmentally analyzed and interpreted.
 Cognitive skills are facilitated by words, language and forms of
communication which serve as psychological tools for facilitating and
transforming mental activity
Cognitive skills have their origins in social relations and are rooted in
sociocultural environment
Other aspects are
Emotional, psychological etc.

EXCEPTIONAL CHILD
This a child who deviates from normal in one or many aspects of human
development. Disability is a physical or mental condition that limits a person's
movements, senses, or activities

These includes the following:

1. Learning disabilities
A child with a learning disability has difficulty in learning that involves
understanding or using spoken or written language
The difficulty can appear in listening thinking reading writing and spelling
It also may involve difficulty in mathematics. These includes:
I) Dyslexia
 A specific learning disability that affects reading and related language-based
processing skills
 The severity can differ in each individual but can affect
 Reading fluency
 Decoding
 Reading comprehension
 Recall, writing, spelling
 Speech

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 

ii) Dysgraphia
A learning disability that involves difficulty in
handwriting
iii) Dyscalculia
A specific learning disability that affects a person’s ability to understand numbers
and learn math facts
2. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
A disability in which children consistently show one or more of the following
characteristics over a period
 Inattention
 Hyperactivity
 Impulsivity
What causes ADHD?
 Genes and heredity
 Environmental factors
 Differences in the brain
 Strategies to manage
Monitor whether the Childs stimulant medication is working effectively
State clear expectations and give the child immediate feedback
Provide opportunities for students to get up and move around
Provide structure and teacher-direction
3. Physical Disorders/Physical disability
A physical disability is any condition that permanently prevents normal body
movement and/or control. Physical disorder in children include orthopedic
impairments Such as cerebral palsy and seizure disorder .Orthopedic impairments
are Restricted movements or lack of control over movement due to muscle, bone or
joint problems and are Caused due to disease or accident. Most common seizure
disorder is Epilepsy which is “A neurological disorder characterized by recurring
sensorimotor attacks or convulsions. There are many different types of physical
disabilities. Some of the main ones include:

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 I) Muscular dystrophies
When a child has muscular dystrophy, this means that the muscle fibres in the body
gradually weaken over time. Children can have different types of muscular
dystrophy. The most common type is Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, which
occurs only in boys. All types of muscular dystrophy are genetic even though other
family members may not have the condition.
iii) Acquired brain and spinal injuries
Physical disabilities may result from permanent injuries to the brain, spinal cord or
limbs that prevent proper movement in parts of the body.
iv) Spina bifida
sometimes, a baby's spinal cord (the nerves that run down the spine) do not
develop normally during pregnancy. When this happens, the child can have a
physical disability called spina bifida. The type and amount of disability caused by
spina bifida will depend upon the level of the abnormality of the spinal cord.
Children with spina bifida may have:
Partial or full paralysis of the legs
 Difficulties with bowel and bladder control. They may also have:
 hydrocephalus (high pressure on the brain because of fluid not being drained away
as normal)
 bone and joint deformities (they may not grow normally)
 Curvature (bending) of the spine.
v) Cerebral palsy
It is due to lack of oxygen at birth and Lack of muscle coordination, shaking and
unclear speech.
It is caused by damage to the parts of the brain, which control movement during
the early stages of development. In most cases, this damage occurs during
pregnancy. However, damage can sometimes occur during birth and from brain
injuries in early infancy (such as lack of oxygen from near drowning, meningitis,
head injury or being shaken).
Children with cerebral palsy may have difficulties with:
 posture (the ability to put the body in a chosen position and keep it there)
 movement of body parts or the whole body
 muscle weakness or tightness
 involuntary muscle movements (spasms)
 balance and coordination
 Talking and eating.
Children can have different types of cerebral palsy:

39
 hemiplegia (involves muscle movements and weakness on one side of the body)
 diplegia (involves muscle movements and weakness in the lower part of the body)
 quadriplegia (involves muscle movements and weakness in both arms and both
legs)
 Ataxia (involves problems with balance and coordination).
Multiple disabilities
some children with physical disabilities will have other disabilities, such as
intellectual, visual or hearing impairments. They may also have communication
difficulties or other medical conditions such as epilepsy or asthma. When a child
has several different types of disability, professionals talk about multiple
disabilities rather than listing separate conditions.
Causes of physical disabilities
There are many different causes for physical disabilities. These include:
 inherited or genetic disorders, such as muscular dystrophy
 conditions present at birth (congenital), such as spina bifida
 serious illness affecting the brain, nerves or muscles, such as meningitis
 spinal cord injury
 Brain injury.
Role of a physiotherapist
Physiotherapists can help children with disabilities and their families by:
 assisting the child to learn how to use parts of the body and develop physical skills
 helping a child to become mobile (either independently or by using equipment)
 helping parents to become skillful in assisting their child including lifting,
positioning and physical care
 Working with staff from the child's preschool or school.

4. Visually Impaired Learners

The student who have low vision and student and who are blind
Low vision student can read large print book
Educationally blind cannot use their vision in learning
5. Hearing impaired
 Makes learning very difficult for children

 The children with this difficulty do not develop with normal speech and
language
 Hearing impairment learners fall in two categories:
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  Oral approach
 It include using lip reading, speech reading (a reliance on visual cues to
teach reading)
 Manual approach
Sign language and finger spelling
Sign Language is a system of hand movement that symbolize word
Finger spelling consist of “spelling out” each word by signing

6. Intellectual disability/Mental Retardation

Intellectual disability (ID), once called mental retardation, is characterized by
below-average intelligence or mental ability and a lack of skills necessary for day-
to-day living. People with intellectual disabilities can and do learn new skills, but
they learn them more slowly. There are varying degrees of intellectual disability,
from mild to profound.
A person having limited mental functions and a below average IQ” .Affects a
person’s ability to function in everyday life skills Like communication taking care
of themselves and social skills. They develop more slowly than other children do
Types of mental retardation
Types of Mental Retardation IQ Range Percentage

Mild 55-70 89

Moderate 40-54 6

Severe 25-39 4

Profound Below 25 1
Management
 Use teacher aids helps to educate children with mental retardation
 Give students opportunities to practice what they have learned
 Have positive expectation for the students learning

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 What is intellectual disability?

Someone with intellectual disability has limitations in two areas. These areas are:
 Intellectual functioning. Also known as IQ, this refers to a person’s ability to
learn reason, make decisions, and solve problems.
 Adaptive behaviors. These are skills necessary for day-to-day life, such as being
able to communicate effectively, interact with others, and take care of oneself.
IQ (intelligence quotient) is measured by an IQ test. The average IQ is 100. A
person is considered intellectually disabled if he or she has an IQ of less than 70 to
75.
To measure a child’s adaptive behaviors, a specialist will observe the child’s skills
and compare them to other children of the same age. Things that may be observed
include how well the child can feed or dress himself or herself; how well the child
is able to communicate with and understand others; and how the child interacts
with family, friends, and other children of the same age.
Intellectual disability is thought to affect about 1% of the population. Of those
affected, 85% have mild intellectual disability. This means they are just a little
slower than average to learn new information or skills. With the right support, most
will be able to live independently as adults
Signs of intellectual disability in children
There are many different signs of intellectual disability in children. Signs may
appear during infancy, or they may not be noticeable until a child reaches school
age. It often depends on the severity of the disability. Some of the most common
signs of intellectual disability are:
 Rolling over, sitting up, crawling, or walking late
 Talking late or having trouble with talking
 Slow to master things like potty training, dressing, and feeding himself or herself
 Difficulty remembering things
 Inability to connect actions with consequences
 Behavior problems such as explosive tantrums
 Difficulty with problem-solving or logical thinking
In children with severe or profound intellectual disability, there may be other
health problems as well. These problems may include seizures, mood
disorders (anxiety, autism, etc.), motor skills impairment, vision problems, or
hearing problems.

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 Causes intellectual disability/ mental retardation

 GENETIC FACTORS
 Chromosomal abnormality ( Down syndrome)-Down Syndrome
is a genetically transmitted form of mental retardation

 Errors of chromosome numbers (47)

 It is appears in about 1 in every 700 live births
 Infections ( at birth or after birth)
 It can be result from many different infections and
environmental hazards. Infections (at the time of birth or after
birth) and Environmental factors such as :
 Malnutrition
 Poisoning
 Birth injury
 Heavy drinking

Anytime something interferes with normal brain development, intellectual

disability can result. However, a specific cause for intellectual disability can only
be pinpointed about a third of the time.
The most common causes of intellectual disability are:
 Genetic conditions. These include things like Down syndrome and fragile X
syndrome.
 Problems during pregnancy. Things that can interfere with fetal brain
development include alcohol or drug use, malnutrition, certain infections, or
preeclampsia.
 Problems during childbirth. Intellectual disability may result if a baby is
deprived of oxygen during childbirth or born extremely premature.

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 Illness or injury. Infections like meningitis, whooping cough, or the measles can
lead to intellectual disability. Severe head injury, near-drowning, extreme
malnutrition, exposure to toxic substances such as lead, and severe neglect or
abuse can also cause it.
 None of the above. In two-thirds of all children who have intellectual disability,
the cause is unknown.

Steps to help your intellectually disabled child include:
 Learn everything you can about intellectual disabilities. The more you know the
better advocate you can be for your child.
 Encourage your child’s independence. Let your child try new things and encourage
your child to do things by himself or herself. Provide guidance when it has needed
and give positive feedback when your child does something well or masters
something new.
 Get your child involved in-group activities. Taking an art class or participating in
Scouts will help your child build social skills.
 Stay involved. By keeping in touch with your child’s teachers, you will be able to
follow his or her progress and reinforce what your child is learning at school
through practice at home.
 Get to know other parents of intellectually disabled children. They can be a great
source of advice and emotional support.
7) Mentally Gifted Children
Gifted child, any child who is naturally endowed with a high degree of general
mental ability or extraordinary ability in a specific sphere of activity or knowledge.
The designation of giftedness is largely a matter of administrative convenience. In
most countries, the prevailing definition is an intelligence quotient (IQ) of 130 or
above. Increasingly, however, schools use multiple measures of giftedness and
assess a wide variety of talents, including verbal, mathematical, spatial-visual,
musical, and interpersonal abilities.
Gifted Characteristics

Gifted individuals may exhibit some of the following characteristics. Keep in mind
that gifted individuals are not a homogenous group, and therefore may exhibit
these characteristics in varying degrees and intensities. It is not expected that a
gifted child will exhibit all of the traits listed nor are the presence of any of these
characteristics prove that a child is gifted.

 General Intellectual Ability

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 Specific Academic Ability
 Creative Ability
 Leadership Ability
 Affective/Social-Emotional Characteristics
 Psychomotor Characteristics

8) Communication disorder
A communication disorder is an impairment in the ability to receive, send,
process, and comprehend concepts or verbal, nonverbal and graphic symbol
systems. A communication disorder may be evident in the processes of hearing,
language, and/or speech. A communication disorder may range in severity from
mild to profound. It may be developmental or acquired. Individuals may
demonstrate one or any combination of communication disorders. A
communication disorder may result in a primary disability or it may be secondary
to other disabilities.
A. A speech disorder is an impairment of the articulation of speech sounds,
fluency and/or voice.
1. An articulation disorder is the atypical production of speech sounds
characterized by substitutions, omissions, additions or distortions that
may interfere with intelligibility.
2. A fluency disorder is an interruption in the flow of speaking
characterized by atypical rate, rhythm, and repetitions in sounds,
syllables, words, and phrases. This may be accompanied by excessive
tension, struggle behavior, and secondary mannerisms.
3. A voice disorder is characterized by the abnormal production and/or
absences of vocal quality, pitch, loudness, resonance, and/or duration,
which is inappropriate for an individual's age and/or sex.
B. A language disorder is impaired comprehension and/or use of spoken,
written and/or other symbol systems. The disorder may involve (1) the form
of language (phonology, morphology, and syntax), (2) the content of
language (semantics), and/or (3) the function of language in communication
(pragmatics) in any combination.
1. Form of Language

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 a. Phonology is the sound system of a language and the rules that
govern the sound combinations.
b. Morphology is the system that governs the structure of words
and the construction of word forms.
c. Syntax is the system governing the order and combination of
words to form sentences, and the relationships among the
elements within a sentence.
2. Content of Language
a. Semantics is the system that governs the meanings of words
and sentences.
3. Function of Language
a. Pragmatics is the system that combines the above language
components in functional and socially appropriate
communication.
Other disabilities/disorders
 Autism
 Emotional Behavioral disorders

WHY STUDY OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY IS

IMPORTANT TO TEACHERS
Knowledge of growth and development is important to the teacher for the
following reasons:
 To know the expected growth of a child/learner at a given age and certain
kinds of behaviors. The teacher uses this knowledge to observe and assess
each child in terms of norms or specific levels of development.
 To plan for the classroom management and to help in formulating the plan
of total care of the child in the learning process
 To better understand the reason for particular condition & illness those occur
in various age groups.
 To teach parent how to observe and to use their knowledge so that they may
help their children achieve optimal growth & development.

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 To understand exceptional learners
 To differentiate normal and abnormal behavior
 To guide and counsel learners appropriately
 To understand learners background information
 For placement of learners in appropriate classes
 To help in teaching methods that accommodate all learners
 To understand him she better as a teacher etc.

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