Brain Development

Brain Development and Brain Science

Brain science is a field that is growing rapidly. We now have ways to measure how the brain works that were never available before.  We can even see what parts of the brain are active and how that activity affects the physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development of a child. 

In this slide, you can see how certain areas of the brain shrinks or grows as a child ages. You can also see that the 2 year old brain does not differ greatly from the 10 year old brain, at least from this view.

That's because the majority of the brain develops the first 5 years of a child's life. As you can see, most basic skills are beginning to develop by the age of 3 and are completely developed by the age of 5. These skills will mature and refine, but the basic understandings of the physical, cognitive, social, and emotional world are evident by five years old. 

In this image, you can see the different areas of the brain and what they control. 

Comparing the previous image with this one, you can see a more graphic demonstration of how developed a brain is by five. The area in blue are lobes that are fully developed. These include the parietal lobe that controls the sensation of touch and the occipital lobe that controls vision. The areas in yellow are partially developed, such as the temporal lobe that governs hearing, smell, language, and social understanding. The areas in red are still developing or have not started to develop, like the frontal lobe, the area of the brain that controls our ability to reason and control our impulses. 

In fact, you can see in this image that the frontal lobe is still developing in our 20s.  Brain scientists have found that the frontal lobe, especially the area related to executive functioning, is not fully mature until we are 25.  Executive functioning includes being able to weigh long term consequences and control impulses. An interesting concept when you consider how our children can legally drive at 16, 15 in some states, join the military and go to war at 18, and drink when they're 21. 

We have seen that in a typically developing child, the brain grows and develops in a certain pattern according to the child's age. That growth and development can be measured in a child by being aware of certain benchmarks and milestones.

Benchmarks and Milestones

For in-depth checklists, visit: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/freematerials.html

Infants (0-1 Years Old)

In the following slides, we will look at significant benchmarks and milestones for infants. Toddler preschoolers, school ages, and adolescents on each slide is a link for more detailed checklists for each age group. 

As we have stated in the previous chapter, much of the child's development will occur in the five, first five years of the child's life. An infant changes monthly, and we could spend the entire presentation talking about those changes. However, in the interest of time and need, I have only cataloged a few significant milestones for this age group. 

Physically, the infant will learn that their hands, legs, and feet are part of their bodies and in their control. You will observe this as babies grasps at objects and scoot and crawl around the room. As they physically develop and can interact with their environment, their other abilities will grow. They will start to understand that those people that answer their cries are people they can trust, a social development. Cognitively, they'll experiment through trial and error, like grasping items and putting them in their mouths.  Emotionally, they will also test their environment. For example, they might drop their bottle off their high chair, see that the person that cares for them retrieves it, and understands that their actions cause others to act. 

In the first year, the child will move from very rudimentary skills to being aware of their environment, learning how to communicate with their caregivers to meet their needs, and walking a few steps. 

The important part of this year of development is their sense of trust and safety in those who care for them.

Toddlers (1-3 Years Old)

During the toddler years, the changes may not be as dramatic or as quick, but by three years old, they will have mastered many skills that they could not perform at one. Physically, the toddler's large motor and fine motor skills will become more refined. For example, the change from drinking from a bottle to a cup is the difference of holding a bottle with the entire hand and the handle of the cup with fingers. 

The largest cognitive skill development at this age is the growth of language. Being able to communicate with words instead of hands and cries often changes the relationship with their caregivers as their needs are more easily met. 

Socially, a toddler may seem less developed than the friendly baby as they begin to fear the unknown. They may also cling to certain toys or objects. However, this is an important part of their sense of safety and security. And while they may start to make friends with other children, they will not necessarily play with them. Toddlers tend to play next to each other without interacting. This is called parallel play and is very typical.

The most difficult part of the toddler development is the so called terrible twos or threes. The increased awareness of their environment and their place in it can lead them to frustration that they cannot control everything. They know they can grasp an object and can move an object, but does not understand that the object might not fit into the hole they want to put it in. 

Similarly, they may have begun to speak, but cannot articulate a difficult word or phrase and lose patience with the adult trying to understand them.

The important part of these years of development is their sense of security and that they "can do it."

Preschool (3-5 Years Old)

Development may have slowed a bit in the toddler years, but it speeds up again in the preschool years.  These are the years where the child seems to outgrow all their clothes and shoes every three to four months.  The fast physical growth may be natural, but it also can make the preschooler clumsy. It is important to exercise those large and small muscles as much as possible to help them master those growth spurts.

Cognitively, the preschooler will seem very illogical, more in tune with fantasy than reality. In many ways, they cannot understand reality. For example, concepts like time and space have no meaning, which is why, when you tell a preschooler that you're going to Disneyland in two weeks, they will ask you every day if today is the day they're going. 

This is also the age where they, many worry that their child is becoming a liar. Preschoolers cannot discern truth from fiction or even remember details accurately, so a story that is embellished may be exactly how the child remembers it. 

Socially, the preschooler will interact and play with their friends more. They are very aware of social roles, mother, father, teacher, or policeman, though they may not assign gender to those roles. You will often see boys and girls interchange between playing mother and father. 

Emotionally, the preschooler is aware of themselves separate from others, they understand right from wrong, and will start to show some guilt when they have done something wrong. This is different than the toddler who will understand they did something bad, but not really internalize that feeling and might do it again. The preschooler will start to have the ability to remember those feelings of guilt and avoid doing those things that make them feel that way. They will also start to feel pride when they do something right.

The important part of these years of development is to foster that sense of pride and allow them to be illogical and imaginative. 

School Age (6-11 Years Old)

The five or six years of elementary school is a time of slower physical growth and huge leaps in cognitive, social, and emotional growth. The school aged child will believe less in fantasy and more in rational thought. Time and space makes more sense, allowing them to start understanding math, science, history, and language more deeply.

Socially, they're all about their friends. They will be interested in more rule based activities, whether it is through sports, games, or even music. And in fact, they may show some inflexibility in their understanding of those rules. 

Emotionally, they will start to see that others may think or believe differently than themselves. They will also start to understand that their actions can affect others positively or negatively.  Their self esteem will be based on their abilities. Are they the fastest reader or the best hitter on the baseball team? Conversely, are they the slowest reader, or the child that is always picked last for dodgeball? 

The important part of these years of development is their sense of their own ability, that they feel pride in who they are and what they can do, and not inferior to others.  

Adolescents (12-17 Years Old)

The adolescent years can often be another terrible phase. Again, physical growth is rapid, with large changes to their bodies. Hormone levels are unpredictable and can lead the teen to feeling out of control again.

Cognitively, the teen will begin to be able to mix the imaginative thinking of the preschooler with the rational thinking of the school ager, allowing them to think hypothetically. This is the age of the what ifs. While the what ifs can sometimes be annoying, it is those questions that lead to more advanced problem solving. 

Socially, the adolescent can be more introspective, trying to understand their own self separate from the opinions of others. They often do not trust easily and will hold on to grudges for long periods. 

Emotionally, the teenager is a mess. Even though they know they should not rely on what others think, they are worried about their physical appearance. They want to be independent but may choose to express that independence by dressing like someone else. One minute they could sound like they are 35 years old with a plan and goals, and the next they can be out engaging in risky behavior just for the emotional high. 

The important part of these years of development is their sense of identity. Even if that identity seems to change every day, they need the chance to try out these identities until they can finally understand who they are. 

Remember, we said previously, teens have a lot of freedoms, but their impulse control and sense of long term consequences is not developed yet. It is our job to help that develop. 

Non-Typical Brain Development

So now you have seen how the brain develops, and you have heard the benchmarks and milestones that a typically developing child will reach at each age. And you have some concerns. A child you are working with, either as a teacher, a foster parent, or a provider, seems to not be meeting these milestones. So what do you do? 

No matter the age of the child, I always say to start with keeping a diary or checklist of your concerns. Be specific. Record your observations in detail. For example, Jenny is 5 and still points to pictures or uses only 2 3 words in a sentence. Jonathan is 15 and cannot imagine more than one solution to a problem. Then, make an appointment with your doctor and bring your diary and checklist. If your doctor or insurance will not agree to a developmental screening, there are other options. For children up to the age of three, you can ask for help from your state's early intervention program.

For students in preschool and up, you can ask your local school system for an evaluation. Put your request in writing as a school system must respond within 10 days to a written request with an agreement to evaluate or a disagreement and a reasons why. You can always appeal a disagreement. 

Also consider contacting a local mental health agency for support. Even if a child is only lacking in one area of development, they all interact and affect each other.

Drop me an email at [email protected] if you want to know more about specific developmental disabilities.