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Module 5 TYPICAL AND ATYPICAL DEVELOPMENT AMONG

CHILDREN

UNDERSTANDING DIVERSITY TYPICAL AND

LESSON 5
ATYPICAL DEVELOPMENT AMONG CHILDREN

 Demonstrate understanding of the philosophies,

theories, and legal bases of special and inclusive
education including its application;
 Demonstrate knowledge of policies, guidelines and
procedures that provide safe and secure learning
Desired Learning Outcomes
environments for learners with special needs; and
 Demonstrate knowledge of the development of Special
and Inclusive Education in the local and international
contexts by constructing a historical timeline.

What are the various child development theories and discuss

each one with a partner.
Essential Question / Activity
Enumerate and discuss the various domains of
development.

Have you ever wondered how children develop?

Maybe at one time you have compared your development
with that of a sibling or cousin of yours. If this the case, you
are interested in child development which is the pattern of
growth, change, and stability that occurs from conception up
Overview until adolescence. Children do not grow at the same rate at
the same time. This also goes for the students in an inclusive
classroom. Knowing their capabilities can help you better as
their teacher. Find out more about their development as this
chapter focuses on the typical and atypical development
among children from infancy to adolescence.

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

 Identify typical and atypical milestones in the

various stages of child development; and
Learning Target/s
 Differentiate typical and atypical development
of children in various stages of their
development.

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I. CHI L D DEVEL O PM ENT AND I T S IM PO RT ANCE

To ensure that a child meets his/her development milestones, it is crucial to observe

and monitor his/her development. The milestones or developmental skills that need to be
mastered usually at the same rate act as a guide for idea development. It is done by checking
the progress of a child based on his or her age to see if the child is developing within
expectations. For others, checking the milestones can help detect any difficulties at a particular
stage. Intervention can then be given which can help in the development of a child. Usually, it
is the parents, teachers, and pediatricians who use the checklists.

II. CHILD DEVELOPMENT THEORIES

During the early 20th century, interest in child development began, specifically, that
which focused on detecting abnormalities. Certain theories were discovered based on this
interest to appreciate the growth that children experience from birth to adolescence.

A. Psychosocial Development Theory of Erik Erikson

This is an eight-stage theory that describes the changes one goes through in a
lifetime. The main focus of Erikson’s theory is the conflicts or crises one experiences through
social interactions. Starting from birth, each person is faced with a conflict that needs to be
resolved since it has an impact on the function of the succeeding stages. If one successfully
overcomes the crisis of each stage, a psychological virtue emerges.

Figure 5.1 Stages of Psychosocial Development

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B. Cognitive Developmental Theory of Jean Piaget

This theory is concerned with the thought processes of a person and how they are used
to understand and interact with the environment. Piaget’s theory focuses on children’s
intellectual development and has four stages.

A. Sensorimotor Stage – From birth to two years old, a child’s knowledge is limited to
his or her use of the senses.

B. Preoperational Stage – from two to six years old, a child learns through the use of
language. However, mental manipulation of information does not take place yet.

C. Concrete Operational Stage – from 7 to 11 years old, a child begins to think

logically and have better understanding of mental operations. However, abstract
concepts are still difficult to understand.

D. Formal operational stage – from 12 years old to adulthood, a person has the ability
to think in abstract concepts.

C. Sociocultural Theory of Lev Vygotsky

This theory believes that children learn actively through hands-on experiences.
Vygotsky highlights the importance of other people such as parents, caregivers, and peers in
the development of children. Culture plays an integral role as well. Interaction with others
allows learning in the theory is the zone of proximal development, which is the portion in
between what one can do on his or her own and with help. Children best learn when they are
in this zone.

D. Social Learning Theory of Albert Bandura

This theory believes that learning takes place through observation and modeling. As a
child observes the actions of the people in his or her environment, new information is acquired
and new skills are developed.

III. T YPI C AL AND AT YPI C AL D EVEL O PM ENT

The development of a child usually follows a predictable pattern. There are certain
skills and abilities that are observed to gauge a child’s development are called developmental
milestones. Example of these sitting, babbling, and following directions. However, each child
is unique. With this, not all reach a milestone at the same time, thus the terms typical and
atypical development. Let us define the two terms first before we look further into what makes
a child’s development typical and atypical.

The term typical development refers to the normal progression where children grow
by acquiring knowledge, skills, and behavior called developmental milestones at a certain time
frame.

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Atypical development is a term used when development does not follow the normal
course. More so, a child developing atypically when he/she reaches a milestone earlier or late
than other children his/her age.

There is no clear way to identify if a child is developing typically or atypically. However,

there are three commonly accepted principles of child development that one should look into.
The principles are as follows:

1. Rate of development differs among children

2. Development occurs in a relatively orderly process
3. Development takes place gradually

I V. DO M AI NS O F DEVEL O PM ENT

The developmental milestones are categorized into four domains namely, physical,
social and emotional, language, and cognitive.

The physical domain refers to the development of physical changes such as size and
strength. The development occurs in both gross and fine motor skills. The development of the
senses and their uses are also part of the physical domain which is influenced by illness and
nutrition.

A child’s experience, expression, and management of emotions along with the ability
to establish positive relationships with others refer to the social-emotional domain. This
includes both the intrapersonal and interpersonal processes that take place in a child.
The language domain refers to the process of acquiring language in a consistent order
without the need for explicit teaching rom the environment.

Construction of thought process which includes remembering, problem solving, and

decision making refers to the cognitive domain.

V. ST AG ES I N CHI L D DEVEL O PM ENT

Sages, along with age are used as ranges to mark significant periods in a human
development timeline. In each stage, growth and development occur in the four domains
mentioned above.

The stages are as follows:

A. Infancy (birth to 2 years)
B. Early Childhood (3 to 8 years)
C. Middle Childhood (9 to 11 years)
D. Adolescence (12 to 18 years)

PAUSE AND PONDER

Before we go to the typical and atypical development milestones, let us pause
and ponder about the following questions below.
1. Do you have a baby brother or sister? What was he/she like while growing up?

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2. When you were in grade school, what were the similarities and differences
between you and your classmates?
3. As an adolescent, what are the changes that you have noticed within you?

Infancy (birth to 2 years) is a critical stage in child development because growth is

rapid. Many believe that this stage is the most important stage in one’s life since the changes
that occur in infancy will affect the later stages of development. This stage is also known as
the building block for the succeeding stages in the attainment of crucial knowledge, skills and
behavior, let us look at the chart below to see the typical and atypical developmental
milestones in the infancy stage.

Table 5.1 Typical and atypical development during infancy

DOMAINS TYPICAL ATYPICAL

 Holds head  Does not hold head
without support up
 Pushes legs  Does not put weight
down when feet on legs
are on flat  Cannot sit without
PHYSICAL surface support
 Rolls over  Does not walk
 Sits without steadily
support
 Crawls
 Walks
 Begins to run
 Smiles at people  Does not smile
 Likes to play  Shows no affection
 Shy or afraid of  Does not recognize
SOCIO- strangers familiar people
EMOTIONAL  Cries when
caregiver leaves
 Copies others
 Shows
independence
 Makes cooing  Does not coo and
and babbling babble
sounds  Does not say a
 Responds to own single word
name  Does not speak in
 Makes different sentences
LANGUAGE sounds
 Responds to
simple requests
 Tries to say
words
 Says sentences
 Watches things  Does not watch
as they move things as they move
 Uses eyes and  Does not know what
hands together to do with common
objects

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 Recognizes
people at a
distance
 Transfers object
COGNITIVE from one hand to
another
 Explores things in
various ways
 Uses things
correctly (eats
with spoon)
 Finds hidden
things

Early Childhood (3 to 8 years old) is a period of life with slow growth and rapid
development. Most psychologists label this stage as the exploratory and questioning stage
since the children enjoy discovering new things in their surroundings. Interactions with family
and the people around them will help shape their development (see Table 5.2).

Table 5.2. Typical and atypical development during early childhood

DOMAINS TYPICAL ATYPICAL

PHYSICAL  Runs well  Falls down often
 Climbs easily  Needs help in
 Hops and Stands on physical activities
one foot
 Can use toilet on
his/her own
SOCIO-EMOTIONAL  Shows affection  Does not want to play
 Takes turns in games with others
 Cooperates with other  Usually withdrawn
children
 Shows concern and
sympathy
 Shows more
independence
LANGUAGE  Follows two to three  Has unclear speech
steps instructions  Can’t tell stories
 Uses pronouns articulately
 Tells and retell stories
 Speaks clearly
COGNITIVE  Plays make-believe  Does not play with
 Works with simple simple toys or make-
toys believe
 Names colors and  Loses skills once had
numbers
 Draws a person
 Names letters

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 Shows development
of mental skills

Middle Childhood (9 to 11 years) is a stage that brings various changes in a child’s

life. Independence is a characteristic that children in this stage asserts. Developing friendships
is another milestone that is evident in this stage. Children should be given more task to develop
their sense of responsibility to further develop their growing independence.

Table 5.3. Typical and atypical development during middle childhood

DOMAINS TYPICAL ATYPICAL

PHYSICAL  Growth spurt may  Has limited mobility
take place
 Becomes clumsy
 Increased in appetite

SOCIO-EMOTIONAL  Forms stronger  Has difficulty making

friendships and keeping friends
 Becomes aware of
body changes due to
puberty
 Shows more concern
about looks
 May feel stressed
about school work

LANGUAGE  Continues to speak  Has unclear speech

clearly  Can’t tell stories
 Express one’s thought articulately
articulately

COGNITIVE  Increased attention  Experiences

span problems with
 Sees the view of other comprehension and
people more clearly attention
 Unable to keep up
with the school’s
curriculum

Adolescence (12 to 18 years) is the period where puberty begins. By the end of this
stage, most will have completed puberty. The child is now called a teen during this stage. The
teen is becoming more vocal about his or her opinions due to the development of a unique
personality. Peer pressure, however, will be present, which is why guidance from parents and
guardians is very much needed.

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Table 5.4. Typical and atypical development during adolescence

DOMAINS TYPICAL ATYPICAL

PHYSICAL  Reached adult height  Limited mobility
and weight
SOCIO-EMOTIONAL  Becomes interested in  Has limited peer
opposite sex connections
 Begins conflict with  May exhibit
parents inappropriate
 Shows more behavior in public
independence from
parents
LANGUAGE  Continues to speak  Has unclear speech
clearly  Can’t tell stories
 Expresses one’s articulately
thought articulately
COGNITIVE  Acquires and uses  Is below grade level
defined work habits
 Shows concern about
the future

Behaviors that are atypical should be observed keenly and recorded carefully. At times,
the recorded observations might just be isolated events with no significant impact on later
development. However, they might also be early warning signs of needs. The observed
patterns will be useful to confirm if there is such a need.

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ACTIVITY 1 / REVIEW

1. State the various child development theories and discuss each one with partner.

___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

2. What are the various child development theories in relation to the different milestones
of each stage?

___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

3. Enumerate ad discuss the various domains of development.

___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

4. Using the Venn diagram below, compare and contrast the different stages in child
development.

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ACTIVITY 2 / REFLECT

1. Look for photos that will represent various milestones for every stage. Roam around
the room to share the photos with classmates. As a variation, students may just show
the photo first and then ask the students to name the specific milestone, stage, and
domain. Jot down answers on the table provided below.

Description of Photo Stage of Development Milestone

2. By pairs, create a chart or web on various developmental stages that shows how the
milestones build on each other. Once done, present the output to the class or other
pairs.

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ACTIVITY 3 / PRACTICE

1. This domain refers to the process of acquiring language in a consistent order

without the need for explicit teaching from the environment.

a. Physical
b. Language
c. Socio-emotional
d. Cognitive

2. The stage in child development where puberty begins.

a. Infancy
b. Early childhood
c. Middle childhood
d. Adolescence

3. Which of the following is a typical milestone in early childhood development and is

under the social domain? A child ________.

a. Begins to smile at people

b. Reaches for a toy with one hand
c. Turns head toward sounds
d. Walks up and down stairs holding on

4. All are commonly accepted principles of child development EXCEPT for

a. The rate of development differs among children.

b. Development occurs in a relatively orderly process.
c. Child development does not follow a predictable pattern.
d. Development takes place gradually.

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SAMPLE ANSWER SHEET FORMAT IN A LONG SIZE BOND PAPER

(In a Landscape or Portrait)

Name: ________________________________ 2nd Semester SY 2020-2021

Program/Year/Block:_____________________ Date Accomplished:_________
Address:______________________________ Contact Number:___________

__________________________________
Name of Activity

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REFERENCES

Berger, Kathleen Stassen. (2003). The developing Person Through Childhood and
Adolescence. New York: USA Worth Publishers.

Bergin, Christi Crossby and David Allen Bergin. (2015). Child and Adolescent
Development in Your Classroom. 2nd edition. CT: USA Cengage Learning.
Berk, Laura E. (2008). Infants, Children and Adolescents. 6 th Edition. New York: USA
Pearson Education, Inc.

Bjorkland, David F. and Carlos Hernandez Blasi. (2015). Child and Adolescent
Development: an Integrated Approach. Philippine Edition.

Friend, M., & Bursuck, W. D. (2009). Including Students with Special Needs. Boston,
MA, USA: Allyn & Bacon

Wisconsin Department of Health Services. (n.d). retrieved from:

https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/clts/waiver/country/mod4-matrices.pdf

https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/clts/waiver/county/mod2-matrices.pdf

https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/clts/waiver/county/mod1-matrices.pdf

https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/clts/waiver/county/mod3-matrices.pdf

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