support learning and development physical development

Support learning and development

Physical development


Middle childhood and adolescence are

times of complex physical changes and

the refining of existing skills.

© 2012 Pearson Australia ISBN: 9781442541757


• Physical development follows a predictable sequence.

• Individual children develop at different rates.

• Brain development has a significant impact on motor development.



Factors that may impact on physical development include:

Maturation (readiness)

Heredity

Environmental influences



Physical growth relates to the growth of

bones, muscles, tendons, nerves and

organs (sensory, speech, skin, brain and

heart).



Motor development includes both

quantitative physiological change

and qualitative change

Cephalocaudal development

Proximodistal development



Motor development includes:

gross motor development

fine motor development

perceptual motor development



Two important perceptual processes depend on vision and hearing:

visual perception – the ability to make sense and meaning out of what you see

auditory perception – the ability to make sense and meaning out of what you hear



Visual perception skills:visual discrimination

figure ground

spatial relationships

visual memory

visual closure© 2012 Pearson Australia ISBN: 9781442541757


Auditory perception skills:

•auditory awareness

•auditory decoding

•auditory discrimination

•auditory memory

•auditory sequencing© 2012 Pearson Australia ISBN: 9781442541757


Dominance and Hand Preference

Establishing dominance assists children to

accomplish many tasks including writing and

reading.

Children who have not developed a hand

preference will have difficulty with tasks that

require the co-ordination of two hands.© 2012 Pearson Australia ISBN: 9781442541757


Risk-taking and injuryThe shift towards the importance of the peer group as a key socialising influence means that adolescence is also a time for risk-taking behaviour, which escalates toward the senior high school years. Because of this, young people are at risk of accidents and injuries.



Childhood obesity

Children who are obese are also likely to

have social problems, poor self-esteem

and low self-confidence.


support learning and development physical development

Documents