6/19/2015

Multi-Disciplinary Assessment:
Psycho-Developmental Aspect

Susana Corazon C. Ortega

Regional Training and Consultation Dialogue on
Inter-country Adoption Program
SEDA CENTRIO, CAGAYAN DE ORO
JUNE 23, 2015

Contents of the Child Study Report

Circumstances of referral
Information about the childs family
Assistance rendered to the family

Description of the child

Medical and Developmental History
History of the childs placement
Current functioning

Termination of parental authority

Conclusions and Recommendations

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Contents of the Child Study Report

For children 5 years old and above, include a
psychological profile
Reasons for referral
Psychological tests administered
Frequency and length of time the psychologist
interacted with the child
Test results, including raw scores, norms, interpretation
Conclusions and recommendation

Psychological Development
Biological processes

Processes that involve changes in an individuals

physical nature
Cognitive processes

Processes that involve changes in an individuals

thought, intelligence, and language
Socio-emotional processes

Involve changes in an individuals relationship with

other people, changes in emotions, and changes
in personality

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Biological Processes :
Prenatal Development & Birth
Conception
The penetration of an ovum (egg) by a sperm cell
Zygote
A single cell formed though fertilization
Germinal period
First 2 weeks after conception
Creation of the zygote
Embryonic period
3 to 8 weeks after conception
Fetal period
2 to 7 months after conception

Biological Processes : Prenatal

Development & Birth
Teratogen
Any agent that causes a birth defect (e.g., nicotine,
tranquilizers, barbiturates, amphetamines, cocaine,
marijuana)

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)

A cluster of abnormalities that appear in the offspring
of mothers who drink alcohol heavily during
pregnancy

Preterm infant
An infant who is born prior to 38 weeks into the
prenatal period

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Biological Processes : Prenatal

Development & Birth
Sex-linked Recessive Traits

Color-blindedness
Hemophilia (bleeders disease)
Muscular dystrophy (Duchennes form)
Diabetes
Anhidrotic ectodermal dysplasia (lack of sweat glands and
teeth)
Night blindness (certain forms)
Deafness (certain forms)
Atrophy of optic nerve

Biological Processes : Prenatal Development &

Birth
Genetic Disorders
Dominant gene: Huntingtons disease (deterioration of CNS)
Recessive gene: Cystic fibrosis (mucous clogging), sicklecell disease (reduce oxygen supply in blood) , Tay-Sachs (disrupts
chemical balance in infants nerve cells)
Chromosomal: Down syndrome (intellectual and psychosocial
limitations), Klinefelter syndrome (XXY), Turner syndrome
(XO), PKU (no phenylalanine causing deterioration of CNS)
Multifactorial: Congenital heart disease, Neural tube
defects, Cleft/Lip palate

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Biological Processes
Reflexes in the newborn
Survival reflexes
Breathing reflex
Pupillary reflex
Rooting reflex
Sucking reflex
Swallowing reflex

Biological Processes
Reflexes in the newborn
Primitive (subcortical) reflexes
Babinski reflex
Grasping reflex
Moro reflex
Swimming reflex
Stepping reflex
Withdrawal reflex

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Biological Processes
Motor Skills

Biological Processes
Motor Skills
Principles of Motor-Skill Development
Differentiation
Cephalocaudal development (head to tail)
Proximodistal development (center of the body to
extremities)
Experience

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Biological Processes
Motor Skills
Controlled eye movements
Reaching and grasping
Walking

Biological Processes
Motor Skills

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Biological Processes: Vision

Biological Processes: Depth and

Distance Perception

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Biological Processes: Perception of

Faces

Cognitive Development: Piaget

Schema
A concept or framework that already exists in a
persons mind

Assimilation
The incorporation of new information into ones
existing knowledge

Accommodation
An individuals adjustment to new information

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Cognitive Development Piagets

Sensorimotor Stage
Sensorimotor stage
Birth to 2 years
Use sensory and motor capabilities to explore
and gain an understanding of their environment
Infants acquire a sense of self and others
Understanding that objects and events continue
to exist even when they cannot directly be seen,
heard, or touched (object permanence)
Begin to internalize behavioral schema to
produce images

Cognitive Development Piagets

Sensorimotor Stage

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Cognitive Development Piagets Object

Permanence

Cognitive Development Piagets

Preoperational Stage
Preoperational stage
From about 2 to 7 years
Use symbolisms (images and language) to
represent and understand their environment
Respond to objects and events according to the
way things appear to be
Thought is egocentric, i.e., the child cannot
distinguish his own perspective and someone
elses perspective

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Cognitive Development Piagets

Conservation

Cognitive Development
Piagets Concrete Operation Stage
Concrete Operation Stage
From 7 to 11 years
Children acquire and use cognitive operations
(mental activities that are components of logical
thought); understand basic relations among and
properties of objects and events.
They become more proficient at inferring motives by
observing others behavior and the circumstances in
which it occurs.
Lack of abstract thought

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Cognitive Development
Piagets Formal Operational Stage
Formal operational stage

From 11 years and beyond

Logical thinking not limited to the concrete
or the observable.
Abstract. Idealistic, and logical thinking
Hypothetical-deductive reasoning
Adolescents cognitive ability to develop
hypotheses about how to solve
problems, systematic, deductive
reasoning that permits them to consider
many possible solutions to a problem
and pick the correct answer.

Cognitive Development: Piaget

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Socio-emotional Development
Reciprocity
Emotional reactions to the unfamiliar
Stranger distress

Formation of attachments
Imprinting
The tendency of an infant animal to form an
attachment to the first moving object it sees or
hears

Socio-emotional Development:
Attachment
Patterns of Attachment
Secure attachment
Anxious attachment
Anxious-resistant attachment
Anxious-avoidant attachment
Disorganized-disoriented attachment

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Socio-emotional Development:
Infant Temperament Characteristics

Activity
Rhythmicity
Approach-withdrawal
Adaptability
Intensity
Threshold
Mood
Distractibility
Persistence of attention

Socio-emotional Development
Easy child
Difficult child
Slow-to-warm-up child

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Socio-emotional Development
Eriksons theory (Freud)
Trust versus mistrust (Oral)
Birth to 1 year old
Autonomy versus shame and doubt (Anal)
1 to 3 years old
Initiative versus guilt (Phallic)
3 to 6 years old

Socio-emotional Development
Industry versus inferiority (Latency)
6 years to puberty (12 years)

Identity versus identity confusion (Early genital)

During adolescence (12-20 years)
Intimacy versus isolation (Genital)
During early adulthood (20-40 years)

Generativity versus stagnation (Genital)

During middle adulthood (40-65 years)

Integrity versus despair (Genital)

During late adulthood/old age

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Socio-emotional Development Moral

Development: Kohlberg
Preconventional level
No internalization
Stage 1- punishment, obedience orientation
Stage 2- individualism and purpose

Conventional level
Intermediate internalization
Stage 3- interpersonal norms
Stage 4- social system morality
Postconventional level
Full internalization
Stage 5- Community rights vs. individual rights
Stage 6- Universal ethical principles

Socio-emotional Development Moral

Development: Kohlberg
Justice perspective
Focuses on the rights of the individual
Individuals stand alone and independently make
moral decisions

Care perspective
Sees people in terms of their connectedness with
others
Focuses on interpersonal communication,
relationships with others, and concern for others

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Disorders Usually First Diagnosed in Infancy,

Childhood or Adolescence
Learning disorders
Reading disorder / mathematics disorder /
disorder of written expression

Motor skills disorder

Developmental coordination disorder

Disorders Usually First Diagnosed in Infancy,

Childhood or Adolescence
Pervasive developmental disorders
o Autistic disorder - inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity
o Retts disorder loss of muscle tone in girls, social
anxiety, withdrawal

o childhood disintegrative disorder (Hellers

syndrome) late onset of devmt delays in language,
social, motor function

o Aspergers disorder difficulties in social interaction

and nonverbal communication

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Disorders Usually First Diagnosed in Infancy,

Childhood or Adolescence (Cont)
Pervasive developmental disorders
o Attention-deficit
o Hyperactivity Disorder
o Oppositional disorder
o Conduct disorder

Disorders Usually First Diagnosed in

Infancy, Childhood or Adolescence
Feeding and eating disorders of infancy or
early childhood
o Pica appetite for non-nutritive substances
o Rumination disorder (Merycism) effortless
regurgitation due to involuntary contraction of stomach
muscles

o Feeding disorder of infancy or early

childhood poor appetite, food refusal, food selectivity,
food avoidance

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Disorders Usually First Diagnosed in Infancy,

Childhood or Adolescence
Tic disorders
o Tourettes disorder - inherited neuropsychoiatric disorder;
multiple motor tics and at least one vocal tic

o Chronic motor or vocal tic disorder - involves either

brief, uncontrollable, spasm-like movements or vocal outbursts
but not both

o Transient tic disorder - a temporary condition in which a

person makes one or many brief, repeated, difficult to control
movements or noises (tics).

Disorders Usually First Diagnosed in Infancy,

Childhood or Adolescence

Communication disorders
Expressive language disorder / mixed
receptive/expressive language disorder /
phonological disorder / stuttering

Elimination disorders
Encopresis (lacks bowel control)
Enuresis (lacks bladder control)

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Disorders Usually First Diagnosed in

Infancy, Childhood or Adolescence
Other disorders of infancy, childhood, or
adolescence
Separation anxiety disorder / social phobia/
selective mutism / reactive attachment disorder
of infancy or early childhood / stereotypic
movement disorder
Childhood depression (sad, hopeless mood, a negative
view of life, concentration problems, etc.)
Eating disorders: anorexia nervosa ( low weight, fear
of becoming fat, amenoorhea or suspension of menstrual
periods), bulimia (consuming extraordinary amounts of food,
binge-eating)

Psychological Testing and Assessment

Reliability :
repeatability, generalizability

Validity:
Is the test really measuring what it is intended to
measure?

Norms:
Where do you stand in comparison to a group with
characteristics similar to yours?

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Standardized Tests for Early Childhood

Development
Stanford-Binet Test
Bayley Scales of Infant Development
1 month 3 years
Mental Scale
Motor Scale
Behavior Rating Scale

Sample problems from Stanford-Binet

Child should be able to:
Age 3:
Point to objects that serve various functions
Name pictures of objects
Repeat a list of 2 words or digits

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Sample problems from Stanford-Binet

Age 4:
Discriminate visual forms such as squares, circles,
triangles
Define words such as ball and bat
Repeat 10-word sentences
Count up to four objects
Solve problems such as In daytime it is light, at
night it is

Sample problems from Stanford-Binet

Age 6:
State the difference between familiar objects such
as a bird and a dog
Count up to 9 objects
Solve analogies such as An inch is short; a mile
is

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Sample problems from Stanford-Binet

Age 9:
Solve verbal problems Tell me a number that
rhymes with tree
Solve simple arithmetic problems
Repeat four digits in reverse order

Sample problems from Stanford-Binet

Age 12:
Define words
Repeat 5 digits in reverse order
Solve verbal absurdities, e.g., icebergs in Manila
Bay

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Sample problems from Stanford-Binet

Bayley Scales of Infant Development
Mental Scale

Sensory and perceptual acuities

Memory
Learning
Problem solving
Vocalization
Verbal communication
Rudimentary abstract thinking

Sample problems from Stanford-Binet

Bayley Scales of Infant Development
Motor Scales
Gross motor abilities

Sitting
Standing
Walking
Stair climbing
Manipulatory skills of hands and fingers

Sensory and perceptual-motor integration

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Standardized Tests for Early Childhood

Development

Standardized Tests for Early Childhood

Development
Bayley Scales of Infant Development
Behavior rating scale
Based on information provided by the
childs caregiver as well as the
examiniers own impressions
Emotional and social behavior
Attentional span and arousal
Persistence and goal-directedness

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Standardized Tests for Early Childhood

Development
McCarthy Scales of Childrens Abilities
2.5-8.5 years old
18 tests, grouped into 6 overlapping scales

Verbal
Perceptual-performance
Quantitative
General cognitive
Memory
Motor

Standardized Tests for Early Childhood

Development

Piagetian Scales
Fagans Test of Infant Intelligence
Infant-Toddler Developmental Assessment
Ravens Progressive Matrices, esp. Colored
Progressive Matrices for children 5.5-11.5
years old

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Projective Tests
Goodenough Draw-a-Man Test
Variations: The Woman scale; the Self scale; Draw
a House; Draw a Family
Childs accuracy of observation and the
development of conceptual thinking, rather than
artistic skill

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