Language, Motor, and Social Skill Development in Infants

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Language, Motor, and Social Skill Development in
Infants By Martha Peláez, Ph.D. Florida
International University
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Language Development
An infants cry is the babys first use of
language. The Cry begins as a reflex and emerges
as a major means of communicating discomfort and
distress. (Widerstrom,A.H., Mowder,B.A.,
Sandall, S.R.)
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Language Development Cont. (ISCI)
Infant Scale of Communicative Intent (ISCI) Birth
1 mo. Some vocalizations Nasalized
vowels Begins to cry for attention 12
mo. Begins differentiated cry Gurgles
response to stimulation Produces short vowel
sounds Cries for social stimulation 2-3
mos. Definitely coos Makes glottal-velar
consonants Takes turns when communicating
Alerts to people Source From An Assessment
Tool The Infant Scale of Communicative Intent
by Gail Karen Sacks, M.A., CCC-SP, Edna Carter
Young, Ph.D., CCCI-SP, 1982, Update Pediatrics,
pp. 1-4. Adapted by permission. This material is
in the public domain.
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Language Development Cont. (ISCI)
3-4 mos. Initiates babbling Chuckles- sort
of vocalized laugh Cries for
attention Vocalizes feelings of pleasure 4-5
mos. Vocalizes laughter Vocalizes
eagerness Cries if play disrupted Vocalizes
feelings of pleasure 5-6 mos. Vocalizes
ah-goo Imitates own noises Vocalizes to
interrupt others
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Language Development Cont. (ISCI)
6-7 mos. Imitates familiar sounds Expresses
anger by sound Initiates social
contact Tries to imitate facial
expressions 7-8 mos. Repeats
babbling Imitates sound sequence Imitates
gestures Vocalizes satisfaction 8-9
mos. Shakes head no-no Combines two or more
consonants Shouts for attention
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Language Development Cont. (ISCI)
9-10 mos. Intentionally communicates Gestures
with vocalizations Uses sounds to call
others 10-11 mos. Vocabulary with two words or
approx. Uses objects as tools Laughs at own
sounds Attempts to label objects 11-12
mos. May recognize words as symbols Uses
ma-ma with meaning Imitates new
sounds Imitates tones of adult
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Language Development Cont. (ISCI)
12-13 mos. Uses three to four meaningful
words Uses sounds for vocal
play Imitates animal sounds Wakes with a
call 13-14 mos. Has six-word
vocabulary Points to desired object Tries
to sing Imitates other children 14-15
mos. Has up to eight-word vocabulary Initiates
give and take Uses modifiers
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Language Development Cont. (ISCI)
15-16 mos. Starts using double syllable
words May label pictures Pulls at wet
pants/diaper Pulls adult hand to show
something 16-17 mos. Uses extended phrases
for vocal play Uses differentiated object
names Gradually increases vocabulary May
ask what that? 17-18 mos. Has up to
twenty-word vocabulary Ask for more Makes
successive single-word utterances
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Recommended Parental Behaviors

• Talk, read, and sing to infants - they learn from
  everything they see and hear even in the first
  stages of life.
• Take your baby to the park, zoo, and the store
  with you. Bring her attention to objects, signs,
  and people.
• Always make books a part of your baby's toy
  selection, even if he enjoys handling books more
  than being red to.

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Recommended Parental Behaviors

• As your child grows, point out pictures of
  objects and offer their names. Eventually, your
  child will be able to name the pictures, too.
• Encourage associations between symbols and their
  meaning - as they get closer to toddlerhood,
  children may begin to recognize familiar signs
  for products and logos for cereal or fast food
  restaurants.

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Sentence length vs. complexity
Maximum sentence length
Sentence complexity
Taken from Dr. Michael Thomas lecture Cognitive
and Language Development
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Comprehension vs. production(parental ratings)
Words understood
Words produced
Taken from Dr. Michael Thomas lecture Cognitive
and Language Development
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Inside-out vs. Outside-in Theories
Taken from Dr. Michael Thomas lecture Cognitive
and Language Development
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Commonly Used Screening Tests
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Motor Development
What should your baby be doing?
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Motor Development Continued

• There are two skills taken into
  consideration when assessing motor developmental
  skills. These skills are
• Gross Motor - Locomotor Skills
• Fine Motor Manipulative Skills

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Motor Development Continued
Gross Motor - Locomotor Skills   (Pivoting)
Newborn 6 weeks 6 weeks
Prone Pelvis high Knees under abdomen
Prone Pelvis flat Hips extended
Prone Chin up Intermittently off couch
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Motor Development Continued
Gross Motor - Locomotor Skills   (Pivoting)
3 months 6 months 10
months
Prone Weight on forearms Chest well off couch
Prone Weight on hands Arms extended
Creep position hands and knees
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Motor Development Continued
Gross Motor - Locomotor Skills   (Pivoting)
1 year
Walking like a bear on soles of feet and hands
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Motor Development Continued
Gross Motor - Locomotor Skills   (Sitting)
Newborn 4 weeks 8 weeks
Held sitting Fully rounded back
Held sitting Lifts head up intermittently
Held sitting Back straightening Head up
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Motor Development Continued
Gross Motor - Locomotor Skills   (Sitting)
4 months 6 months 8 months
Held sitting Steady Back nearly straight
Sits with hands forward for support
Sitting steadily No support
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Motor Development Continued
Gross Motor - Locomotor Skills  
RESULT 11 months
Sits and Pivots
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Motor Development Continued
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Development of Social Skills
It is important to remember that, during
infancy, children are learning social skills
primarily from their parents--children's first
teachers. (Harrington, R.)
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Ainsworths Theory of Social Attachment
Source From Infant Development at Risk by Anne
H. Widerstrom, Barbara A. Mowder, Susan R.
Sandall with invited contributors from Robert E.
Nickel, Helen Harrison, and Harriet Able-Boone,
1997, pp. 44-45. (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters,
Wall, 1978)
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Piaget and Vygotsky
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Stages in theories of development
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Piaget

• Relied upon clinical method, using probing
  questions to uncover what children understood
• Was interested in errors children make and the
  possibility that these were not random
• Searched for a systematic pattern in the
  production of childrens errors
• Worked towards logically, internally consistent
  explanation of childrens errors
• Studied how knowledge is acquired and developed
  theory of genetic epistemology

• Studied thought and language in pre-schoolers and
  early school-age children
• Believed that intelligence arises progressively
  in the babys repetitive activities
• Described how concepts of space, time, causes,
  and physical objects arise in development
• Investigated the beginnings of fantasy and
  symbolism in infancy
• Outlined a theory that states that the precursors
  of thinking and language lie in the elementary
  actions, perceptions, and imitations of babies
• Influenced by evolutionary theory child has to
  adapt to environment by altering cognitive
  structures

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Piagets stages of development
Piagets four stages of cognitive development
Mechanism of change adaptation (Assimilation
Accommodation)
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Piagets stages of development

• Sensorimotor Stage (6 substages)
• Modification of reflexes (0-1 month)
• 2. Primary circular reactions (1-4 months)
• 3. Secondary circular reactions (4-8 months)
• 4. Coordination of secondary schemes (8-12
  months)
• 5. Tertiary circular reactions (12-18 months)
• 6. Mental combinations (18-24 months)

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Evaluation of Piagetian Theory

• General framework influential
• Much of it wrong in detail
• Notion of domain-general stages dubious, notion
  of general purpose cognitive processes also
  challenged
• Under-estimated abilities of infants
• Theory too impoverished to explain language
  development
• No obvious explanation for increase in "power" of
  cognitive system with age (e.g., how can child
  learn to be cleverer?)
• Little emphasis on social or emotion factors, or
  on abnormal development / developmental disorders

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Vygotsky

• Concerned with historical and social aspects of
  human behaviour that make human nature unique
• Social and cultural factors are important in the
  development of intelligence
• Speech carries culture in that it stores the
  history of social experience and is a tool for
  thought
• People are different from animals because they
  use tools to create artefacts that change the
  conditions of life

• There is a close link between the acquisition of
  language and development of thinking
• Gave prominence to the importance of social
  interaction in development as it influences
  language and thought
• Does not deal with fixed stages of development
  but describes leading activities typical of
  certain age periods around which intellectual
  development is organised

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Social Learning Findings of Peláez et al.

• Social Behavior as Reinforcers
• Proximity- at moment of nearness, the mother
• Attention and Mands- verbal behavior on behalf
  of the parent
• Affection- behavior that elicit feelings hugs,
  kisses, smiles, pats, nuzzling. tickling
• Observational Learning
• Operant Approach

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Social Learning Findings of Peláez et al.

• The Origins of Social Phenomena
• Attachment Separation (as early as 6 mos.)
• The Power of Touch
• Two Types of Touch (massage vs. poking)
• Fear
• Fear of the Dark and Strangers
• Social Referencing
• Conditioning of Meaningless Arbitrary Cues
• Conditioning of Joyful Fearful Originally
  Meaningful Maternal Cues

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Social Learning Findings of Peláez et al.

• Sibling Rivalry Jealousy
• Social Cognition Environment
• Carrying Position Affects Infant Behavior
• Prosocial Behaviors in Early Childhood
• Empathy
• The Development of Morality

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The End!