Nely's Child Psychology Scrapbook

       Separation Anxiety is a disorder in an individual, in this case, infants, toddlers, and children, in which feelings of distress become prominent when separated from someone they are emotionally connected with. The child tends to worry and fear being apart from those they feel closest to. Anxiety is a normal function when growing up but only to a certain extent. According to Stanford Medicine, nearly all children from 18 months to 3 years old have separation anxiety for some time, but the symptoms of Separation Anxiety disorder (SAD) are more severe. It is believed that both biological and environmental factors can cause SAD. An imbalance of 2 chemicals in the brain (norepinephrine and serotonin) most likely plays a part . ( Stanford Children's Health", 2022) . Children can learn anxiety and are more likely to have SAD/Anxiety if a parent has an anxiety diagnosis or if they have experienced any form of a traumatic event. It is said that SAD typically occurs/app...

        Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, also known as ADHD, is a syndrome that makes sustaining attention difficult. With a quick google search, about 6.1 million children in the United States have Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). That's about 9.4% of children between 2-17 to have ever been diagnosed in a 2016 study by the CDC. Neuroscientists have found a bizarre treatment for this disorder with the help of award-winning game designers. In June 2020, EndeavorRx became approved by the FDA as an authorized medical device. It must be prescribed by a medical professional and is not supposed to substitute for a child's regular medications, meaning it is not a stand-alone treatment.          EndeavorRx is a challenging, immersive video game created to formally target areas of the brain that play a significant role in attention function. Kids are challenged within the app to multitask and "ignore" distractions. T...

       With this week's readings and my new knowledge of IQ testing, I stumbled across this article and skimmed through the titles. I started to ask those questions to myself "should my child have an IQ test? Why? I took my time reading, and I have realized no, he probably doesn't need to. But I was intrigued that if my son ever does feel bored in class or unchallenged by the curriculum, he can take a test to see where his intelligence stands. The article stated, " it might be beneficial to have evidence of his or her learning capacity. In addition, IQ testing may help gain admission to educational opportunities available only to students with a demonstrated level of aptitude." ("IQ Tests and Your Child | Gifted Support Center", 2010) IQ tests can test children's general intellectual abilities, one of the best school success predictors. The test assesses specific logical, spatial, memory, and verbal skills, which can also help underachieving kids—gi...

       It is safe to assume that almost everybody can tell babies' first words are babbles. Clearly, babbles aren't actual words, but they are baby words. Even if there isn't much to the oohs, ahhs, ma's, and pa's, these sounds/baby words are essential to how babies come to learn and develop their language. As babies continue with the constant makings of the smaller word fragments (ma, ah, la, etc.) and move their mouths to become comfortable with the different patterns, they are one step closer to talking correctly. Some people may think the babbles are useless, but this is not true. Babbles are the starting point for talking. When babies start creating consonant-vowel sounds, it is encouraged to finish the words they've begun to influence the entire word fragment. As a mom, I didn't realize I would do this every day without realizing it. Imagine simply speaking to your baby; happy talk and simple expressions will help them learn as they start to pick up an...

  Many changes can happen to a child's brain as they age. Adverse effects can occur in brain development when children grow from causes such as emotional abuse and more horrific abuse. During the "critical period," babies and children can lose many essential brain responses throughout development when exposed to abuse and reoccurring trauma. Up to 14% of U.S. adults reported experiencing emotional abuse during childhood  (Holmes, 2021) . Though nothing physical occurs, children's rapid brain development can still be affected, disrupting the brain within the critical development periods.     Dr. Martin and his team from different hospitals examined nine different scans, finding many differences in young adults who were emotionally and physically neglected as a child. The most noticeable changes in these scans showed regions in the brain that controls emotions, impulses, and self-awareness were affected—also concluding that those who experience abuse are more likely to...

               I think it's safe to say that anyone can think newly born babies are the cutest to observe in their first days. Watching them develop over weeks into bigger, tiny humans is astonishing when you follow their movements, gasps, yawning, and reflexes. Many babies' movements within their first week are strictly reflexes, involuntarily without them forcing themselves to do so. It is reactionary. Over months, many common reflexes stay around, and other times most will go away after a short time.           The earliest reflexes to become prominent almost immediately following birth is rooting and sucking. The rooting reflex is when a baby turns its head, typically searching for a nipple (bottle or breast) for feeding time. The second reflex directly following is sucking. Even though babies start sucking while feeding, it is common in the womb for a baby to already know to suck. Many women have had ultrasou...

                 The development of infants is quite intriguing. Especially when it comes to how an infant's vision develops from birth, it is very beneficial for them to visualize things before they start crawling, walking, or talking. Babies' vision and eye function boost their development by being able to stimulate and observe information so they can function in daily life.              Vision rapidly improves during the first few months; by at least 8-weeks, infants can focus more easily on the faces or person(s) closest to them. Vision continues to grow as babies grow, increasing every month. The eyes must develop adequately. Babies who have trouble with their eyes tend to have a more challenging time with normal functions, like eye-hand coordination. If babies show signs of vision trouble, it is essential to follow up with an optometrist. This article explains some indications of eye/vision troubl...

       Upon this week's readings, I wanted to find more information on how true it could be that preterm infants are at a more significant risk of maltreatment and neglect. It is said most data for abuse can be found and collected through child protective services. But a bump in the road is every state has different definitions of abuse, and inconsistencies limit much data information. The only data that can be guaranteed is maltreatment can harm and kill infants. If their life has not faltered their mental, social and psychical health are highly affected as they age.       Professor Susan Mason from the school of public health conducted studies on infants hospitalized for common signs of abuse and neglect. Most of the data collected were for hospitalizations within 12 months of delivery. Mason's data explained how infants born preterm compared to full-term had 1.6 times the risk of being re-admitted to a hospital for neglect. As well, infant...

       A familiar and utterly terrifying tragedy that is striking the U.S in large numbers is mass/school shootings and is now riddling school children with anxiety and PTSD. Scrolling through Time, I found this article "School shootings are raising anxiety and panic in U.S. children" and wondered just how the effects of tragedies such as this hurt the development of children in grades K-12.   This article even went as far as to explain how children not directly involved in a shooting can still be tragically affected by experiencing anxiety and depression. Researchers studied more than 2,000 high school students and found that of those children, some most concerned were likely to meet the criteria for anxiety and panic disorders. Though children of any age can be affected, the article explains that researchers say younger children, specifically elementary school students, can be highly affected.    Elementary students are young and underdeveloped to th...