Variation in Development Flashcards
(8 cards)
How does Development Vary?
Typical vs Atypical Variation
Individual variation in development is normal, within boundaries
* Age; level acquired
Development outside boundaries of typical variation is considered atypical
* Delay: Slower rate of attainment
* Different/disordered: Development does not occur in expected sequence
* Disability: Global developmental delay
* General problem of impairment: Learning disability, physical disability, etc.
Disorders of Development
Assessments
Developmental Milestones: Comparison to development norms
* Failure to meet or delays in meeting can be evidence for a disorder
Naturalistic Observation: Play activities provide evidence of capabilities
Standardised Assessment:Tools that provide systematic, detailed tests of specific areas of development
* Norms on population to measure child’s positioning in development
* Performance is compared to age-equivalent norms based on large samples
* Can identify children who are lower on scores who could benefit from intervention
Research Methods
Comparison/Control Groups
Frequently, research compares children with a disorder to children without a disorder (a control group)
* Age Controls: Typically developing children of the same age
* Establishes whether there are any age differences in development
* Ability-Matched Controls: Typically younger who have the same performance in area of interest
Research Methods
Intervention Studies
Delivering treatment to set of individuals and seeing if there is an impact
* When a deficit is identified, developing an intervention can examine whether training or education can improve the issue
* This can provide good evidence that the deficit is the underlying cause
* Children are randomly assigned to an intervention condition
* Look for evidence of improvement in the symptoms
* The improvement should be related to the identified deficit
* Provides practical and theoretical benefits
* Time consuming and expensive
Implications for Development Theories
Variations in Language Development
- Language delays or difficulties in typically developing children
- Disorders with associated language problems
- Williams Syndrome: Early language delay but typical social skills
- Developmental Language Disorder (LDL)
- Domain-specific, with no other object impairment
Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)
A significant deficit in language ability not attributed to hearing loss, low nonverbal intelligence, language exposure, or neurological damage
* Problems producing to comprehending complex sentences, learning words, making speech sounds, etc.
Williams Syndrome
Genetic disorder resulting in developmental delays and learning disabilities
* Non-verbal IQ between 50-70
* Impaired cognition: Visuospatial abilities executive function and number
* Early language delay but not lasting (Language is relatively spared)
How do Genes and Culture Interact?
Zizter-Comfort et al. (2007)
Compared social behaviour of WS children in Japan and America
* Sociability scores varied by culture
* Higher in US than Japan
* Sociability scores varied by group
* Higher in WS than TD
* Excessive sociability of WS children varied by culture
* Higher in US than Japan
