Who Is A Child Development Specialist?
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A child development specialist is a professional who has an understanding of child growth and development.
A development specialist is an expert in developmental psychology; which is the study of how a child grows physically, and how their behaviours change over time as they interact with the world around them.
The time span of interest for a child specialist is from infancy to late adolescence. The work of the child specialist is to identify a child’s behaviours, and predict and explain these behaviours. These professionals also strive to control certain childhood behaviours.
A child development specialist understands the sequence a child will follow in his development in terms of ages and stages. They are aware of the milestones a child is expected to reach, and the sequence and the time frame the children are expected to reach them.
A child specialist not only describes how children grow and develop, they also attempt to explain why certain behaviours take place.
There are three basic explanations for why a child behaves in a certain manner.
Biological explanations refer to the genetic makeup of the child and the physical maturation of the child.
Psychological explanations focus on a child’s personality and take into account their wants, needs, motivations and desires.
Social explanations take into consideration the effect a child’s environment has on them.
A child development specialist can evaluate a child, and describe and explain their behaviour, and then compare this information with information about most other children their age.
This is a way of evaluating a child's growth and development and is also a way to predict how a child is most likely to continue to grow and develop, based on past behaviour and their current growth rate.
In order to gain information on child growth and development, a child development specialist studies up-to-date research which investigates and analyzes information gathered about children through various types of research.
The scientific method of research involves 5 steps...
The first step is to observe a situation.
The second is to predict how a child is likely to act in that situation (draw a hypothesis) and then...
Thirdly, that hypothesis is put to the test through various research procedures. In child development, this is typically done through naturalistic observation, interviews and case studies.
The fourth step in the scientific research method is to draw a conclusion based on the test results, and the...
Fifth step is to publish the results so that others may learn from their findings.
Information provided by a child specialist can reassure parents that their child is developing at a normal rate.
It is also an excellent indicator of abnormal growth and development patterns and can pinpoint factors; whether they be biological, psychological or social, that are responsible for a delay in growth and development.
The more we are able to understand child growth and development the better we will be able to understand our children. It is a tool that allows us to guide them in a healthy direction through their physical, social, cognitive and emotional growth.
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