Infant Observation - Grade: A PDF

Preview

Summary

mandatory assignment ...

Description

Running Head: Infant Observation

Brief Assignment 1 – Infant Observation Mi c he l eRo s a t i Ne wYo r kUni v e r s i t y De par t me nto fOc c upa t i o na lThe r a py

1

Infant Observation

2

Onas u n n ySa t u r d a ya f t e r n oo n , Iwe ntt ov i s i tmy11 mo n t ho l dn i e c ea th e rh o me . Myho u r l o n gc r i t i c a lo b s e r v a t i o nb e g a nwh i l emyn i e c ewa st a ki n gh e rr o u t i n en a pa n ds o o n p r o g r e s s e dt ohe re v e r y da yp l a ya r e ai nt h ec o r n e roft hel i vi n gr o o m. As my niece was napping, I gently stroked her cheek until she turned her head to the side and began sucking. (Santrock, 1995, p.129) At first I thought I had woken her up when she moved, but thankfully she was still fast asleep. She was unconsciously exhibiting a primitive reflex: rooting. (Zafeiriou, 2004, p.2) Hearing the sounds of her toys twenty minutes later, I peeked into the room unnoticed to observe my niece in a seated, upright position actively exploring the lights and buttons on her toys. (Rekoutis, 2014 p.4) Acting consistent with Piaget’s sensorimotor stage, the little girl was coordinating secondary schemas (Santrock, 1995, p.140) when she intentionally flung her toy keys out of the way to get ahold of the microphone toy underneath them. The sound of door creak caused her to dart her head towards me, but to my surprise, she did not lose her balance. (Rekoutis, 2014, p.4) Recognizing me as a familiar caregiver, my niece immediately reached out signaling me to lift her as her bright smile widened. Her “actively seeking support of caregiver through eyecontact, gesturing…and proximity.” (Benson, 2010, p.464) and facial expression shows increased emotional regulation and social interaction skills (Case-Smith, 2010, p.87) Later, she slowly hoisted herself to her feet while using the couch as a support. After standing balanced with no support of the couch, she began to stumble towards me. (Rekoutis, 2014, p.4) Her motivation to reach a comforting caregiver and her advancing gross motor skills empowered her to independently step towards me. Knowing my niece loves playing “superman” we flew around the living room. Excited and shifting her weight, I started to lose my grip. As I tried to fly her faster with my weakening arms,

Infant Observation

3

she swung slightly forward and I saw her actually straighten her arms. In retrospect, she had exhibited the parachute reflex when I had tipped her too far forward. To avoid another close call, I placed the baby on her feet. Wanting to return to her toys, she gripped the coffee table’s edge using it as a railing to stabilize herself as she walks around its perimeter to her crayon box. Again, she displays gross motor skills appropriate for her developmental age. After attempting to play “peek-a-boo”, but quickly realizing that even though she couldn’t see me she had developed object permanence (Case-Smith, 2010, p. 86) and knew I didn’t disappear, I moved on to coloring. Prompting her to color Princess Elsa in her color book, she drew big swirls holding the crayon in a crude radial cross-palmar grasp. (Howe, 2014, p.3) Her attention to coloring was short-lived and she did not show role-differentiated hand use because she refused to stabilize the paper with her non-drawing hand. (Howe, 2014, p.3) Although her grasp, arm motions and resultant pre-writing scribbles are slightly advanced hand/arm coordination and fine motor skills for an eleven month old, her attention span is developmentally suitable. While I was coddling her and saying my goodbyes, I felt her trunk extend and neck crane (Rekoutis, 2014, p.4) in search of her mother who had just left the room. Her alertness and subsequent actions not only demonstrated her gross motor capabilities, but also a secure sense of attachment. Overall, the infant exhibits gross and fine motor skills associated with her developmental age. Her social interaction, emotional regulation/attachment style and cognition level is also developmentally appropriate for her age.

Infant Observation

4

References Benson, J., & Haith, M. (2010). Infant Bonding and Attachment to the Caregiver. Retrieved October 5, 2016. Case-Smith, J., & O'Brien, J. C. (2010). Occupational therapy for children. Maryland Heights, MO: Mosby/Elsevier. Howe, T.-H & Holzman, I. R. (2014). Fine motor development. In W. F. Malcolm (Ed.), Beyond the NICU: comprehensive care of the high-risk infant. New York, NY: McGrawHill Professional publication. Rekoutis, Panos (2014) Performance And Development Across The Life Span Gross-Motor Development and Fine Motor Skills (Powerpoint Slides) Retrieved https://newclasses.nyu.edu/access/content/group/ LectureNotes09.19.2016/GrossMotorDevelopment_FineMotorSkillspartI09.21.20 16.pptx Santrock, J. W. (1995). Life-Span Development. Madison, WI: WCB Brown & Benchmark. Zafeiriou, D. I. (2004). Primitive reflexes and postural reactions in the neurodevelopmental examination. Pediatric neurology, 31(1), 1-8....