Observation Guidelines: Assessing Health Behaviors of Children and Adolescents

Characteristic	Look For….
Eating Habits	* Frequent consumption of junk food (candy, chips, carbonated beverages, etc.) *Unusual heaviness or thinness, especially if these characteristics become more pronounced over time * Lack of energy * Reluctant or inability to eat anything at lunchtime
Physical Activity	* Improvements in speed, complexity, and agility of gross motor skills (eg., running, skipping, jumping) * Restlessness, lethargy, or inattention during lengthy seatwork (possibly reflecting a need to have a physical break or to release pent-up energy) * Overexertion (increasing the risk of injury)
Rest and Sleep	* Listlessness and lack of energy * Inability to concentrate * Irritability and overreaction to frustration * Sleeping in class
Health-Compromising Behaviors	* The smell of cigarettes in clothing *Physiological symtoms of drug use (eg. red eyes, dilated pupils, tremors, convulsions, respiratory problems). * Distortion in speech (eg. slurred pronunciation, fast talking, incoherence) * Poor coordination * Impaired decision making * Mood changes (eg. anxiety, depression) *Dramatic changes in behavior (eg. unusual energy, loss of interest in friends) * Signs of sensory distortions or hallucinations * Rapid weight gain and a tendency to wear increasingly baggy clothes (in girls who may be pregnant)

Sources: Wechsler (2002, 2003).

Posted by: Elizabeth Gonzalez

Developmental Trends: Physical Development at Different Age Levels

Age of Child	What You Might Observe
Infancy (Birth - 2 Years)	* Emergence of reflexes * Rapid growth and change in proportions of body parts * Increasing ability to move around, first squirming; then rolling, crawling, creeping, or scooting; finally by walking. * Increasing ability to coordinate small muscles of hands and eyes  * Increasing self-help skills in such areas as feeding, dressing, washing, toileting, and grooming.
Early Childhood (2 - 6 Years)	* Loss of rounded, babyish appearance, with arms and legs lengthening and taking on more mature proportions.  * Boundless physical energy for new gross motor skills, such as running, hopping, tumbling, climbing, and swinging.  *Acquisition of fine motor skills, such as functional pencil grip and use of scissors. * Transition away from afternoon nap, which may initially be marked by periods of fussiness in the afternoon.
Middle Childhood (6 - 10 Years)	* Steady gain in height and weight * Loss and replacement of primary teeth * Refinement and consolidation of gross motor skills and integration of such skills into structured play activities.  * Participation in organized sports * Increasing fluency in fine motor skills, such as handwriting and drawing
Early Adolescence (10 - 14 Years)	* Periods of rapid growth * Beginnings of puberty * Self-consciosness about physical changes * Some risk-taking behavior
Late Adolescence  (14 - 18 Years)	* In girls, completion o growth spurts and attainment of mature height * In boys, ongoing increases in stature * Ravenous appetites * Increasing sexual activity * Some serious risky behavior

Sources: Bredekamp & Copple (1997); Gallahue & Ozmun (1998); V.F. Reyna & Farley (2006); Steinberg (2007); J.M. Tanner (1990); and Wechsler (2002, 2003).

Posted by: Elizabeth Gonzalez

Adolescent Physical Development Video (1955)

Adolescent Physical Education Video (1955)

Watch the video below and learn about adolescent's physical development.

Intelligence: Who has greater "Brain Power" Boys or Girls???!!!???

Good Evening to All!!! =)

I would like to know if many of you agree with the following (What are your personal thoughts and feelings):

According to Halperm, 2004, 2006; Hedges & Nowell, 1995; Maccoby & Jacklin, 1974,
      "Girls are often slightly better at verbal tasks as reading and writing."


According to Benbow, Lubinski, Shea and Eftekhari-Sanjani, 2000,
      "Especially after puberty, boys perform somewhat better on some tasks involving visual-
       spatial , and adolescents with extremely high mathematical ability are more likely to be male 
       than females!"


I personally agree with the statement above because with personal experience, I am WAAAYYYY better with tasks such as reading and writing, yet my best friend (a boy) is a "math geek"!

Posted by: Elizabeth Gonzalez

Intelligence at Different Age Levels

Age of Child	What You Might Observe
Infancy (Birth - 2 Years)	* Success on test items that involve early development accomplishments (e.g. recognition of previously seen objects, visual performance, eye-hand coordination. * Distractibility and short attention span * Variability in performance from one assessment to the next * Performance dependent on examiner's ability to establish a positive relationship with the infant.
Early Childhood (2 - 6 Years)	* Success on test items that involve naming objects, stacking blocks, drawing circles, remembering short lists, and following simple directions.  * Short attention span, influencing test performance * Variability in test scores from one occasion to the next
Middle Childhood (6 - 10 Years)	* Success on test items that involve defining concrete words, remembering sentences and short sequences of digits, understanding concrete analogies, recognizing similarities among objects, and identifying absurdities in illogical statements * Some consistency in test scores from one occasion to the next * Noticeable differences among children in mastery of classroom subject matters
Early Adolescence (10 - 14 Years)	* Success on test items that involve defining commonly used abstract words, drawing logical inferences from verbal descriptions, and identifying similarities between opposite concepts. * Considerable individual differences in the ability to understand abstract material
Late Adolescence  (14 - 18 Years)	* Success on test items that involve defining infrequently encountered words, identifying differences between similar abstract words, interpreting proverbs, and breaking down complex geometric figures into their component parts * Relative stability in most adolescents' IQ scores * Increasing independence to seek out opportunities consistent with existing ability levels (niche-picking)

Sources: Mcdevitt, Teresa and Ormrod, Jeanne (2010); Bayley (2005); Brooks-Gunn (2003); Brooks-Gunn, Klebanov, & Duncan (1996); Colombo (1993); G.A. Davis & Rimm (1998); S.I. Greenspan & Meisels (1996); Luckasson et al. (2002); Mayes & Bornstein (1997); Mcloyd (1994); Steele (1997); Terman & Merrill (1972); A. Thomas & Chess (1977); Thorndike at al. (1986); Wechsler (2002, 2003).


Posted by: Elizabeth Gonzalez