“The quiet sense of something lost” (Tennyson).

I can’t imagine the agony inside my cousin’s

mind. Haunted from his past, he lost his father on a motorcycle accident when he was 5 years
old. He saw the death of his hero and doomed himself to walk on earth with silence for eternity.

The case study of Justin Condiman, 7 years old, A grade 1 student in Colonia Elementary School,
Tuburan, Cebu. Justine is capable of speaking between the ages of 1 – 5 but after the accident
he lost his confident to speak. His mother gave him a long time to process the pain but after 2
years when Justine enter grade 1, his teacher noticed something odd with Justine. His teacher
narrate that the child has a serious problem in speaking and reading which is confirmed by his
mother. The child can’t talk straight and only rely on gestures. Also, his parent and together with
his relatives forced the child to talk but was only able to produce sounds and single letter.

There’s a lot of reason why the child refuses to talk or really had difficulties in speaking. It could
be because of the experience that he earned (trauma, mental development) but, on the other
hand it might be a problem in his cognitive development because the child stopped
accumulating knowledge for 2 years. According to Jean Piaget’s “Cognitive Development
Theory” that children move through four different stages of mental development. Piaget’s
theory focuses not only on understanding how children acquire knowledge, but also on
understanding the nature of intelligence. Piaget believed that “children take an active role in the
learning process, acting much like little scientists as they perform experiments, make
observations, and learn about the world. As kids interact with the world around them, they
continually add new knowledge, build upon existing knowledge, and adapt previously held ideas
to accommodate new information.” Furthermore, in the case of my cousin Justine, he lost
certain stage in preoperational stage (ages 2 – 7). Piaget’s “foundations of language
development” may have been laid during the previous stage, but it is the emergence of
language that is one of the major hallmarks of the preoperational stage of development. He
stopped acquiring knowledge for 2 years and entered grade level with no preparations.

In this case, the child is still soft and can learn fast. Rather than forcing the child to speak, let the
child work willingly and actively. I suggest changing or alter the child’s mind into positive,
exposing him to colors, shapes, active language activity and social interactions. Moreover, giving
challenges that can catch the child’s attention and interest.

I recommend Jean Piaget’s “Accommodation” another part of adaptation involves changing or

altering our existing schemas in light of new information, a process known as accommodation.
Accommodation involves modifying existing schemas, or ideas, as a result of new information or
new experiences. Besides that, his parent and relatives must motivate and keep an eye to the
child’s development.
REFERENCES

Jean Piaget (1936). Cognitive Development Theory. The Stages. Mental and Cognitive
Development.

https://www.verywellmind.com/piagets-stages-of-cognitive-development-2795457

James Rhowell Labrada

BSED – English

2nd Year