DO Pres

Old Enough to

DiscriminateWhen Differences and

Sameness MatterToniea Harrison

SPED 6263/6268

What is this developmental

outcome?

Click me!

Following Piagetian theory, children gain the ability to group objects in a simple fashion, according to similarities and exclude objects not fitting the group. 13


outcome?

Look here!

Following Piagetian theory, children gain the ability to group objects according to similarities and exclude objects not fitting the group

11


outcome?~ Ages 7 -11 During the concrete operational

stage, logical reasoning replaces the intuitive, child-centered (egocentric) thinking of the preoperational stage.

Categorization is according to concrete details only (not philosophical concepts like good or bad). 16

Concrete (“Just the facts”) Grouping


outcome? Inductive reasoning is in action,

pulling information from the environment to build one's own understanding.

Children are able to see objectively, and, noticing facets of objects, learn basic ways of grouping them together according to discriminatory properties (e.g. red vs. blue, two legs vs. four legs). 12


outcome? Inductive reasoning allows for bottom-

up grouping, noticing individual traits among objects then grouping them according to the commonalities. 12

17

9


outcome? Elements of deductive reasoning appear, allowing for top-down organization, viewing themes among objects and determining specific items that will fit within that theme. 12

Through logical operations, most children can group objects according to multiple criteria (3 at the most) by age nine. 10

“A beak, feathers...it must

go here!”

14 5

How Does This Help? Developmentally, acquiring this ability

allows a child to better understand his or her environment.

Cognitively, discrimination of objects within the environment sets the stage for organizing information that is more abstract in nature.

The ability to separate a dog from a wolf or, eventually, good from evil, is not only a cognitive exercise but a matter of safety or a factor in determining one's social group. 2

The ability to discriminate is theorized to occur within a particular period of development, though biological and situational influences can cause this ability to arise sooner or later than predicted. 2

Typical Developmental

Trajectory: Variability and

Influences



Influences As cognition and environmental exposure are key facets to attaining this achievement, quality of education and parental intellectual background are relevant to its development. 2

As is the caregiver's tolerance for a child's exploration of his or her surroundings. Societies premised on living reclusively would expose their children to different or less varied experiences than groups outside of this culture. 7



InfluencesThough Piaget would classify simple discrimination as a trait of late childhood-preadolescence (seven to 11 or 12 years old), the ability to classify has been seen in preschoolers. 8

18



Influences Though categorizing according to abstract rationales is not a skill Piaget considers to be accessible prior to the Formal Operations stage of thinking, age 12 and beyond, the capacity to do so can emerge in the fourth grade. 1, 13

Even starting in second grade, children may group objects according to symbolic meaning more so than by superficial data, such as shape and color. 13

In the Atypically Developing

Child... It must be noted that skills of cognition, including language, and perception are vital to discrimination. 15

So, impairments in these and other areas will impact a child's capacity to categorize.

For similar, even more foundational skills along Piaget's timeline of cognitive development, youth with intellectual or physical disabilities including blindness, and autism progress at a slower rate than children without a disability. The case is the same for discrimination. 4


Child... Sensory impairments, such as Usher syndrome, can impact the ability to take in information from one's surroundings.

Interestingly, sensory impairments have been found to occur more often in people with intellectual disability.

Psychiatric impairments can inhibit an accurate perspective of the environment due to interference from mood, emotional and behavioral dysregulation, or psychotic features. 6


Child... Youth with low intelligence and poor expressive or receptive language, also likely associated with having a psychiatric disorder.

Visual and hearing impairments commonly occur among persons with psychiatric disorders that distort perception of the environment. 6

Cerebral palsy, for example, is a disorder that can contain all of the above impairments, being a cluster of disorders affecting movement and posture, but also sensory input, perception, cognitive impairment, communication, and behavior. 3


Child:Domains Involved and AffectedWhy these impairments are so impactful:

needed skills are affected.Cognition Selective attention

to details 15

Executive functioning – organization, planning

Coherent internal dialogue

Language Learned

vocabulary for labeling

Language available for

“talking through” grouping plans


Child:Domains Involved and AffectedWhy these impairments are so impactful:

needed skills are affected.Gross Motor Mobility for

exploring the environment

Reaching for objects for the sake of evaluation

Fine Motor Grasping, touching,

manipulating objects for close inspection and tactile information (e.g.

texture, form, construction) Social Emotional

Comportment for reception of other's knowledge

Consulting with others for the sharing of ideas

Helping the Atypically

Developing ChildInterventions at home and at school...

Cognitive & Language

To enhance perceptual, organization and verbal skills

Repeated and regular instruction w/ naming and grouping exercises 4

Encourage visual attention Reinforcement to encourage skills training Hearing aids, glasses

Helping the Atypically

Developing ChildInterventions at home and at school...

Socioemotional

For informed, experiential learning

Social skills group, play group

Behavioral therapy Psychopharmaceuti

cals (for attention, mood, regulation)

Gross and Fine Motor

To facilitate motion and grasp

Physical or occupational therapy

Orthotics, wheelchairs, walkers

Reachers Rubbing objects on

the face by another party

19

Consider cross-

application!These tools are not cure-alls and can

be implemented for causes other than

prescribed (e.g. assisting the visually

impaired with tactile exploration, not

just the motorically impaired).

Be creative!

References1. Abkarian, G. G. (1987). Object grouping in children: A revised look at the iconic-symbolic approach.

Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 5(2), 166-177. 2. Berk, L.E. (2008). Infants and children: Prenatal through middle childhood (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. 3. Bottcher, L. (2010). Children with spastic cerebral palsy, their cognitive functioning, and social participation: A review. Child Neuropsychology: A Journal on Normal and Abnormal Development in Childhood and Adolescence, 16(3), 209-228. 4. Bruce, S., & Muhammad, Z. (2009). The development of object permanence in children with intellectual disability, physical disability, autism, and blindness. International Journal Of Disability, Development & Education, 56(3), 229-246.5. Calderón-Franco, D. (2010). Red-legged-honeycreeper [Photograph]. Retrieved December 1, 2012 from http://www.colombiabirding.com/pacificchocolowlands.php6. Carvill, S. (2001). Sensory impairments, intellectual disability and psychiatry. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 45(6), 467-483.7. Chikova, L. (2010, March 7). Ways of a reclusive people. The Herald. Retrieved from http://www.herald.co.zw/8. Denney, N.W. (1972). Free classification in preschool children. Child Development, 43(4), 1161-1170. 9. DiIorio Farms & Roadside Market. (2012). [Untitled photograph of a bushel of apples]. Retrieved December 1, 2012 from http://www.diioriofarms.com/whats-in-season.html 10. Fogelman, K.R. (1970). Piagetian tests for the primary school. London: National Foundation for

Educational Research.11. freetutorinfo. (2010, April 13). How can objects be sorted? K2 math education kids educational video

[Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfO1YIyh0o0&feature =share&list=PLC4C229BBC94A50C0

12. Gyr, J.W., Brown, J.S., & Cafagna, A.C. (1967). Quasi-formal models of inductive behavior and their relation to piaget's theory of cognitive stages. Psychological Review, 74(4), 272-289.

References13. Mooney, C.G. (2000b). Chapter 5: Jean Piaget. In Theories of childhood: An introduction to Dewey,

Montessori, Erikson, Piaget & Vygotsky (pp. 59-80). St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press. 14. Photo Screensavers. (n.d.). Birds photo screensaver 2.0 [Computerized image]. Retrieved

December 1, 2012 from http://www.handyarchive.com/Desktop/Screensavers/76673-Birds-Photo-Screensaver.html

15. Riley, N. (1989). Piagetian cognitive functioning in students with learning disabilities. Journal Of Learning Disabilities, 22(7), 444-451.

16. Santrock, J.W. (2005). Chapter 4: Cognitive development. In Adolescence (10th ed.) (pp. 104-143). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Companies.

17. Specialty Produce. (2012). [Untitled photograph of a golden delicious apples]. Retrieved

December 1, 2012 from http://www.specialtyproduce.com/produce/Golden_Delicious_Apples_120.php

18. Table 1: Frequencies of the different types of responses. Reprinted from “Free classification in preschool children,” by N.W. Denney, 1972, Child Development, 43(4), 1164. Copyright

1972 by Nancy Wadsworth Denney. 19. The New Professional Series [Photograph]. (2006). Retrieved December 1, 2012 from

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2006/06/prweb389125.htm

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