{"id":40,"date":"2015-05-08T01:25:46","date_gmt":"2015-05-08T01:25:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/earbook.online\/hicen\/?page_id=40"},"modified":"2015-07-17T15:41:26","modified_gmt":"2015-07-17T15:41:26","slug":"module-8","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/earbook.online\/hicen\/module-8\/","title":{"rendered":"8 – Milestones in Child Development"},"content":{"rendered":"

Milestones in Child Development <\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Eulalia Juan Pastor<\/p>\n

summarizes how the development of a child aged between 0 \u2013 3 years is proceeding in general, which differences in time and scale of development are \u201cnormal\u201d and how observation of behaviour can help to assess the progress of the child.<\/p>\n

Introduction<\/h1>\n

During this phase, the child will undergo major changes and progress in all development areas: mental, motor, social-affective and language. Each child has his\/her own growth and development pace. This is written in general terms. Both the family and education environments will determine the child\u2019s development. It is fundamental to know each phase\u2014a child\u2019s possibilities and needs\u2014in order to establish goals and activities during the early attention education programming from zero to three years old.
\nThis phase is essential for the child’s ulterior development as a person in society, with values, rules and attitudes to be respected and in which one must live.<\/p>\n

Objectives of the Module
\nThe objectives of this module are:
\nTo give an overview of child development (from zero to three years old) and different aspects of it: cognition, motor development, affection and communication.
\nTo know and interpret tools to evaluate development during the period studied.
\nTo apply this knowledge while interacting with children and be able to detect and apply elements that encourage development in specific situations.<\/p>\n

Method
\nThe program offers two types of reading material, one compulsory, one optional. The first one aims at providing the student with basic curricular content, as included in the program (this module). The second one aims at studying compulsory content in depth, be it as supporting material or critique (basic reading, articles, links, etc. as suggested in the references) or promoting reading original texts by most relevant authors.<\/p>\n

References
\nBibliographic references and links to documents or websites will be used. References will be written in footnotes or at the end of each subject.<\/p>\n

Basic links
\nwww.zerotothree.org
\nwww.2ears2hear.org.uk
\nwww.agbell.org
\nwww.avuk.org
\nwww.avli.org
\nwww.bcig.org.uk
\nwww.deafnessatbirth.org.uk
\nwww.deafeducation.org.uk
\nwww.earlysupport.org.uk
\nwww.eurociu.implantecoclear.org
\nwww.johntracyclinic.org
\nwww.ndcs.org.uk
\nwww.lehnhardt-stiftung.org
\nwww.audiologia.it
\nwww.bionicear.org
\nwww.dec-sped.org
\nwww.nidcd.nih.gov\/index.asp
\nwww.infanthearing.org
\nwww.literacytrust.org.uk\/talktoyourbaby\/index.html
\nwww.cdc.gov\/ncbddd\/ehdi\/<\/p>\n

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Chapter1 \u2013 Concept of development<\/h1>\n

Presentation
\nThis is an introduction to the remaining content in the program. Knowledge and contributions by main authors working on this discipline will be reviewed. These changes happen to people in life and can be explained through coupled factors: continuity versus discontinuity, inheritance versus environment, rules versus ideography. Understanding the context in which individuals develop is helpful to understand their evolution better. It is therefore necessary to highlight the historic, socio-economic, cultural and even ethnic context, just to cite the most important ones. Finally, it must be highlighted that development must be understood as a continuous, global, very flexible process.<\/p>\n

Objetives
\nAfter reading and understanding the chapter, the student will be able to:
\nunderstand the concept of \u201cdevelopment\u201d
\nknow which factors and contexts can influence in development.
\nknow the theoretical models that explain development.<\/p>\n

People change with age in many ways and aspects. This chain of changes is known as development. At this point, it is advisable to explain several concepts that are similar but nonetheless different:
\nGrowth: It refers to quantitative changes related to the increase in body mass.
\nMaturing: It refers to morphological and behavior changes that are biologically determined.
\nLearning: It refers to changes in a person\u2019s behavior produced as a result of practice and acquisition of a technique.
\nDevelopment: It would be the highest concept, the one covering the previous ones. It refers to quantitative and qualitative behavior changes that integrate psychical and biological structures with skills an individual learns overtime.
\nCritical or sensitive periods occur during a person\u2019s development. These are moments where there is a special predisposition to learning certain things. Early attention is very important during childhood to palliate and remedy possible recoverable deficiencies. This is possible thanks to the child’s nervous system plasticity.<\/p>\n

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Factors that explain change<\/h2>\n

Three main factors explain psychological change.
\nThey are related in the following way:
\nA) Inheritance versus environment
\nB) Continuity versus discontinuity
\nC) Rules versus ideography
\nThere is not a definite agreement on the level of implication these factors have in development, nor which factor plays a bigger role on a subject’s development. However, it is true that each of them somehow influences human development.<\/p>\n

A) Inheritance versus environment
\nSince antiquity, there is controversy over what is the reason for change: inheritance or environment. To a certain point, this is a futile debate, since both play a role in change.
\nInnatists defended biology as a fundamental factor for change in individuals. Information found in the genetic code passes down from parents to children, and therefore inheritance plays a fundamental role. Inherited information exists since birth for them. This information \u201cstarts up\u201d as the \u201cmaturation calendar\u201d progresses, and this is the only reason for subjects to change.
\nOn the contrary, environmentalists thought just the opposite. The reason for change\u2014and therefore development\u2014is the environment\u2019s influence. The child evolves because of his\/her relationship with the vital context in which he\/she develops. Influences such as family, school, culture, friend, etc and each person\u2019s vital circumstances modify radically their own development.
\nB) Continuity versus discontinuity
\nAnother factor largely discussed through history is continuity vs. discontinuity.
\nChampions of continuous development consider development harmonic and stable. Therefore, change is quantitative. This model is mainly defended by environmentalists.
\nChange for those working from discontinuous perspectives is understood as something sudden, sometimes unpredictable. Changes take place in \u201cleaps.\u201d Changes are qualitative and often are significant. Proponents of this model usually are innatist authors.
\nC) Rules versus ideography
\nAuthors proposing change as a rule consider change universal. It happens within all children in the world, regardless of culture or environment. These changes are usually related to biologic development aspects, and therefore are inherited. Proponents of ideography believe that each “subject is a world\u201d of own experiences determined by his\/her environment. In this case, change is individual and encouraged by context, although there can also be internal influences from the individual.<\/p>\n

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Context of development<\/h2>\n

The context in which the subject develops influences his\/her own development. This is why different types of context may have an impact\u2014and this is actually the case\u2014on the way humans evolve. There are several kinds of contexts, but only four are the most significant ones: historic, cultural, socio-economic and ethnic contexts.<\/p>\n

References<\/h2>\n

BERGER, K.S. (2004) Chapter 2. Theories of Development. p. 35-56 from BERGER, K.S. (2004) Psicolog\u00eda del desarrollo: infancia y adolescencia. Madrid: M\u00e9dica-Panamericana<\/p>\n

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Chapter 2 \u2013 Motor development<\/h1>\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n

During first and second childhood most physical and psychomotor skills that we will have for life are developed. During these years, the body undergoes the biggest evolution of life. We owe the term \u201cmotor development” to Wernicke. By consensus, it is framed within the two first years of life.
\nEach of us has a different genetic charge. Inheritance is very important. However, the environment in which we grow and are educated is also different.<\/p>\n

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Objectives<\/h2>\n

Know the basics of infant development and warning signs in motor development.
\nKnow the physical and motor characteristics of a child between zero and three years.<\/p>\n

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Birth and first months<\/h2>\n

After childbirth, the infant needs to adapt to a new situation. This must be done fast.
\nThe child has gained independence from the mother, and all functions\u2014respiratory, circulatory, digestive and temperature regulation\u2014are performed independently from the mother.<\/p>\n

In 1953, Virginia Apgar created a test to measure the child’s degree of adaptation to the new situation. Ever since, this test is used everywhere around the world when an infant is born. This test is performed a minute after the child is born and repeated five minutes afterwards.<\/p>\n

Apgar test.
\nHow does the test work?
\nIt scores newborn\u2019s vitality. It is rated 1 and 5 minutes after birth, and sometimes, 10 minutes afterwards.
\nFive parameters are examined:
\nheart rate (determining heart beat frequency)
\nbreathing (difficulty when breathing)
\nmuscular tone (strength of movement)
\nreflexes (inducing the sneezing reflex)
\ncolor (rosy, bluish or pale).
\nThe maximum score is 10. When the score at one of the times is very low, some kind of medical intervention may be indicated.<\/p>\n

APGAR test criteria<\/p>\n

0 points
\n1 point
\n2 points
\nAcronym
\nSkin color
\nall blue
\nblue limbs
\nnormal
\nAppearance
\nHeart rate
\nNone
\n<100
\n>100
\nPulse
\nReflexes and irritability
\nno response to stimulus
\nMock \/ weak crying when stimulated
\nSneezing \/ coughing \/ kicking when stimulated
\nGesture
\nMuscular tone
\nnone
\nSome flexion
\nactive movement
\nActivity
\nBreathing
\nmissing
\nWeak or irregular
\nstrong
\nBreathing<\/p>\n

When a child is born, he\/she interacts with the environment mainly through unconditioned reflexes, which are:<\/p>\n

Reflexes of a newborn
\nThe following reflexes are normal in a newborn:
\nMoro reflex. This reflex occurs when the infant\u2019s head moves quickly or falls back, or when a strong noise scares the infant. The infant reacts by stretching out arms, legs and neck. Then he\/she quickly joins his\/her arms together. He\/she may cry when doing so. This reflex must disappear after two months.
\nSucking reflex. It is the reflex of looking for his\/her mother’s breast. When you touch the infant\u2019s cheek gently with your finger, the infant will turn his\/her head towards the finger. This reflex lasts three to four months.
\nGrasping reflex. The infant will grasp anything in the palm of his\/her hand and will close the fist. This reflex lasts five to six months.
\nWalking reflex. When you hold the infant underneath the arms and on a hard surface, he\/she will take little steps. This reflex normally lasts a couple of months.
\nDuring the first year of age, under regular development and natural stimulation conditions, essential movements will appear every three months during the breastfeeding phase. Only when a notorious delay in the apparition of movements is observed must specialists be consulted to pay specialized attention through directed stimulation programs.
\nThe emergence of essential movements on each stage of the child\u2019s life depends largely on the Maturation of the Nervous System, and the myelinization process. It also depends on the influence of life and education.
\nApgar, Virginia (1953). “A proposal for a new method of evaluation of the newborn infant”. Curr. Res. Anesth. Analg. 32 (4): 260\u201326<\/p>\n

Calendar of acquisition of some of the main postures
\nBehavior
\nDescription
\nAge
\nControl of the head
\nHolding the head straight in line with trunk
\n3-4 months
\nEye-hand coordination
\nCoordination between eye and hand to precisely grab objects
\n3-4 months
\nSitting position
\nWith support
\nWithout support
\n4-5 months
\n6-7 months
\nCrawling
\nMoving on hands and knees
\nAt around 8 months
\nStanding up
\nWith support
\nWithout support
\n9-10 months
\n12 months
\nWalk
\nWith support
\nWithout support
\n11-12 months
\n12-14 months<\/p>\n

Figure 1. Calendar of acquisition of main postures. \u00a9Josep A. P\u00e9rez Castell\u00f3UIB.<\/p>\n

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Motor development up to three years of age<\/h2>\n

THE CHILD BETWEEN zero AND one YEAR OF AGE
\nWhen a child is born, he\/she measures some 50 cm. and weights 3.5 kg. The regular, continuous development (development curve) starts now.
\nThe first four weeks are the neonatal period, the transition from intrauterine life to an independent living.
\nThe infant’s features at birth are distinctive: big head, big sleepy eyes, small nose, sunken chin (breastfeed) and fatty cheeks.
\nThe newborn\u2019s head is \u00bc of the body\u2019s length. Skull bones will not close completely until 18 months of age.
\nPhysical growth is faster during the first three years of life than during the rest of life.
\nThe first tooth appears between five and nine months of age. At one year of age, the infant has between six and eight teeth, and at two and a half years, he\/she has 20 teeth.
\nThe ability to move freely and accurately is progressive. The acquisition of motor skills progresses following a specific order.
\nThe ability to walk and accurately grasp with hands are the two most distinctive motor abilities for humans. Neither of them is present at birth.
\nDevelopment laws:
\nCephalo-Caudal Law: Body parts closer to the head, from top to bottom (arms before legs), are controlled first.
\nProximo-Distal Law: Body parts closer to the body axis are controlled first (arm, wrist, hand.)
\nProgression of posture control (according to these laws.)
\n3 months: control of the head
\n3 months: rolling over him\/herself.
\n3 \u00bd months: grasping big objects.
\n4 months: hand-eye coordination. No arm shacking or slaps.
\n6 months: sitting without support.
\n7 months: accurate grasping and groping.
\n8 months: crawling and dragging.
\n10 months: standing up and moving with support.
\n12\u221214 months: start to walk without support.<\/p>\n

THE CHILD BETWEEN ONE AND TWO YEARS OF AGE
\nDiscovering stairs. First, helped, then, gradually by his\/her own. 14 months: builds a two-cube tower.
\nPushing an infant-walker to walk.
\nPlaying ball with hands and feet.
\nDoodling and matching pieces, throwing and collecting.
\nTireless to play once and again.
\nStarting to eat by him\/herself.
\nAt two, he\/she grabs a cup by the handle and drinks on his\/her own.<\/p>\n

THE CHILD BETWEEN TWO AND THREE YEARS OF AGE
\nPedaling a tricycle.
\nGoing up the stairs with one foot at a time, and then going down.
\nDressing and undressing (simple clothes, no buttons or zippers.)
\nEating by his\/her own without (barely) getting dirty.
\nDrawing, doodling, drawing lines and circles.
\nControlling the sphincter (first during the day, then during the night.)<\/p>\n

WARNING SIGNS DURING THE PSYCHOMOTOR DEVELOPMENT
\nPsychomotor development of the child and its evaluation in primary
\nCare A. Iceta1, M.E. Yoldi2. ANALES Sis San Navarra 2002, Vol. 25, Suplemento 2
\n1 month of age
\n– Persistent irritability.
\n– Sucking disorder.
\n– Unable to fix his\/her eyes shortly.
\n– No reaction to noises.
\n2 months of age
\n– Irritability persists.
\n– Exaggerated startling at noises.
\n– Adduction to thumb.
\n– Lack of social smile.
\n3 months of age
\n– Moving his\/her hands asymmetrically.
\n– Unable to follow with his\/her eyes.
\n– Unable to hold his\/her head.
\n4 months of age
\n– Excessively passive attitude.
\n– Closed fists.
\n– Adductor hypertonia (angle under 90\u00ba.)
\n6 months of age
\n– Hypertonia in limbs and hypotonia in neck and trunk.
\n– Unable to roll over him\/herself.
\n– Moro reflex persists.
\n– Unable to sit down with support.
\n– Lack of voluntary grasping and groping.
\n9 months of age
\n– Lack of autonomous moving.
\n– Hypotonia in trunk.
\n– Unable to stay sit.
\n– Lack of grasping and groping to handle things
\n\\12 months of age
\n– Unable to stand up.
\n– Abnormal reflexes.
\n15 months of age
\n– Unable to walk on his\/her own.
\n– Lack of upper grasping and groping.
\n– He\/She does not throw objects.
\n– Constantly changing from one activity to the other.
\n18 months of age
\n– Unable to go up the stairs.
\n– He\/She does not doodle spontaneously.
\n– Unable to drink from a cup.
\n– Unable to build a two-cube tower.
\n24 months of age
\n– He\/She does not run.
\n– Unable to build three to six-cube towers
\n– Unable to participate in symbolic games.
\nWarning signs at any age
\n– Abnormal mobility, tone or posture.
\n– Involuntary movements (dystonic positioning of hands, hyperextension of head\u2026)
\n– Abnormal eye movement.
\n– Delay in acquiring maturation items.
\nNote. Those items referring to language development have been deleted from the list of signs of alarm. They have been included in chapter 4 of the present Module 8.<\/p>\n

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Playing<\/h2>\n

Playing is much more than simply having fun. Playing is an essential part of an infant\u2019s and child\u2019s life. Playing is a child\u2019s \u201cdaily work\u201d: It helps him to learn and grow. Parents are the child\u2019s first and prime educators.<\/p>\n

The importance of playing:
\nLearning about his\/her world.
\nLearning to do things.
\nSolving problems.
\nLearning about feelings.
\nGaining confidence.
\nBecoming stronger.
\nSocializing (sharing and taking turns to do things.)<\/p>\n

Game and age
\nPlay is all about learning – A guide to play for parents of children zero-2 \u00bd years
\nhttp:\/\/mhcs.health.nsw.gov.au<\/p>\n

0-9 months
\nTalking and singing to the infant. It helps him\/her to learn how to talk and understand words.
\nThe child learns by touching and feeling objects. You should give him\/her safe toys and objects: stuffed animals, rattles, spoons. When an infant produces noise with a rattle, he\/she is learning that he\/she can cause an effect.
\nLet the infant play on his\/her stomach for a while every day. This is how he\/she will learn to hold his\/her head. It will make him\/her stronger, and he\/she will be able to look around. Look for a safe place on the floor and put him on a blanket or carpet. Stay with the infant; do not let him\/her fall asleep on his\/her stomach.<\/p>\n

9-18 months
\nTell tales or read simple tale books. Alternatively, create a notebook with clippings. Point to pictures. Say what is happening in the pictures.
\nDoodle. Let the infant doodle on paper with non-toxic wax crayons.
\nSongs and rhymes.
\nWater toys: floating toys, filling and emptying containers.
\nPiling up cubes.
\nFill a box with different (safe) objects and fabric bits. Make sure to include different shapes and colors. Let the infant explore the content of the box. Say the names of the objects aloud.<\/p>\n

18 months to two \u00bd years
\nDressing up.
\nPainting with his\/her fingers.
\nCardboard boxes to build up towers or little houses to play.
\nWord games.
\nBalls to throw, bounce and kick.<\/p>\n

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References<\/h2>\n

APGAR, Virginia (1953). “A proposal for a new method of evaluation of the newborn infant”. Curr. Res. Anesth. Analg. 32 (4): 260\u2013267
\nBERGER, K.S. (2004) Chapter 2. Theories of Development. p. 35-56 from BERGER, K.S. (2004) Psicolog\u00eda del desarrollo: infancia y adolescencia. Madrid: M\u00e9dica-Panamericana.
\nSTASSEN BERGER, K i THOMPSON, R.A. (1997) Chapter 12. \u201cSchool Years: Biosocial Development.\u201d From STASSEN BERGER, K i THOMPSON, R.A.: Psicolog\u00eda del Desarrollo: Infancia y Adolescencia. Madrid: Editorial M\u00e9dica \u2013 Panamericana<\/p>\n

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Chapter 3 – Cognitive development<\/h1>\n

Presentation
\nA few days after being born, the infant already is an active explorer of his\/her environment. He\/She will start making sense out of it very soon. How does a child explore and organize such environment throughout childhood? We will try to answer this question in this chapter.<\/p>\n

Objectives
\nKnow the basics of cognitive development in a child from zero to three years.
\nKnow what cognitive processes a child uses to discover his\/her environment.<\/p>\n

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Senses<\/h2>\n

How does a newborn understand the world into which he\/she is born? Through information. In order to do so, two processes are needed: sensation and perception.<\/p>\n

Differences between Sensation and Perception
\nThere is a big difference between sensation and perception. According to Stassen and Thompson, sensation is produced when a sensor (sense) detects a specific stimulus. Whereas perception takes place when the brain tries to integrate these stimuli in such a way that the individual becomes aware of them.
\nLet us see the development of each sense individually from the first days:<\/p>\n

A) Sight is the least developed sense in an infant. However, the infant can see significantly better than we thought some years ago.<\/p>\n

Babies can focus at an approximate distance of 20 to 70 cm.
\nTheir sight at a distance is bad and blurry.
\nIt can be said that babies are programmed to see at a distance where mother-child exchanges take place.
\nAfter a year, an infant can focus on the same distances an adult can. Two reasons explain this improvement: The eye structures that enable a correct focus (lens and ciliary body) have improved, and the brain structures in charge of sight have matured.
\nBabies have no sense of depth during the first months. Binocular sight is not developed until the third month. This skill matures when the infant starts crawling.
\nBy 8-12 weeks they should start following with their eyes people or moving objects. At first, infants have to move their whole head to move their eyes, but by 2-4 months they should start moving their eyes independently with much less head movement.
\nColors are present since birth. At four or five months, they can tell apart most of the usual colors.
\nBabies prefer stimuli with a contrast rather than plain stimuli. They prefer to look at shiny, moving, noisy objects. It must be highlighted that the infant is not only looking for complexity. He\/She also enjoys observing all those things that can stimulate him\/her in ways different from the usual ones. It is important to add that you also prefer to look at new things.
\nBabies have a favorite: the human face. Babies can spend many minutes looking at their mother’s face while they are playing with her.
\nB) Hearing The quality of hearing is better than seeing. It can be said that babies\u2019 hearing is similar to that of adults, although it improves during development.
\nBabies show special interest in human voice. From the first weeks, they can recognize voices from their family, and tell them apart from other people’s voices. They can even tell whether those people are using their parents\u2019 language or a different one.<\/p>\n

Development of hearing
\n(M.P.Downs. Hearing in children. Salvat.BCN.1981)
\na) Phases of development in the location of sound
\n1. Left to Right Eye movement 12 weeks<\/p>\n

2. Left to Right Head movement 16 weeks<\/p>\n

Up to the 36th week, the infant keeps improving at locating the source of sound. After the initial eye movement comes the cervical tonic reflex by which movement of the head is developed. Head movement, as a response to sound stimuli, is performed at a straight angle from the ear or slightly downwards. Head movement will follow the sound stimulus if produced at shoulder’s height.
\nIn general, it can be said that 60% of children locate sound first on the right side, then on the left side.
\nIn all cases and phases, sound is located first downwards and then upwards.<\/p>\n

b) Hearing stages<\/p>\n

Age
\nReactions\u2014Behaviors
\n0 to 14 days
\n1. Infant startles at a sudden, loud noise.
\n2. Infant blinks at a sudden, loud noise.
\n3. Infant stops shouting when mother starts talking to him.
\n4. Infant moves when asleep if he\/she hears noise nearby.
\n5. Infant stops sucking noises when he\/she hears sound or mother speaks to him.
\n1 month
\n1. Infant changes his\/her behavior because of a loud noise.
\n2. Infant calms down when mother comforts him\/her.
\n3. First differences in the use of voice.
\n2 mo.
\n1. Infant listens to a little bell’s tone.
\n2. Infant looks for the source of familiar sound with his\/her eyes.
\n4-6 mo.
\n1. Infant locates a lateral, downwards source of sound (5m.)
\n2. Infant listens to a tuning fork’s tone.
\n3. Infant stops crying when he\/she listens to music.
\n7 to 9 mo.
\n1. Infant reacts to name.
\n2. Infant consciously locates sound laterally and upwards.
\n3. Infant observes adults talking.
\n4. Infant carefully listens to a clock’s tic-tac nearby (9 meters.)
\n3 semester. At 10 m.
\n1. Infant stops shouting when mother starts talking to him.
\n2. Infant seems aware of his\/her mother\u2019s voice.
\n3. Infant sleeps regardless of noise.
\n4. Infant wakes up when you touch his\/her bed.
\n10 mo. to one year
\n1. Infant understands \u201cNo\u201d prohibitions (10 m.)
\n2. Infant listens to a soft song at one meter and looks for it.
\n3. Vocal reaction when he\/she listens to music.
\n4. Infant reacts to name with low voice.
\n2.5 mo. to 6 mo.
\n1. Infant looks towards the speaker.
\n2. Infant is happy when there is music.
\n3. Infant stops moving when he\/she hears something interesting.
\n4. Infant knows his\/her name and smiles when called.
\n5. Infant makes searching movements as long as there is sound.
\n6. Infant hears the rattle when lying on his\/her stomach.
\n18 mo to 36 mo
\n1. Infant distinguishes between normal and angry speech.
\n2. Infant understands the meaning of \u201chere,\u201d \u201clook,\u201d \u201clisten.\u201d
\n3. Infant points at people and related actions (3 to 5.)
\n4. Infant understands “on top, underneath, inside, outside.\u201d<\/p>\n

C) The other senses
\nFeeling, tasting and smelling have not been studied as in-depth as seeing and hearing. Feeling is extremely developed in babies. But taste is not perfect in an infant, although it is known to work roughly. Smelling is slightly better than tasting, especially when the infant is used to a smell. Taste and smell improve during the first months and will continue to do so during the first year of life.<\/p>\n

Warning signs for hearing loss
\n(Adapted from S. Burdo.Varese CI Center)
\nFrom birth to three months of age:
\nNo reaction to loud noises.
\nLoud noises and voices do not wake him\/her up.
\nNo reaction to his\/her own voice.
\nHis\/Her own voice does not sooth him\/her.
\nNo smiling when you talk to him\/her.<\/p>\n

From three to six months of age:
\nNo turning of his\/her head or looking towards the source of sound.
\nNoisy toys do not attract him\/her.
\nNo emission of guttural sounds to call for attention.
\nA loud voice does not startle him\/her.<\/p>\n

From six to 12 months of age:
\nNo response to his\/her own name or to people\u2019s voices.
\nNo babbling, not even when alone.
\nNo playing with vocalizations or imitating the adult’s vocalizations.
\nUnable to locate daily sounds or familiar words.
\nNo understanding of a negation or farewell unless an indicative gesture is used.<\/p>\n

From 12 to 18 months of age:
\nUnable to follow simple instructions.
\nNo frequent use of words he\/she knows.
\nVocabulary under 10 to 15 words.
\nHe\/She does not say \u201cDad\u201d or \u201cMom.\u201d
\nNo pointing to familiar objects and people when mentioned.
\nNo naming of familiar objects.<\/p>\n

From 18 to 24 months of age:
\nNo understanding of simple questions and is unable to answer \u201cyes\u201d or \u201cno.\u201d
\nNo understanding of simple sentences.
\nNo pointing to images when asked.
\nNo paying attention to tales.
\nNo understanding of simple orders when no gestures are used.
\nUnable to identify his\/her name.
\nUnable to make two-word sentences.
\nUnable to identify the parts of the body.<\/p>\n

From 24 to 36 months of age:
\nHe\/She understands \u201cnot now\u201d and \u201cenough.\u201d
\nHe\/She chooses objects by their size \u201cbig,” \u201csmall.\u201d
\nHe\/She understands many verbs meaning action.
\nHis\/her words are unintelligible.
\nHe\/She does not repeat sentences.
\nHe\/She does not answer to simple questions.<\/p>\n

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Chapter 4 – Communication and language development<\/h1>\n

Presentation
\nLanguage acquisition and development are important milestones in human development. The most important milestones in language development for a child up to three years old will be identified in this chapter. We have an interest in studying in depth what encourages this development the most: the relationship between hearing and language and family-infant interactions.<\/p>\n

Objectives
\nKnow the basics of language development in a child between zero and three years old.
\nKnow the warning signs in communicative development<\/p>\n

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Preverbal language evolution<\/h2>\n

Acquiring and developing verbal language requires the child to have contact and relationships with people around him\/her. The child will learn language prerequisites through these contacts. Through history, several authors have written about these prerequisites, such as Schaeffer (1989), who talks about the way this relationship between children and close people develops through the first years of life.
\nFor Schaeffer, the mother’s role is essential. Schaeffer divides the appearance of prelinguistic language in different phases.<\/p>\n

a) From birth.
\nDuring this period, the goal of mother-child encounters is to regulate biological aspects essential for the infant\u2019s survival. During the first weeks, this translates in regulating eating, sleeping and activity processes.
\nIt is thanks to the social interaction between mother and child that the infant can regulate and stabilize these biological aspects. The mother somehow imposes some habits on to the infant: when to eat, when to sleep and so on. Although it is also true that the mother must in turn adapt to the infant\u2019s pace and states and learn to interpret them. Therefore, it is a phase of mutual adaptation.
\nThe first months are quite complicated for parents: they have to adapt their lifestyle entirely to the pace the infant needs. Contact during these routines is extremely important for both parents and caretakers, since they are the infant’s first socialization steps: you talk to the infant when you feed him, bathe him, rock him and so on. There are many opportunities to communicate present.
\nMany authors have researched innate perception mechanisms that enable the infant to be especially endowed for interaction with adults. Therefore, the mother looks to maintain such contacts with her children. It can be said that the same way an infant is predetermined to network with adults, mothers are especially endowed to network with their children.<\/p>\n

b) From two to five months
\nAccording to several authors, at around two months of age babies discover social mates. During the following months, they show special interest to interact with other people, namely parents, siblings or other people. In this way, infant-adult \u201cface-to-face\u201d relationships are established. Truly, these are the first relationships. The adult is the main character in these interactions. The adult is in charge of keeping the infant’s attention and inducing exchange.<\/p>\n

Exchanges take place on many occasions during the day, from feeding to bathing and playing. The infant\u2019s role is passive during the first exchanges, since he\/she depends completely on the adult\u2019s actions. The infant just looks, smiles, and vocalizes occasionally. Therefore, this kind of interaction takes place thanks to the adult\u2019s contribution.
\nFirst interactions follow clear rules, the adult\u2019s speech bears specific characteristics that some authors call infant-talk: slowness, intonation and many repetitions, in such a way that the infant can follow verbal and gestural evolutions by the adult.
\nThe direction of communication is not only verbal; it comprises tactile contacts as well. When the child does not respond, adults must readjust the dialogue so that the child intervenes. At the end of this period, face-to-face interactions are more symmetrical. The child participates much more and takes the communication initiative. Children become more independent, that is, they become an active participant. However, at five months, they still depend on adults.<\/p>\n

c) From five to eight months
\nAt around five months, children become interested in the world of objects. They enjoy exploring the world, and they do it through handling and looking.
\nAdults see how the child becomes interested in objects. During these months, the best way of interacting with the child is by helping him to interact with the world of objects. During this period, mother and child start sharing things from the real world: playing ball, playing with a stuffed animal, or big, soft objects, such as colored cubes. In this way, the physical world of objects shortly becomes an agent of social exchange. During this time, the child is still unable to focus adults\u2019 attention on an object. The child is normally interested in objects, but the adult must turn solitary exploration into social exploration.
\nIn such cases, adults mostly use the following resources: pointing, looking, and handling objects and referential language. At the beginning of this period, the adult handles objects directly to establish contact with the child. Then, he uses referential gestures (pointing) to refer to objects. After that, the adult labels such objects verbally. The adult uses these resources as he\/she observes the child\u2019s ability at communication and social interaction. Besides, adults frequently use several of these resources at the same time, since redundancy is very effective for children
\nthis age. This is how first interpersonal relationships are created. According to Vigotski, these are the first inter-psychological relationships, whereby an adult and a child share real physical contexts through social exchange. The adult is not just a model for the child to imitate. He is not a passive actor observing and reinforcing the child either. He is an active agent through the process. He adapts to and helps the child when needed.<\/p>\n

d) From eight to eighteen months
\nAn essential change in child\u2019s behavior takes place between eight and eighteen months of age. Child-adult interactions are more symmetrical. What Schaeffer (1989) calls \u201cthe concept of dialogue\u201d appears now. The child is now able to combine what he\/she has learnt during the two previous phases. This means the child can talk to an adult about things of the world. He\/She can do so more independently and initiating conversation him\/herself. This is the reason why it is said that dialogue has appeared.
\nFirst dialogues start along with the first signs of symbolic ability, at around eighteen months. For dialogue to be established, two things are needed. First, the child must understand that dialogue is a two-people activity, where speakers can exchange their roles (speaker versus recipient.) So the child knows he\/she is required to participate actively, same as the other person. In short, the child has to understand that it is a reciprocal activity. Second, the child must understand that communicating means having the intention to communicate. The child knows now that when he\/she is communicating he\/she is doing so for a reason.
\nObviously, such a recent skill is limited by the child\u2019s poor language at that age. It will not be until the next phase, with the appearance of the symbolic function, that the child can have real conversations.<\/p>\n

e) From eighteen months to three years
\nTo this point, all communication exchange on the child\u2019s side can be considered preverbal, since the child did not have yet sufficient linguistic ability to use verbal language. At eighteen months, symbolic function appears. This new acquisition enables the child to use verbal language.
\nThe ability to use language puts the child squarely in the so-called \u201cconversational period.\u201d This period is a step further towards symmetry. The child is still a long way from reaching full communication capacity. In fact, it could be said that communication skills defining good quality communication do not appear until approximately seven years of age. However, the base of communication skills is set at this point.
\nInteractions with other people become much less physical and more symbolic. This new verbal communication system does not plainly substitute non-verbal communication. Rather, they co-exist. In fact, adults continue to present non-verbal communication behaviors as well as verbal ones. The appearance of language, however, modifies the child\u2019s thinking.<\/p>\n

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Language up to three years of age<\/h2>\n

The first mother-child interactions mentioned above enable the apparition and evolution of the so-called preverbal language. As Stassen Berger and Thompson (1997) propose, children are equipped to learn language since birth. This is so due to an innate aptitude and their experience with the world of language and the others. The infant is exposed to language even during the last months of pregnancy. Shortly after birth, children can recognize their parent’s language and distinguish their language from a foreign one. This means the child has the skill to process some aspects of language at a very early stage. This also means that the child needs contact with others to start such skills. The speed at which a child learns to talk shows the efficacy of these skills.
\nLanguage evolution through the first years is impressive. Changes happen gradually through several phases. Obviously, the child learns to understand a language before learning how to talk. And he\/she does so perfectly during the first year.
\nA short summary of the main milestones achieved by a child during the first two years is presented below.<\/p>\n

a) From birth to two months of age
\nSince birth, children are predisposed to perceive speech. Thanks to this, they are able to differentiate sounds making words\u2014except for those children presenting congenital hearing losses. Children can tell apart syllables, intonation and so on. The ability to perceive speech at such an early age allows language to develop fast.
\nChildren can understand most phonemes in their language from a very early age. In spite of not comprehending the meaning behind sounds, children start producing them very soon. During the first two years, children just cry, shout, moan and sometimes laugh. However, these sounds are not characteristic of speech. They are only physiological productions. Still, they are the first sounds a child produces.<\/p>\n

b) From two to six months
\nFrom three to six months of age, new sounds appear. Old sounds must be strengthened and broadened: new shouts, murmuring, vocal sounds, etc. These sounds normally are true vocalizations mainly made up of vocals. These new sounds are the step previous to what is known as \u201cbabbling.\u201d During this period there seem to be no differences between productions from a normal hearing infant and an infant with a hearing loss.<\/p>\n

c) From six to ten months
\nFrom six to ten months, the infant starts babbling. Babbling are vocal and consonant sounds repeated in syllables (ma-ma-ma, pa- pa- pa, da- da- da.) The first babbles are called \u201creduplicated babbling,\u201d since the child just repeats the same syllable. This is an essential phase: as babbling progresses, parents are motivated by their first interactions with their infant. They imitate his\/her productions and give them a meaning. In short, a certain \u201cdialogue\u201d is produced.
\nIt seems children from all over the world share the same babbling. This means that\u2014at its initial stage\u2014babbling is universal, that is, children babble the same in any language. However, sounds produced are gradually limited to those of their own language. This phenomenon is obviously linked to hearing functionality. A child needs hearing feedback to correctly discriminate speech sounds. Hence, the great importance of neonatal hearing triage programs. They allow us to detect hearing loss during the first days of life, provide a diagnosis within the first three months and establish a treatment before the infant is 6 months old. Because of this, severe consequences induced by hearing loss in the process of acquiring and developing language are avoided. First gestures start appearing at this point as well. The first gesture is pointing. It appears at around seven or eight months of age. However, it is used involuntarily. Actually, what the child wants is to grab an object, but he\/she does not reach, so he\/she stretches out his\/her arms. Adults interpret the child is pointing out to something, but not yet. Therefore, this gesture has no meaning for the infant in the beginning, although it does have a meaning for the adult observing the child.<\/p>\n

d) From ten to twelve months
\nAt around one year old, the child starts understanding most of what adults say to him\/her. He\/She understands simple and short sentences. At the same time, children start producing sounds in simple intonations. They usually go along with simple gestures with some meaning.
\nReduplicated babbling undergoes some changes. Afterwards, the child can put different syllables together (pa-da-ba, pa-ta-ba, etc.) The new babbling is known as \u201ccanonical babbling.\u201d At this point children can use meaningful gestures. In fact, the child does it intentionally so that the adult will give him\/her an object he\/she cannot reach. What used to be an attempt at grasping an object now becomes a true gesture. He\/She uses some social gestures like \u201chello\u201d and \u201cgoodbye,\u201d puts his\/her face forward when asked for a kiss, and so on.<\/p>\n

e) From twelve to eighteen months
\nOnce the child is one year old, he\/she can say one or two words, although he\/she does not pronounce them perfectly. From now on, his\/her vocabulary increases gradually every month until it reaches 50 words. However, the child understands much more than he\/she can produce. Most of these words are people’s names or objects that are very familiar to him\/her. There are also some verbs. Although the child can pronounce some words, \u201ccanonical babbling\u201d still continues.<\/p>\n

f) From eighteen to twenty-one months
\nOnce the 50-word threshold is reached, a remarkable explosion in language learning takes place, specially from a vocabulary point of view. From now on, a child can learn 100 words a month. At six years of age, he\/she may master 8,000 to 10,000 words (bear in mind that this calculation is approximate.) Heibeck and Markman (1987) have named \u201cfast mapping stage” the process by which children learn vocabulary so fast. Children learn nouns easier than verbs, and verbs easier than adjectives, conjunctions, adverbs or other particles. This phase is also known as \u201cholosentence,\u201d since children often use one word as a sentence. This phase may be delayed in children with hearing losses. They may need more time to acquire \u201cbasic vocabulary\u201d to create the first ones with two words.<\/p>\n

g) From twenty months to three years
\nFrom 21 months to three years of age children leave the \u201cholophrase\u201d or word-sentence stage and start using two-word sentences. For example, \u201cgive bread,\u201d \u201cMom, water,\u201d and so on. This kind of sentences is very simple, and almost always made up of very familiar words for the child. During this phase, vocabulary continues to expand.<\/p>\n

Benchmarks for Deaf or Hard of Hearing Children with Early Amplification
\nby Betsy Moog Brooks, M.S. Coordinator of the Family School Program
\nat the Moog Center for Deaf Education. Adapted to the HICEN Project<\/p>\n

EARLY AMPLIFICATION: WHAT TO EXPECT
\nChildren who have received a cochlear implant under 2 years of age have been able to develop speech and language skills sufficient to be successfully mainstreamed by the age of 7. The benchmarks listed below are a guide to that achievement. Children who are implanted at one year old may be expected to reach the same benchmarks, except at 4-6 months post-activation (18 months old), they may produce fewer words. Hearing aid users are expected to perform equally as well.<\/p>\n

Almost Immediately after Activation
\n* Demonstrates detection of sounds across all frequencies
\n* Demonstrates detection of the Ling 6 sounds: ee (feet), -o- (hot), oo (shoe), s, sh, m
\n* Demonstrates detection of a variety of environmental sounds<\/p>\n

0-4 Months Post Activation
\n* This seems to be a “listening” time. Since the children are very young, it is difficult to assess what they are truly understanding.<\/p>\n

4-6 Months Post Activation
\n* Identifies known words, in closed sets in lessons. These words include nouns, verbs
\n* Can name most of the items or actions they understand
\n* Uses some single words to express their wants and needs<\/p>\n

1 Year Post Activation
\n* Identifies 75 to 100 words, consisting of nouns, verbs, some early developing adjectives and early developing prepositions, when pictures or objects representing those words.
\n* Develops understanding of some early developing two-word combinations (noun-noun, noun-verb, verb-noun)
\n* Produces some early developing two-word combinations
\n* Produces some early developing two-word combinations in a lesson setting
\n* Uses single words and some common phrases and expressions.<\/p>\n

15 Months to 18 Months Post Activation:
\n* A language explosion seems to occur
\n* Learns vocabulary outside of the classroom or therapy environment
\n* Uses a variety of two-word combinations spontaneously<\/p>\n

2 Years Post Activation
\n* Uses so many words that you do not count them
\n* Comprehends of a variety of simple sentences and questions
\n* Uses of simple sentences of 4-6 words when speaking spontaneously<\/p>\n

Factors which may affect the child’s potential to reach such high goals:
\n* Normal intelligence
\n* Be a consistent wearer of her implant
\n* No concerns in relation to speech or oral motor skills
\n* Appropriate amplification, specifically well-fitted hearing aids and\/or an appropriate MAP if a cochlear implant user<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.hearingexchange.com\/parents-resources<\/p>\n

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References<\/h2>\n

M.P.Downs. Hearing in children. Salvat.BCN.1981
\nwww.hearingexchange.com\/parents-resources
\nOWENS, J. (2003) Language Development. Madrid: Prentice Hall. Chap. 2. \u201cModels of Language Development.<\/p>\n

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Chapter 5 – Development of emotional aspects and personality<\/h1>\n

Presentation
\nA person\u2019s socio-affective life starts much sooner than we thought some years ago. During the first month of life, an infant can express emotions. He\/she can be aware of others even during the last trimester of pregnancy. Relationships with parents are especially significant in this sense.<\/p>\n

Objectives
\n1. Knowing how a child\u2019s socio-affective interaction develops through the first years of life.
\n2. Knowing the role personality plays in the evolution of socio-affective aspects.<\/p>\n

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Development of emotions<\/h2>\n

Attachment is a very special relationship between infants and close persons. Creating it is one of the main development points during the first two years.
\nThe relationship between the infant and the others is very important at this point. The relationship with him\/herself is also very important. The infant must discover him\/herself. He\/She does so through others. However, some sort of self-discovering also plays an important role. Self-discovery is very relevant between two and six years of age. A child that age has other types of relationships with others as well. His\/Her relationships increase, especially once schooling starts. Family relationships change dramatically now. The role of parents is essential at this point.<\/p>\n

Social and affective implications due to lack of communication because of hearing loss must also be taken into account. Isolation and difficulties a deaf child faces in his\/her linguistic and cognitive development may have a negative influence in the process of social integration and relationships as well as on the person’s affective development. A deaf person\u2019s social interaction will be affected by this. This includes school, since it is part of the teaching-learning process that takes place thanks to the joint action of several people.
\nStill, consequences depend mostly on the ability to communicate with family and at school. It must be taken into account that social exchanges and interpersonal relationships must be mostly based on linguistic exchanges. Besides, there are other factors, such as overprotecting families, integrated or non-integrated schooling, early acquisition of a language for communication (including sign language), experiences in contexts structured around oral language or education strategies parent use in relation with impulsiveness-self-control and dependence-independence.<\/p>\n

All these difficulties at communication interaction and incorporation of social rules are going to generate a series of education needs in a deaf student. Some examples are the need to have more information on rules and social values, assert his\/her identity and self-esteem, acquire and share a communication system that will allow him\/her to structure his\/her thinking, regulate his\/her behavior and interact with the environment.<\/p>\n

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Contact with others<\/h2>\n

An important aspect of sound is its capacity to induce and transmit emotions.
\nA child learns to distinguish affection, tenderness, stimulus or anger by perceiving, telling apart differences in intonation, volume, pace, and other. Simple imitation of these sounds will allow him\/her to be initiated into communication.<\/p>\n

An infant soothes to his\/her mother’s voice and a month-old infant, even a toddler over
\na year old feels safer in his\/her mother’s voice-span. Sound
\nplays an important role during the individualization-separation process that takes place between
\neight and 16 months of age.
\nLack of hearing can isolate the child and hamper communication and comprehension of his\/her affective and emotional world. It also hampers sound imitation and spontaneous learning of oral language. A deaf child will not understand correctly oral explanations
\nabout other people\u2019s emotions and feelings. If the child is not given information in advance, is not explained why things happen, he\/she will end up misunderstanding other people\u2019s intentions, the origin of events, the nuances that go along different concepts, the complexity of things, and so on. It is therefore normal for a hearing-impaired child to feel insecure, inflexible, egocentric, susceptible, not in control of him\/herself and impulsive.<\/p>\n

Adult-deaf child communication interactions usually are
\nmore controlling and rule-oriented than those between adults and normal hearing children.
\nNormal-hearing adults usually do not explain enough the reason behind rules or
\nactions or facts happening in the future. As a consequence,
\na deaf child will not know or understand rules correctly. His\/her behavior, at times,
\nwill not be adequate (Alonso and others, 1991.)<\/p>\n

In general, parents have the initiative to command and limit the child\u2019s field of action. The child is often given few options to respond with. Children are usually addressed closed questions with two options: Do you want this or that? Such limits make it hard for the child to understand time sequences, get away from specific concepts, think about possibilities and plan for events. (Clemente and Valmaseda, 1985).<\/p>\n

Difficulty at explaining things may even influence parents’ permissiveness. Deaf children are allowed more whims and we are less hard
\non them on areas such as going to bed routines, hygiene and so on. An early communication code encourages a higher level of information, an internal control of him\/her own behavior and a correct external control through adequate interactions. Parents and educators must exert external control adequately and must teach children how to raise the bar and accept small frustrations.<\/p>\n

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References<\/h2>\n

MORENO, C., i CUBERO, R. (1991). Relaciones sociales: familia, escuela, compa\u00f1eros. A\u00f1os preescolares. A: J. Palacios, A. Marchesi, i C.Coll Eds. Desarrollo psicol\u00f3gico y educaci\u00f3n, I. Madrid: Alianza Psicolog\u00eda.
\nPALACIOS, J., i HIDALGO, V. (1991). Desarrollo de la personalidad en los a\u00f1os preescolares. A: J. Palacios, A. Marchesi, i C.Coll Eds. Desarrollo psicol\u00f3gico y educaci\u00f3n, I. Madrid: Alianza Psicolog\u00eda.
\nSHAFFER, D.R. (2002). Social and Personality Development. Madrid: Thomson
\nLuterman, D., Counseling Persons with Communication Disorders and Their Families, Pro-Ed, 2001.
\nMeadow, K., \u00abBurnout in Professionals Working with Deaf Children\u00bb en American Annals of the Deaf, n\u00ba 126(pp. 13-19), 1982.<\/p>\n

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Chapter 6 – Development of musical perception
\n(by Damian Llopis)<\/h1>\n

” WITHOUT MUSIC, LIFE WOULD BE A MISTAKE\u201d
\nFriedrich Nietzsche.<\/p>\n

Music is defined as the artful sound of human voice, instruments, or both, taking into account melody, harmony and rhythm. Music, like language, is a form of communication based on acoustics. It follows certain rules to combine a limited number of sounds in an infinite number of forms. For both skills there is a genetic predisposition that enables subjects to acquire language and recognize musical variations from a very early age. During the first year of life, a baby exposed to sounds develops musical and verbal or linguistic perception abilities.<\/p>\n

In music, as well as in language, common discrimination factors serve as starting point. Among these factors you may find tone and intensity. Children in the pre-lingual phase have a musical perception ability similar to that of older children. From 6 months of age onwards you can assess the ability to detect changes in melodies. This musical perception has an influence on personal relationship aspects. All mothers sing melodies to their babies, even though they cannot understand what is being said and, generally, a special, simple and acute, slow and emotionally expressive tone is used. It is common to all cultures.<\/p>\n

Such behavior on the side of the mothers generates a decrease in motor activity and long periods of focused attention in children. Music, just like language, has been studied by neuroscientists, musicians and therapists. Both types of sound stimuli share sensory aferences that transfer information to the cerebral cortex.<\/p>\n

Language is made up of phoneme, morpheme, words and sentences. Music is made up of tone, timbre, rhythm and melody. Together, they produce musical perception. Besides, music and language relate to image creation (memories and memory), motor activity and affectivity.<\/p>\n

Analyzing central processing of language has advanced greatly, whereas music analysis is more complex, since you need to isolate its various characteristics. Results from experimental studies related to musical processing are affected by the subject’s musical experience (musicians, non musicians or amateurs) and by the way elements of musical stimuli are presented. While one may be competent without training language-wise as far as comprehension and verbal expression go, and musical perception ability and melody recognition may be acquired spontaneously, playing an instrument must be learnt. In order to fulfill with the requirements of a harmonious production, there must be training.<\/p>\n

Music plays a very important role in the learning process of a child in nursery school. It is essential that from the very first contact with music, a child feels and perceives that he\/she is producing it. A child must be appealed by music so that he\/she learns to listen to it, to know it and respect it. Musical activities are very beneficial: Listening ability as well as concentration increase, imagination is developed, creativity is encouraged, and so on.<\/p>\n

\uf0fe WHAT TO EXPECT FROM MUSIC IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT<\/p>\n

IMPROVE ABSTRACTING ABILITIES.<\/p>\n

PSYCHOMOTOR RESPONSE.<\/p>\n

MEDIUM AND IMMEDIATE MEMORY.<\/p>\n

ORAL EXPRESSION OF COMPLEX FEELINGS AND CONCEPTS.<\/p>\n

CLEAR TREND TOWARDS SOCIAL INTEGRATION.<\/p>\n

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Musical transmission in the mother-baby relationship<\/h2>\n

Experimental psychology findings bring us interesting data on the benefits of rocking a baby and the efficiency of carrying the baby in their arms to sooth him\/her. Korner (1965, 1970) considers vestibular stimuli produced by a change in position to have a soothing effect on the baby, even more so than mere skin contact. The very same stimuli, when brief and predominantly vertical, activate the baby’s visual sweep and attention capacity. Clark (1977) showed that vestibular stimuli have a positive effect on the child\u2019s motor development.<\/p>\n

Several authors indicate how important rhythm is in mother-baby interactions. Their work shows how repetitions through time as well as a regular mother-baby interaction schedule favor cognitive acquisition in the baby. Through what is known (rhythm), the mother prepares the baby to accept the unknown (changes in stimuli).<\/p>\n

Other authors showed the effect rhyme and repetition provoked on the psyche. The pleasure given by rhymes in songs compensates for the detachment and separation feeling brought by sleep.<\/p>\n

It is known that the mother-baby relationship is determined by an early diagnosis of hearing loss. Therefore, it is essential that early attention programs reinforce the importance of maintaining these behaviors to establish the first contact with music, in the form of rhymes, songs and lullabies that are so beneficial for babies.<\/p>\n

Distressed mothers express that they must remove the baby\u2019s hearing aid or cochlear implant to sleep. Because of this, the baby can no longer listen to them, so \u201cwhat is the point of singing to a deaf baby\u201d. First, it is not a must to remove the baby\u2019s hearing aid or CI when he\/she is falling asleep. Even if you do remove them, the baby benefits from the mother\u00b4s facial expression, the tenderness of the moment and vestibular stimuli from rocking and so on.<\/p>\n

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Psychology of musical development<\/h2>\n

Several authors have proved and described different evolution phases to acquiring different musical parameters. They have proposed development steps for musical skills depending on a child\u2019s response to different perception and creative and leisure production situations of sounds considered music.<\/p>\n

Development milestones in musical ability from 0 to 6 years of age Shuter-Dyson and Gabriel (1981)<\/p>\n

Ages
\n0-1
\nReacts to sounds.
\n1-2
\nMakes music spontaneously.
\n2-3
\nStarts reproducing sentences of songs heard before.
\n3-4
\nConceives a melody’s general plan. He\/She could develop a comprehensive ear should he\/she learn how to play an instrument.
\n4-5
\nCan discriminate pitch registers, can reproduce, through imitation, simple rhythms.
\n5-6
\nUnderstands loud\/low, can tell apart \u201csame\u201d and \u201cdifferent\u201d when talking about melody outlines or simple rhythms.<\/p>\n

Characteristics of evolution and musical development in a child (0-3 years old)<\/p>\n

8 months
\nThe baby responds to music and to any other acoustic stimulus by changing positions and his\/her regular resting position.
\n18 months
\nThe baby reacts to music rhythmically with his\/her entire body.
\nHums or spontaneously sings syllables.
\nImitates songs he\/she listens to, humming out of tune.
\n2 years
\nHe\/She mostly sings, uses percussion and moves.
\nDiscovery of rhythm (generally, the brain \u201cdiscovers\u201d the body; walking, dancing, sense of physical rhythm).
\nInterest in instruments. Encouraged to sing.
\n2 and a half years
\nTells music and noise apart.
\nHe\/She is familiar with songs and easy lyrics.<\/p>\n

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Music and Cochlear Implant<\/h2>\n

(from Music and Cochlear Implants. Professional series Cochlear Ltd.2008)<\/p>\n

Up-to-date, little research has been undertaken on musical perception abilities of children with CI. Tara Vongpaisal, PhD student at the University of Toronto in Canada, has carried out a study series on music. The population was 10 implanted children and a control group of 10 children with regular hearing levels. The study consisted of recognizing some pop songs under three different forms: The original recording, the recording without the lyrics (karaoke style) and the melody on the piano. Children with regular hearing and children with CI obtained similar results when listening to the original version. However, without the lyrics, children with CI performed less well. Their performance decreased even more when they were asked to identify the melody on the piano, whereas children with regular hearing maintained a good performance.<\/p>\n

In a second study, the children’s ability to differentiate the tone of some sequential sounds was measured. In a monotonous sequence, children with CI can differentiate a change in tone between one and two semi-tones. Their performance was worse than that of the children in the control group when they were given tones sequentially different and were asked to determine whether two sequences were the same or not. In this context, children with CI had trouble detecting changes of one semi-tone.<\/p>\n

Another study consisted of repeating the lyrics of familiar melodies with or without musical accompaniment. Children with CI repeat 19% of words correctly, as opposed to 90% of children with regular hearing in the control group.<\/p>\n

The last study assessed whether children with congenital hearing loss and a CI could reproduce information on tone and time from songs. 12 Japanese children with CI and 6 with regular hearing are included. Children with CI sang the rhythm of the songs in a similar way to children with regular hearing. However, their tone spectrum is reduced and tone patterns had no relation with the requested songs.<\/p>\n

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References<\/h2>\n

1. http:\/\/www.phys.unsw.edu.au\/jw\/Cochlear.html
\n2. Music perception with cochlear implants: a review.McDermott HJ.Trends Amplif. 2004;8(2):49-82.
\n3. Music and Cochlear Implants. Professional series Cochlear Ltd.2008.pdf free to download. www.cochlear.com<\/p>\n

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Milestones in Child Development Eulalia Juan Pastor summarizes how the development of a child aged between 0 \u2013 3 years is proceeding in general, which differences in time and scale of development are \u201cnormal\u201d and how observation of behaviour can help to assess the progress of the child. Introduction During this phase, the child will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-40","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P6a3tE-E","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/earbook.online\/hicen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/40","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/earbook.online\/hicen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/earbook.online\/hicen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earbook.online\/hicen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earbook.online\/hicen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/earbook.online\/hicen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/40\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":315,"href":"https:\/\/earbook.online\/hicen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/40\/revisions\/315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/earbook.online\/hicen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}