Post on 29-Apr-2015
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And Children With Special Needs (0-5 years)
Michelle Fitzpatrick, MA
June 4, 2014
SOCIAL~EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Special Topics in Early Childhood Series
HappyPaleoKids.com
With Parents Helping Parents
About Me - Michelle• Education• BA, Mills College, Psychology• MA, Mills College, Infant Mental Health
•Work History• Infant Developmental Specialist, Baby Builders, Oakland• Early Start Service Coordinator, SARC, Campbell• Mental Health Counselor, Pre-to-Three, San Mateo County• …more!
• Currently• Stay at home mom (Annie, 4; Rosie, 2; Elizabeth, 1)• Blog: HappyPaleoKids.com examines the intersection of
child development and nutrition
WHAT IS SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT?
We develop in the context of
RELATIONSHIPS
What is Social-Emotional Development?
• Social development – learning the values, skills, and knowledge to effectively relate to others and participate in the world around us• Emotions serve a social purpose: they allow us to have insight into another’s internal state• Primary emotions: anger, fear, surprise, disgust, joy, interest, sadness• Secondary emotions (self-conscious emotions): embarrassed, shame, jealousy, pride, guilt Foley (1999)
THE DEVELOPMENT OF EMOTIONS
Emotion Regulation• What is emotion?• A physiological response to the
environment • What is emotion regulation?• The ability to monitor and adjust an
emotional response to the environment in order to reach a goal
• Infants are born with a few strategies for regulating emotions• Sucking, gaze aversion, crossing
legs, arms to midline• Strategies to self-regulate increase
as we mature
(Crockenberg & Leerkes, 2000; Siegel, 1999)
Emotion Regulation
“Zone of Optimal Arousal” (Perez, 2007)
Emotion Regulation•Mutual Regulation/ Emotional Attunement• Caregiver is aware of and responds in a way that matches the
child’s emotional state and demonstrates she understands the child’s internal state
• Social Referencing• Looking toward a caregiver to determine how to respond
(Crockenberg & Leerkes, 2000; Siegel, 1999)
Child-Parent Attachment• Infants form relationships with people
“stronger and wiser” in their environment in order to be protected• Overtime, they develop mental
representations of those relationships based on experiences• They use those mental representations to
make predictions about future interactions, as well as about the world in general
• Children use their caregivers as a Secure Base/ Safe Haven from which to explore
Attachment to parents isthe model infants/toddlers use
to understand all other relationships.
(Bowlby, 1969/1982; Ainsowrth et. al, 1978)
Early Childhood Brain Development
• The human brain continues to rapidly grow new cells during the first 3 years• “Hardwiring” of the emotional brain takes place during the first 3 years
Siegel (1999)
Of Social-Emotional Development
STAGES
Stages of Social Emotional Development:Stage 1: (0-3 months)
• Explore their own bodies (suck fingers, etc.)• Look at their hands• Begin to social smile• Prefer familiar caregivers• Demonstrate pleasure in
social situations• Vocal turn taking begins to
occur
• Respond promptly and sensitively to their cues (cries, vocalizations, gazes)• Engage in short, frequent
interactions• Smile and make over-
exaggerated facial expressions• Talk, and read to them• Massage and touch them• Describe emotions to them
(for example: “You are feeling happy!” or “You don’t like when mommy wipes your nose.”)
Typical Milestones What you can do:
Stages of Social Emotional Development:Stage 2 (3-6 months)
• Begin to initiate interactions with smiles and vocalizations• Begin to laugh• Smile spontaneously to show
enjoyment• Pay attention to their name• Enjoy turn-taking games
• Continue to do as you were for the first 3 months• Play games such as peek-a-
boo, pat-a-cake, and this little piggy• Create routines – bedtime,
naptime, other• Sing and do “fingerplays”
(twinkle twinkle, the itsy bitsy spider, etc.)• If possible, allow them to
play with other children of varying ages
Typical Milestones What you can do:
Stages of Social Emotional Development:Stage 3 (6-9 months)
• Clearly express several emotions (fear, anger, joy)• Clearly prefer familiar
caregivers and friends• Respond to language and
gestures• Use gestures and
vocalizations to communicate
• Continue as you have been doing for months 0-6, especially:• Respond promptly and
sensitively to their cues• Smile, talk, and read to them• Massage/touch them• Play games & sing• Describe emotional
experiences to them • Have routines• Expose them to other
children & extended family
Typical Milestones What you can do:
Stages of Social Emotional Development:Stage 4 (9-12 months)
• Understanding themselves as separate from others• Becoming more independent
(feeding themselves, perhaps becoming mobile)• Assist in getting dressed• Cry when separated from
caregivers• Show happiness upon
reuniting with caregivers
• Offer them opportunities to explore their environment and come back to you when scared (“secure base”)• Create separation and
reunion routines• Continue as you have been
doing, with longer stretches of play, as their attention span increases
Typical Milestones What you can do:
Stages of Social Emotional Development:Stage 5 (1-2 years)
• Demonstrate a wider arrange of emotions, including some “social” emotions (empathy, compassion, etc.)• Recognize themselves in a
mirror• Show affection for familiar
people• Play by themselves• Imitate adult behavior• Become assertive (“no!”)
• Respond promptly and sensitively to their cues• Talk, sing, and read with your
child• Describe emotional
experiences• Create routines• Offer opportunity to play with
other children
Typical Milestones What you can do:
Stages of Social Emotional Development:Stage 6 (2-3 years)
• Engage in independent and parallel play• Begin to engage in social play• Begin symbolic play games
such as “house”• Rapid mood shifts• Increased fearfulness• Continued assertiveness
(“no”) as they explore self-identity• Form a gender identity• Become more independent
(toilet training, dressing self)• Have preferred friends and
understand friendship
• Talk, sing, and read with your child• Describe emotional
experiences• Create routines• Offer opportunity to play with
other children• Set clear limits and
boundaries• Offer opportunities to
practice new independent skills• Offer options for child to
choose from (red shirt or blue shirt, standing or sitting, etc.)• Acknowledge fears
Typical Milestones What you can do:
Stages of Social Emotional Development:Stage 7 (3-4 years)
• Become more independent and participate in self-care• Follow directions• Share and take turns with
assistance • Greater understanding of
“self” and “other”• Increased expression of
social emotions• Initiate or join play with other
children• More elaborate dramatic play
• Continue as you have been• Engage in dramatic play with
your child• Allow child to explore and be
independent• Act as a “secure base” when
child is upset• Provide social stimulation
(via playdates, preschool, etc.)
Typical Milestones What you can do:
Stages of Social Emotional Development:Stage 8 (4-5 years)
• Have some understanding of moral reasoning (things being fair/unfair, good/bad behavior)• Compares self with others• Develops friendships• Shows awareness of others’
feelings• Enjoys dramatic play with
other children• Demonstrates a wide range
of emotions, sometimes over-exaggerating emotions• Pays attention to details in
dramatic play
• Continue as you have been• Apologize when you make
mistakes• Explain reasons for rules and
behaviors• Label behavior as “good” or
“bad” – do not label the child as “good” or “bad”
Typical Milestones What you can do:
THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL PLAY
“Play is often talked aboutas if it were a relief fromserious learning. But for
children
PLAY IS SERIOUS LEARNING”
- Mr. Rogers
The Importance of Social Play • Provides children with an opportunity to:• Practice social skills• Make sense of cultural norms and values• Process experiences • Prepare for future responsibilities• Practice communication skills• Practice negotiation with peers• Socialize each other (teach each other what is acceptable/unacceptable behavior) (Brown, 1999)
SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
Children with Special Needs• Special Needs complicate the development of emotion regulation and social skills• Think of development as occurring along a
trajectory instead of as a static set of stages• Delays in other areas of development
influence social-emotional development• Cognitive delays • Motor delays • Sensory processing delays • Communication
• A note about autism: By definition, Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are disorders of social interaction, although social delays may have roots in sensory processing and motor planning. Meet your child where they are.
Meet your child
where they are.
Greenspan & Weider (1998)
Children with Special Needs
• What to do:• Use your child’s diagnosis to understand challenges to
learning and not as a label for limitations• Begin with “Sensory Processing” – emotional processing is
taking sensory processing to an abstract level• Change the environment to your child’s sensitivities in order
to reach the “zone of optimal arousal” (turn on/off lights, remove noises, play “white noise,” remove toys, etc.)
Greenspan & Weider (1998)
Children with Special Needs• What to do (continued)• Engage frequently with your child, with
shorter periods during the first year, growing to 15-20 minutes/day of individual “floor time” after the first year• Monitor your own level or emotional
arousal during interactions• Empathize with your child through gesture,
vocalization, and language – start at their level• Follow your child’s lead, making sure that
he/she directs the play• “But my child isn’t doing anything!!” –
your child is always doing something, it just may not seem “purposeful” to you• Give your child’s actions emotional
meaning (esp. children with ASD)
Greenspan & Weider (1998)
Questions?
Special thanks to Denny de Harne and Parents Helping Parents!
THANK YOU!!!