Child Health and Disabilities Quiz

Life-Span Development 18e - Chapter 9

• This chapter focuses on physical and cognitive development in middle and late childhood.
• Key topics covered include physical changes and health, children with disabilities, cognitive changes, and language development.
• Physical changes during middle and late childhood are slow and consistent.
  • Growth averages 5-7.5 cm per year.
  • Weight gain averages 2.5-3 kg per year.
  • Head and waist circumference decrease relative to body height.
  • Bones continue to ossify but are more flexible than mature bones.
• Brain growth and development in middle childhood includes:
  • Total brain volume stabilizes.
  • Significant structural and regional changes, especially in the prefrontal cortex.
  • Cortical thickness increases.
  • Brain pathways and circuitry involving the prefrontal cortex continue to increase.
• Motor development in middle and late childhood includes:
  • Motor skills become smoother and more coordinated.
  • Girls generally outperform boys in fine motor skills.
  • Improved fine motor skills result from increased myelination of the central nervous system.
• Exercise and health implications in middle childhood:
  • Higher physical activity levels correlated with lower metabolic disease risk (lower cholesterol, waist circumference, and insulin levels).
  • Regular physical activity and calcium intake increase bone health.
  • Ways to encourage exercise include school programs, improved physical fitness in schools, community/school activities, and family focus on activity.
• Health, illness, and disease in middle childhood are generally good but include accidents and injuries as a leading cause of death at this age.
  • Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of serious injury or death.
  • Safety belt restraints and child booster seats are highly recommended.
  • Overweight children are increasing and associated with heredity and environmental factors (declining physical activity, eating habits, heavy screen time).
  • Potential concerns include diabetes, hypertension, elevated blood cholesterol, and low self-esteem.
  • Intervention programs focus on encouraging healthier lifestyles (diet and exercise).
• Cardiovascular disease is uncommon but can be influenced by environmental experiences and behavior.
  • Many elementary-aged children exhibit risk factors including hypertension, obesity, and higher body mass index.
  • Adult coronary heart disease is linked to childhood elevated blood pressure and high body fat levels.
• Cancer is the second leading cause of death in 5-14 year olds with leukemia being the most common type of childhood cancer.
  • Advancements in cancer treatment have led to increasing survival rates.

Children with Disabilities

• The scope of disabilities, including specific learning impairment (34.6%), speech or language impairment (19.5%), other health impairment (14.4%), autism (10.2%), developmental delay (6.6%), intellectual disability (6.3%), and emotional disturbance (5.1%).
• Educational issues, including individualized education plan for each student (IEP) and least restrictive environment (LRE) for all children. This includes inclusion in the regular classroom.

Cognitive Changes

• Piaget's cognitive development theory describes the concrete operational stage (ages 7-11).
  • Children can perform concrete operations and reason logically.
  • They can classify objects into sets and order stimuli along quantitative dimensions (e.g., length).
  • The concrete operational phase leads to understanding transitivity.
• Neo-Piagetians argue that Piaget's theory needs revision while adding an emphasis on information processing, strategies, and precise cognitive steps.
• Information processing, including an increase in attention span and increased memorization, which is also influenced by knowledge and expertise
  • Autobiographical memory becomes more complete as children age.
  • Mothers actively participating in family narratives positively contribute to autobiographical memory.
• Strategies for improving information processing in children include:
  • Elaborating on information.
  • Using mental imagery.
  • Seeking to understand rather than memorize.
  • Repetition with variation.
  • Embedding memory-relevant language.
• Fuzzy trace theory describes two types of memory representations:
  • Verbatim memory trace (precise details) and gist (central idea).
• Thinking involves
  • Critical thinking (reflective thinking)
  • Creative thinking (novel/unique solutions)
  • Metacognition (knowing about knowing); executive function, planning, self-regulation and Metamemory (knowing about memory).

Intelligence

• Intelligence involves the ability to solve problems and learn from experience.
  • Key aspects include individual differences and assessment.
• Binet tests were initially designed to identify students who did not benefit from regular classroom settings and established the concept of mental age.
  • Mental age refers to an individual's level of cognitive development compared to their peers.
• Stern developed the intelligence quotient (IQ), which is calculated by dividing a person’s mental age by their chronological age and multiplying by 100.
• Modern intelligence tests (e.g., Stanford-Binet) use multiple content areas to assess IQ and include fluid reasoning, knowledge, quantitative reasoning, visual-spatial reasoning, and working memory
  • Wechsler scales like the WISC-V are intelligence tests for children and the WAIS-IV is for adults offering a range of composite scores.
• Theories of intelligence (e.g., Sternberg's triarchic theory) identify different types of intelligence like analytical, creative, and practical intelligence.
• Gardner emphasizes multiple intelligences such as verbal, mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist.
• Variations in intelligence can exists across different cultural contexts.
  • Culture-fair tests are designed to minimize cultural biases but are not truly bias-free.
  • Ethnic variations exist especially in the standardized intelligence tests in the U.S. due to cultural bias.
  • Stereotyping can also negatively affect test performance.
• Using intelligence tests requires careful consideration, avoiding stereotyping, realizing that IQ is not the sole indicator of competence, and using caution when interpreting composite scores.

Extremes of Intelligence

• Intellectual disability is evident by inadequate intellectual functioning, including low IQ, difficulty adapting to daily life, and first exhibiting these characteristics by age 18.
• Intellectual disability can be organic (genetic disorder or brain damage) or cultural/familial.
• Giftedness is characterized by above-average intelligence (e.g., IQ of 130 or higher) and superior talent, including precocity, specific learning styles, and passion to master a subject.

Language Development

• Aspects of language development include vocabulary, grammar, reading, and writing skills in middle and late childhood.
  • Developments are accompanied by improvements in metalinguistic awareness (knowing about language).
• Bilingualism has a positive impact on children's language and cognitive development.
  • Learning a second language also affects skill transfer to other academic areas.
• Teaching two languages simultaneously to infants and young children can have numerous benefits.

Test your knowledge on factors affecting childhood obesity, the prevalence of disabilities, and the impact of these conditions on children. This quiz covers essential topics on health interventions and the latest statistics regarding learning disabilities. Challenge yourself on your understanding of childhood health issues.