PRISM DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES

Tyler Eldridge
College of Southern Nevada
Theresa Wyckoff
February 28, 2016

PRISM DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES

Developmental Milestones Based on the

PRISM Five Stages of Development
For the purpose of this observation, I watched and evaluated my cousin Caleb for a
period of about 2-3 weeks. Being that I live with him and have spent much of my life around
him, I have had extensive time to watch him and learn about him. He is a 13 year-old male and
mixed-race person who may be identified as black. His birth mother was, sadly, a drug addict
and was the third of six children of whom the first three were adopted. My grandmother and her
partner (who I refer to as my aunt) were the adopters. With Caleb, she gave birth under the
influence of drugs and it is presumed she was a regular user throughout her pregnancy. Both he
and one of his sisters are black and have been raised by a white grandmother in a white family.
His only language is English.
Caleb has always been, in my eyes, a bit of a trouble-child raised in an unhealthy
environment by two sickly women incapable of providing proper parenting and support. When
he was only two, my Aunt was diagnosed with cancer, causing a lot of time and energy to go
towards treatment. He and his sisters were often left to do as they pleased. The reality was that
my grandmother and aunt did not have the energy to keep up with three children, all of which
have been shown to have mental problems to various degrees. An unhealthy environment was
only made worse when my Aunt died three years ago. His oldest sister had a mental breakdown,
the other sister became distant and involved with drugs and alcohol, and he became negligent
with his schooling. Fast forward to today and Caleb currently lives with my family in the hopes
that he can improve. Despite this, I fear his development, according to the PRISM
Developmental Milestones and the research of prominent psychologists, is inadequate and time
is running out to change this.

PRISM DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES

Five Areas of Development: Prism

Physical Development
Typical Development Characteristics; Physical. Children within the 12-15 age range,
as according to the PRISM milestones, exhibit a fast paced time of physical development.
Height, weight, and strength increase significantly, with the onset of adolescence. Girls differ
from boys in that they are, reaching sexual maturity while boys are, beginning to mature
physically and sexually. Acne is known to begin at this stage, children become more concerned
with appearance, and the risk of, Acting on sexual behaviors becomes more serious (DSHS
Fosterparentscope Class, n.d.).
Physical Analysis. His physical development seems to be rather normal. He has
experienced an increase in height comparable with his peers, weight gain is noticeable but
maintains his slender frame, and has (bluntly) stated the growth of body hair. Any acne
development seems to have bypassed his development. Concern about appearance is abundant
based on his tastes in popular clothing stores, soaps, and cologne. Sexual development is another
area where he matches with his peers (DSHS Fosterparentscope Class). Unfortunately, he has
admitted to regularly viewing pornography and has done so for at least two years. I fear that this
combined with his lack of social and cognitive development may be a recipe for future unhealthy
relationships with girls. Two other issues cause me concern as well. An ongoing stomach
problem linked to bad lining could hurt his ability to properly take in food and grow. Another
serious concern amongst my family is that he may be consuming marijuana. A young mind like
his could easily become overwhelmed by the drug and further hurt his chances at a normal life.

PRISM DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES

Psychologist Physical Theories. For Calebs age, Snowman and McCown place him in
the middle school age range of 11-13. From this point on, they describe children as adolescents
and are distinguished by their growth spurts which may result in odd appearances. Puberty
begins in this stage and can even begin before this stage as early as 9. They recognize that earlymaturing boys have more positive self-concepts as compared to late-maturing boys (Snowman
and McCown, 2013).
Theories Relevancy to Caleb. Caleb is definitely going in to the appropriate stage of
physical development as laid out by Snowman. He has experienced a growth spurt but with his
slender frame still intact. Some of his extremities seem to be larger than the rest of his body
which, according to Snowman, is typical. Sadly, his self-concept is a mixed bag. He seems to
lack a drive or understanding of how poor life choices will hurt him but seems to be happy with
his interactions with his peers.
Theories Related to the Observation. During my observations, I became more aware of
his marijuana use and pornography consumption. Adolescents at this point are beginning a
transformation within themselves and strong external influences like drugs and pornography can
hamper the development of Caleb, who apparently has a mixed self-concept. In my personal
opinion, marijuana use and pornography can be consumed by responsible adults who have a
positive self-concept and are fully developed both mentally and physically. Caleb shows no signs
of this being the case for himself.
Maslows Hierarchy of Needs; Physiological. Calebs physiological needs may be a
concern. His basic needs of food, water, shelter, etc. are all being met but his stomach problems
concern me. They have often been bad enough where he has skipped school due to the pain he
claims he has (For the purpose of this, I will assume the pains are bad and not related to his poor

PRISM DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES

school habits). Stomach pains can work in two ways. First, the physical pain will become
debilitating and prevent productivity. Second, a stomach that hurts may cause a loss of appetite
and a resulting hunger that results in loss of energy and focus. These two problems prevent
achievement of higher levels of Maslows hierarchy (Snowman and McCown, 2013).
Future Physical Development. According to Snowman, going in to the high school
years is characterized by a sudden change in height and weight and the emergence of a highly
aroused sex drive (Snowman and McCown, 2013). Calebs body is developing normally as far as
I can see, but if stomach pains are limiting his ability to function they should be promptly
attended to and resolved by a professional. Sexually, Snowman stated when citing rates of
adolescent sexual intercourse rates, These findings illustrate the pressing need for sex education
during the high school years (Snowman and McCown, 2013, Pg. 65). For Caleb, who I have
observed to have poor judgement, sex education in a formal classroom setting and at home is
important in the hopes that some of the lessons will be heeded.
Intellectual Development
Typical Development Characteristics; Intellectual. Children continue to develop
intellectually and are known to, Thrive on arguments and discussions. Intellectual capabilities
further developed also include memorization, logical concept analysis, self-reflection, and future
planning. More frequent reading may be found along with a greater sense of needing to belong in
the world (DSHS Fosterparentscope Class).
Intellectual Analysis. Unlike his physical development, his intellectual development
seems to be severely hampered. Caleb seems to completely avoid any in-depth argument or
debate, contrary to the Developmental Milestones. When one attempts to engage him, he tries to
change topics or find something else to do despite efforts to keep him focused. Thinking on his

PRISM DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES

part does not seem to extend past the moment. This leads me to the conclusion that his
perspective on the future is nonexistent alongside a diminished ability to think inwards.
Furthermore, this failure to think of the future shows up in his lack of interest in school. He
regularly receives low grades with Fs being common. The only flicker of hope is that he does
take interest in a handful of history topics and is also known to tinker with his bikes, skateboards,
and other projects.
Psychologist Intelligence Theories: Piaget. Intellectual development has been widely
studied with four particular psychologists giving input: Piaget, Vygotsky, Sternberg, and Gardner.
The basic idea that Piaget laid out is that humans tend to organize incoming information into
patterns or systems, aka schemes. Learning involves adaptation which is done either through
fitting new experiences in to existing schemes (assimilation) or changing a scheme to fit the
experience (accommodation). When a new experience is encountered, individuals enter a state of
disequilibrium and will seek to reconcile the discrepancy so that they may return to a state of
equilibrium. He described his four Stages of Cognitive Development with those being:
sensorimotor (0-2), Preoperational (2-7), Concrete Operational (7-11), and Formal Operation
(11+) (Snowman and McCown, 2013, Pg. 25). In a simple description, they describe how
children think as they develop.
Psychologist Intelligence Theories: Vygotsky. Vygotsky was a Russian psychologist
who followed Piaget and developed an opposing viewpoint on what drives child development:
The Sociocultural Theory. This theory stated that children are most driven by cultural forces
instead of internal mechanisms. He also included what he called psychological tools which are
described as the cognitive devices and procedures that we use to communicate and explore our
environments. Tying in to the Sociocultural Theory, Vygotsky distinguished between

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spontaneous concepts (which are learned through play and interaction with people) and
scientific concepts (which are learned through systematic instruction). The zone of proximal
development (ZPD) was another metric to determine what a child could learn with help, which
is usually above their age. Scaffolding is the process that uses ZPD to help build a childs
cognitive capabilities (Snowman and McCown, 2013).
Psychologist Intelligence Theories: Sternberg and Gardner. Sternberg and Gardner
built upon previous information by incorporating the idea that there are multiple types of
intelligence. Sternberg was first with his Triarchic Theory of Intelligences. His theory
described 1) Practical, 2) Creative, 3) and Analytical intelligences. He broadened the meaning of
intelligence by describing it as the ability to achieve personal goals by either changing others
values or seeking out those whose values are more relatable. Gardner went even further with the
Theory of Multiple Intelligences which includes eight intelligences: logical-mathematical,
linguistic, musical, spatial, bodily, kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist. The
key disclaimer with his multiple intelligences is that a strength in one intelligence does not mean
every task associated with it will be perfected by a person (Snowman and McCown, 2013, Pg.
78).
Theories Relevancy to Caleb. According to Piaget, Caleb is in the Formal Occupation
Stage. (Snowman and McCown, 2013) Some of his behavior may suggest he hasnt fully entered
this stage, but using Gardners multiple intelligences may shed more light. He shows some
spatial intelligence but obviously his interpersonal intelligence, and quite possibly his
intrapersonal intelligence, are causing him to look underdeveloped. When delving more in to
Calebs cognitive development, Sternberg may offer a better baseline metric: is Caleb achieving
his goals? Based on this simple question, I can say largely no with school. He is showing little

PRISM DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES

progress and lacks any sort of concern for it. But when you see him pursue tasks in video games
or work on his bike, a focus and drive emerges that allows him to achieve goals. The conclusion
that I can lead on involves Vygotskys idea that cognitive development is mostly driven by
cultural (in this case, family) influences. His mothers always made sure he had time to play but
failed to develop his other psychological tools to help him excel in areas that his intelligence may
have lacked.
Theories Related to the Observation. During my observation, I got an opportunity to
look hard at how my cousin thinks. I mentioned previously Calebs ability to focus on tasks in
video games and with tinkering. I am always stunned when I see how underdeveloped Caleb
appears intellectually in school but then see him excel with tasks related to his spatial
intelligence. For example, during my time observing him, he was working on his bike. Unlike
with his school work, he look focused and interested and kept a calm demeanor when
confronting tasks. He was replacing a chain on his bike and quickly knew exactly what tools he
needed, how to get the chain off with little fuss, and then get the chain right back on. My family
has consistently noted Calebs ability to work with his hands but it seems a lack of development
in other areas is holding him back. In this case, he is achieving goals like Sternberg described,
showing strength in an intelligence outlined by Gardner, and showing the ability to think
abstractly in the Formal Operational Stage. Vygotsky would even note that at least in one area,
Caleb is using his psychological tools to manipulate his environment.
Maslows Hierarchy of Needs; Self-actualization. Self-actualization is the top tier of
Maslows Hierarchy, and deals with the personal fulfillment of achieving goals. Unlike the four
deficiency needs, self-actualization is defined as a growth need and is not fulfilled because it is
lacking but because someone wants to achieve it (Snowman and McCown, 2013). During my

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time observing Caleb with his bike, I saw someone actively pursuing a goal. This would suggest
that to some extent his four deficiency needs are being met. For me, I feel I am not qualified to
speak too extensively on this topic because the possible presence of mental disorders could throw
conventional growth out the window.
Future Development; Intellectual. According to the Child Development Guide, the next
stage for Caleb will be the 16-19 years-old stage. This stage is focused on helping kids
understand the importance of preparing for the future (DSHS Fosterparentscope Class). Calebs
future at this point in time is bleak, but with a stronger home environment combined with
supporting teachers, Caleb may be able to improve his school performance and eventually take
control of his future. Beyond that, Piaget laid out that Calebs current stage of development is the
life-long formal operational stage (Snowman and McCown, 2013). In using Gardners Multiple
Intelligences theory, I have concluded that Caleb has begun to use higher levels of thought
related with formal operational thinking. What I would suggest is that Caleb be encouraged to
further develop his spatial intelligence through what he is already doing. However, other
intelligences must be addressed with getting Caleb to school and keeping him there, while
encouraging learning outside of class as well. With his severe social limitations, it may be wise
to seek counseling to improve his interpersonal skills (Snowman and McCown, 2013).
Social Development
Typical Development Characteristics; Social. Social development at this stage may
reflect the typical teenager idea in someones head. Children begin to withdraw from their
parents and may rebel. Boys at this point, resist any show of affection and both genders
typically interact with family less, including siblings. Friendships, contrary to earlier stages, are,

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less intense and girls begin to show interest in the opposite sex (DSHS Fosterparentscope
Class).
Social Analysis. His poor intellectual development seems to tie into his poor social
development. Social interactions that he chooses to engage in boil down to immature and nonserious. With peers, engagement is open but when forced to respond to authority figures, he
clams up and refuses to speak. Contrary to his interactions with other authority figures, his
behavior with my grandmother is borderline abusive. However, his temperament is generally
good and he rarely experiences any poor moods beyond normal frustration. His open nature with
peers seems to extend to girls but as stated before, his regular consumption of pornography is
cause for concern.
Psychologist Social Theories: Erikson. Erikson laid out his idea of a crisis when
developing his theories. A crisis is when one feels compelled to conform to societys
expectations but not sure they are ready to do so. Positive and negative crisis will be encountered
and are a part of healthy development; too many negative influences can hamper development
however. At stages defined by Erikson, different crisis will be encountered with different
characteristics emerging in children. Those stages are: Trust v. Mistrust (0-1), Autonomy v.
Shame/Doubt (2-3), Initiative v. Guilt (4-5), Industry v. Inferiority (6-11), and Identity v. Role
Confusion (12-18). Erikson also emphasized three factors for our sense of self: be comfortable
with your physical self, know what you want to do with your life, and know that you will always
be encouraged and reinforced by those important to you (Snowman and McCown, 2013).
Psychologist Social Theories: Marcia. Marcia expanded on Eriksons research with
what she called Identity Statuses. They are defined as, for handling the psychosocial task of
establishing a sense of identity. Marcia defined two things related to a mature identity: crisis

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and commitment. Crisis, refers to times during adolescence when the individual seems to be
actively involved in choosing among alternative occupations and beliefs. Commitment,
refers to the degree of personal investment the individual expresses in an occupation of belief.
The statuses previously mentioned are identity diffusion, foreclosure, moratorium, and identity
achievement. The closer you get to identity achievement, the better your crisis and commitment
are. Most individuals go between moratorium and identity achievement; moratorium is a stage
that could be related to when someone loses a job and identity achievement could be related to
someone who is happy and successful in their career (Snowman and McCown, 2013, Pg. 21).
Theories Relevancy to Caleb. Both Erikson and Marcia describe a crisis as being a time
where someone is compelled to conform to a societal standard. For Caleb, his crisis at this point
would be to do well in school, resist peer pressure, or to discover what careers might interest
him. His poor social development as described previously can be linked back to his previous
development according to the Stages of Psychosocial Development. His autonomy
development and industry development I fear may have been hampered by his mothers. My
grandmother coddled Caleb at a young age and tried to protect him from everything. This does
little to encourage independent and productive social interactions. At an older age, my grandma
did the opposite of encouragement and tried to justify his failures. While she never put him
down, not actively encouraging him to do better and instead justifying failure could justifiably be
seen as equitably bad. This relates to what Erikson said about his three encouragement factors.
Caleb may show a comfort with his physical body, but he had little thought of what he wants
from life beyond his immediate needs and has had little encouragement to actually do well.
Lastly, I would label Caleb in the lowest of the Identity Statuses: Identity Diffusion. He has little

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12

thought for the world, lacks commitment to many things, is not self-directed, and has poor
interpersonal relationships.
Theories Related to the Observation. Research in to Erikson and Marcia gave me a
unique insight in to my previous observation. He severely lacks healthy identity formation and
his social interactions are poor. My observation allowed me to see how he would yell at my
grandma for not doing what he wanted but would then ignore her when she tried to engage him.
With my mother, he completely clams up and shows little to no engagement with her. He is most
definitely socially stunted and I feel that maybe the problem goes deeper than I am qualified to
hypothesize about. The severity of his poor development may be linked to the death of one of his
mothers.
Maslows Hierarchy of Needs; Belongingness and Love/Esteem. The social and
esteem levels of Maslows Hierarchy are the 3rd and 4th levels, respectively. When social needs
are fulfilled, esteem needs can then be addressed. With Caleb, his physiological and safety needs
are mostly met so the true problems begin to arise in the social level of needs. As stated
previously, he is exceedingly timid with adults and authority figures, except with my grandma
who he can be abusive with. Also, his peer relationships are often trivial. With this all said, my
only conclusion is that Calebs further development is hampered at the social phase due to
whatever mental problems that may exist. This lays out the fact that Caleb, without proper social
structure, can never truly develop his self-esteem (Snowman and McCown, 2013).
Further Development; Social. Calebs social development is clearly labeled under
Marcias identity diffusion status. This is the lowest of his statuses and shows a plethora of
problems that Caleb has and how stunted his social development is. Erikson recognized the
variety of crisis that we all face, and the stages of development we face at certain ages. Caleb

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13

throughout his life has seen unhealthy development for most of the stages and is currently falling
through with his identity v. role confusion phase. What I would recommend is to strengthen the
positive aspects of Eriksons theory. Caleb should be encouraged to direct his own learning and
develop autonomy, be shown the values of strong initiative in getting what he wants, encouraged
to develop his industry through positive reinforcement, and given the guidance to help him
develop his sense of purpose and role in this world. This is no easy task as it involves undoing
over a decade of improper development but its the only way to change his course (Snowman and
McCown, 2013). As time goes on, the Child Development guide encourages that adult figures in
his life accept his sexual interests and try to give him the privacy he wants. He should be
afforded a level or respect and friendliness that encourages healthy interpersonal relationships
(DSHS Fosterparentscope Class).
Emotional Development
Typical Development Characteristics; Emotional. Emotionally, this stage shows the
usual teenage characteristics of sulking and anger directed at, authority figures. Normally,
children in this stage of development are concerned about, grades, appearance, and popularity.
As stated previously, they become more withdrawn and concerned with their place in the world
(DSHS Fosterparentscope Class).
Emotional Analysis. His awkward social development extends to his emotional
development. Despite his generally positive or neutral demeanor, he is prone to bouts of anger
but those are short lived. Response to conflicts with me or other people do not seem mature in
nature. He avoids resolving conflicts or resorts to arguing but will even stoop to the level of
mocking you. As mentioned before, he has little to no concern for grades but shows an interest in
keeping a clean appearance and seeking the approval of his peers.

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Psychologist Emotional Theories. Snowman and McCown state that the storm and
stress of adolescence is generally exaggerated (Pg. 62). According to them, adolescents
experience different degrees of emotional turmoil (Pg. 62). They cite sudden changes in
appearance, hormones, identity formation, increased responsibility, and formal operational
reasoning as explanations for the increased turmoil. The important thing for people to understand
is that while teens may exhibit riskier behavior, most of them do not go on to develop problems
related to that behavior (Snowman and McCown, 2013).
Theories Relevancy to Caleb. Caleb has unfortunately begun to exhibit riskier behavior,
and with poor development elsewhere, may be looking at a life of continued problems. His
moods have become more passionate as of late, which can be expected for a teen, but combined
with continued immaturity could cause serious problems. He is still generally of a mild
demeanor but I fear that poor identity formation could result in erratic behavior or decision
making when confronted with a crisis.
Theories Related to the Observation. During my observation, he showed his tendency
to mock my brother and I when engaged in an argument. I cannot help but feel this may be
linked to trouble in developing his formal operational reasoning. Mocking is a means by which
young children try to get back at people who frustrate them. A maturing adolescent should begin
showing signs of being able to argue using thoughts and ideas instead of low level insulting. This
immaturity could also be linked to why he is failing to accept responsibility for his own actions
and behavior. Combined with a coddling mother, he is failing to develop emotionally.
Future Development; Emotional. The most important thing Snowman points out for
emotional development is that while adolescents may dabble in risky behavior, most people go
never develop long-term consequences of that behavior. With that in mind, Caleb has shown

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15

some poor judgement clearly laid out in the Moral Development section. Either way, the
importance of strong adults helping him along the way cannot be overstated (Snowman and
McCown, 2013). The Child Development Guide says that we must be there for Caleb to talk if he
chooses, while also accepting his feelings without ridicule and ridiculous punishment. With
Caleb, his lack of social interaction may hamper what would traditionally be considered good
ways of addressing his emotional needs. What needs to be done is that his mother and those
close to him must emphasize that the acceptance of what he feels (or does not feel) is important.
While his feelings might not be good, care must be taken to guide him through emotional phases
and help him look inside to resolve problems.
Moral Development
Typical Development Characteristics; Moral. While teens may be prone to
misbehavior, it is important to know that a normally developing 12-15 year old knows right from
wrong. They complement this with attempts at independent decision making and are usually
unlikely to lie. It is also expected that children at this point will be, thoughtful and empathetic
towards others. (DSHS Fosterparentscope Class)
Moral Analysis. His moral development is an area of great concern for the family. A
particular incident happened in the course of my observation. One evening while my family was
at home, two school district police officers showed up at the door to confront Caleb about a
report of a stolen bicycle seat. They had a description of the seat and, ironically, Calebs bike was
at the front door with the seat attached. The seat was taken back and Caleb is due for a court
hearing. We found out the victim was a fellow classmate and was visibly distraught at what had
happened. My grandmother hounded Caleb over the incident but he admitted to not caring about
the pain he had caused. He showed no remorse and obviously no empathy. He fails to see right

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and wrong and even lacks the skills to understand the consequences of hurting others. Lack of
foresight and empathy seem to be dark indicators of the road ahead. This is but a more serious
problem linked to a history of habitual lying and known acts of stealing things from family.
Psychologist Moral Theories: Piaget, Kohlberg. The four psychologists noted in this
section all contributed to the research on the moral development of people. Piaget first described
the Morality of Constraint (Rigid system of morality use by children 4-10) and the Morality of
Cooperation (a more flexible, intentions-considering moral system). Kohlberg expanded upon
Piagets ideas and laid out his Six Stages of Moral Reasoning as they relate to moral dilemmas
(situations where a right or wrong answer is not always apparent). The six stages are subdivided
in to pre-conventional morality, conventional morality, and post-conventional morality
(Snowman and McCown, 2013). Each subsequent stage becomes more complex as the decisions
for right and wrong become less focused on injury to the person and more about the ethical and
moral implications of actions.
Psychologist Moral Theories: Gilligan, Noddings. After Kohlberg, Gilligan criticized
his theory as being male centric primarily because it focuses on ideas of independence and
justice and not on a females tendency to value, caring, understanding, and sharing of
experiences. (Snowman and McCown, 2013, Pg. 43) With this female perspective added,
Noddings introduced her Care Theory which focused on the feminine approach to morality
which encompassed the ideas of caring, understanding, and sharing. These feminine qualities
should be emphasized alongside the more masculine justice orientation for all students
(Snowman and McCown, 2013).
Theories Relevancy to Caleb. Calebs horrible moral development is emphasized by the
psychologists. Piaget speaks of morality systems of children and adolescents but Caleb

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completely ignores any sense of morality by violating the rights of others and even breaking the
law. Kohlberg describes the different stages a person goes through when making moral decisions.
Based on what I have seen, Caleb lags behind at the first stage of punishment-obedience
orientation. He lacks the ability to understand the morality behind a decision and therefore must
be threatened with force or punishment to be dissuaded from an action. The absence of that
threat, or the perception of an absence, leads him to make poor decisions. Gilligan and Noddings
helped emphasize feminine moral perspectives that Caleb has continued to ignore. Caring,
understanding, and sharing seem to allude Caleb with a total lack of empathy being the most
dangerous issue.
Theories Related to the Observation. As noted previously, Caleb was caught stealing a
bike seat and subsequently denied any remorse or feelings or sadness because of what he did.
This utter lack of morality compass shows that by every metric of moral measurement, Caleb
severely lags behind. His moral compass is guided purely by the consequences that could befall
him and totally lacks empathy for others or understanding of the moral and ethical implications
of actions. If Noddings in particular were to analyze this scenario, she would find that his
masculine AND feminine moral values of justice and compassion are lacking.
Further Development; Moral. Caleb clearly lacks moral development to a point where I
wonder if a mental condition is hampering it. Even if that is the case, those of us in his life must
not simply lie down and accept it. Kohlberg clearly stated, Moral Development can be
accelerated through instruction (Snowman and McCown, 2013, Pg. 41). Disregarding the idea
that he may have a moral development disorder, Caleb can still be taught about the direct
implications of immoral actions like stealing. Jail time, fines, and loss of future employment may
be external factors to emphasize. Loss of family and friendships is another thing that should be

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warned about. But most importantly, an attempt to help Caleb understand the effects that stealing
have on victims is crucial. This may be a harder goal than threatening force, but teaching the
ability to at least understand others pain is the only way to permanently discourage immoral
acts. Besides the concerns about stealing, I would continue to encourage the discussion of values
and why we hold them dear. As a part of the formal operational stage of thinking, adolescents are
beginning to develop higher levels of logical thinking and may encounter frustrating moments
where their new found logical thinking skills conflict with a contradictory reality (Snowman and
McCown, 2013).
Conclusions
My cousin comes from unfortunate circumstances. Coming from a drug addict mother
and being placed with two sick, old ladies is no good start. It is impossible for a layman like
myself to directly link his birth and early upbringing to his current developmental issues.
However, I can recognize that there are problems. He seems to be developing physically fine but
concerns about drugs, pornography, and health issues may be problems in the future. His
intellectual development appears to be weak with a lack of in-depth thought, academic
performance, and conversation but a few key interests is cause for hope. Socially, he seems to be
able to work with peers but his near total inability to engage adults is worrying. While he often
seems to be mild-tempered, his emotional development is hampered by an inability to
constructively manage episodes of anger. He does seem to seek acceptance from peers but is
overall withdrawn or downright lacking deeper emotions. And sadly, his moral development
seems to be impaired to the point he could face problems with the law. His episode with the
police recently showed that his ability to empathize, or at least understand consequences, never
developed and that he is willing to do wrong if it gives him what he wants. I hope for the future

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that we can help him and guide him to a path where he can succeed but my hopes are sadly
dismal.

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References
DSHS Fosterparentscope Training (n.d.). Child Development Guide. Retrieved from
http://depts.washington.edu/allcwe2/fosterparents/training/chidev/cd06.htm
Snowman, J., & McCown, R. R. (2013). Ed Psych. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.

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Appendix A
Notes for Observation of Cousin Caleb

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Appendix B

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PRISM DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES

Notes for Psychologist Theories and how they relate to Caleb

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PRISM DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES

29

PRISM DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES

30