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DEVELOPMENTAL CASE STUDY
Isla
Isla is four years old. She attends the ABC Childcare Facility. Her mother is Filipino,
while her father is Caucasian. It's not long since she became a big sister. She is extremely timid
among strangers, yet she becomes very gregarious and lively as soon as she feels comfortable.
This is her first experience in a childcare center, since her birth coincided with the COVID-19
pandemic, resulting in limited opportunities for social contact and outside activities.
Physical
Taking into account her physical maturation, it can be seen that she has experienced a
reduction in the roundness of her facial features and a diminished semblance of infantile
characteristics. Her4weight and age are within the expected range for her age group, although she
falls towards the lower end of the weight range as a result of her being a picky eater. Her gross
motor abilities are progressing in a manner consistent with typical development, as seen by her
ability to engage in activities like running and riding a bicycle. However, it should be noted that
she exhibits a fear of heights and experience apprehension while attempting to traverse a
balancing beam. She has acquired the requisite abilities in drawing, coloring, and using scissors.
Nevertheless, her handwriting lacks clarity, and she has challenges while attempting to color
inside designated boundaries. She has the ability to use scissors for the purpose of cutting paper,
but without precision along designated lines or shapes. She has the necessary fine-motor abilities
to engage in play and construct structures using building blocks. “Children who enter
kindergarten with better fine motor skills—like stacking blocks and imitating line drawings—
have higher achievement in elementary school” (Bergin & Bergin, 2018).
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DEVELOPMENTAL CASE STUDY
Cognitive
She4has a high level of curiosity and demonstrates a preference for independently
attempting to resolve problems prior to seeking assistance from the teacher. “Children this age
begin to learn questioning, spatial relationships, problem-solving, imitation, number sense, and
symbolic play” (Gizzonio et al., 2021). She4demonstrates the ability to adhere to established
procedures without requiring continuous guidance from the teacher. Her4linguistic abilities are
progressing in a suitable manner; yet, she4often has difficulties in retaining recently acquired
terms.According to her mother, she also acquired the ability to talk with a British accent through
exposure to a certain animated television program. When she was playing in the dramatic play
area with her peers, the demonstration of egocentrism was evident while engaging in collective
monologues, when she engaged in dialogue with another child, taking turns speaking without
actively listening to one another. “Young children are4egocentric, which is the tendency to see
the world from their own point of view and to assume that other people do too” (Bergin &
Bergin, 2018, Chapter 3).
Social
She has proficient abilities in engaging in creative play and demonstrates the capacity to
sustain extended and passionate conversations with others. She has a greater number of friends
of the opposing sex in comparison to those of the same gender. “A child can infer which people
are potentially good cooperative partners (e.g., friends of friends), and which should be avoided
(e.g., enemies of friends)” (Afshordi & Liberman, 2020). She exhibits many personality traits
that are contingent upon the others with whom she interacts. She may exhibit timidity,
talkativeness, or occasional displays of hostility.
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DEVELOPMENTAL CASE STUDY
Axel
Axel is a boy that is 15 months old at this time. He also attends ABC Childcare Facility.
His mother is of Latin American origin, and his father is of African-American4descent; he is an
only child.
Physical
His weight and age are both normal for his age, yet he is a little overweight. His gross
motor abilities are progressing in a manner consistent with typical development, as shown by his
ability to ambulate with some instability but without experiencing falls, as well as his capacity to
engage in running activities. “Infants who are walking retrieve an object from further away—
touching, banging, and exploring it—and then share it with their caretakers more than same-age
infants who are still crawling” (Bergin & Bergin, 2018, Chapter 2). I have seen him engage in
this behavior on several occasions, whereby he consistently retrieves toys and presents them to
the caregiver, who afterwards instructs him to return the object to its original location. In
addition, he4exhibits a preference for climbing the toddler steps in the classroom, often
accompanied by the act of carrying a toy truck. He4has an inclination to maneuver this toy truck
around the climber furniture. His4fine motor abilities enable him to engage in play and construct
structures using oversized blocks. He4demonstrates proficient control over the paintbrush
throughout the act of painting; yet, some instances of inadvertent release occur while initiating
hand movements. His4physical development is consistent with the expected norms for his4age
group.
Cognitive
He has knowledge of many widely used sign languages, including but not limited to signs
for milk, more, please, thank you, and all done. Additionally, his linguistic proficiency extends
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DEVELOPMENTAL CASE STUDY
above 100 words, including both English and Spanish languages. When he plays with toys, he is
more likely to bang it on the shelf than use it for symbolic play. There is a certain schedule that
the students are expected to adhere to, and although he would comply with it sometimes, other
times he would allow himself to get sidetracked by his fellow classmates. Due to his very young
age, he has a limited attention span, often engaging in activities contrary to the instructions
provided by the caregiver, often mirroring the actions of a peer. “During the4sensorimotor stage,
children become capable of4deferred imitation; that is, they can mentally represent, remember,
and then imitate an action they observed in the past” (Bergin & Bergin, 2018, Chapter 3). He4has
cognitive abilities that are notably advanced when compared to others within the same age
bracket.
Social
When he is assigned a duty by a caregiver, he tends to exhibit a high level of compliance.
He4has a positive emotional response, characterized by a smile and giggle upon receiving
appreciation for his4acts. “Very young children have a universal impulse to be kind and helpful”
(Bergin & Bergin, 2018, Chapter 10). He derives pleasure from engaging in interactions with
children of the opposing sex, sometimes making physical contact by touching their hair or hands.
He4often exhibits a willingness to share what he has, even in situations when another child may
be taking them without causing a fuss or outrage. He does not exhibit selectivity in his
willingness to provide help. The child has heightened emotional responses upon seeing his
mother, who happens to be employed in the next classroom. It takes a little period of time for
him to manage his emotions when he sees her walk past his classroom. In general, his social and
emotional behavior is the same as that of a 15-month-old would be expected to be at this age.
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DEVELOPMENTAL CASE STUDY
References
Afshordi, N., & Liberman, Z. (2020). Keeping friends in mind: Development of friendship
concepts in early childhood. Social Development, 30(2), 331–342.
https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12493
Bergin, C. & Bergin, D.4 (2018).4Child & adolescent development in your classroom4(3rd ed.).
Cengage Learning.
Gizzonio, V., Bazzini, M. C., Marsella, C., Papangelo, P., Rizzolatti, G., & Fabbri‐Destro, M.
(2021). Supporting preschoolers’ cognitive development: Short‐ and mid‐term effects of
fluid reasoning, visuospatial, and motor training. Child Development, 93(1), 134–149.
https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13642
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