A CASE STUDY OF A CHILD

AGE 13

Emily Haun
Education 220 - 1001
 PHYSIC AL BEHAVIORS
AC C O R D I N G TO M E D LI N E ( 2 0 1 7 )
GIRLS’
• Develop Breast starting at 8
years
• Breast would be mature
between 12 – 18 years old
• Pubic hair, armpit, and leg hair
will begin to grow starting at 9
or 10 years old
• Will have a growth spurt around
age 11.5 and will stop growing
around 16 years old.
BOYS’
• Testicles and scrotum will grow
at the age of 9 years old
• Pubic hair, armpit, leg, chest, and
facial hair will start to grow at
age 12.
• Voice will change and they will
have a growth spurt at the age
of 13 and will stop at the age of
18 years old.
 PHYSIC AL BEHAVIORS
ACCORDING TO SNOWMAN (2013)
GROWTH SPURT
FOR BOYS AND GIRLS
• On average, a child can grow up
to 2 to 4 inches a year.
• On average, a child could also
gain 8 to 10 pounds a year.
• Although, girls will mature faster
than boys.
PUBERTY FOR BOYS AND
GIRLS
• Girls begin as early as age 7.
• At age 11, the girls will begin to
grow pubic and underarm hair
and their breast will start to
grow.
• Boys will begin as early as 9
years old.
• At age 11, boys will also start to
grow pubic hair and their testes
and scrotum will begin to grow.
 PHYSIC AL BEHAVIOR
MY OBSERVATION OF A 13 YEAR OLD

• The 13-year-old girl that I observed is not like the usual

teenage girl. She is an autistic non-verbal teenager, with that
she will be different compared to Snowman’s belief of
children her age. She does not go to a regular middle-
school, but she goes to school with other children like her.
She has begun to start to develop physical characteristics
like most girls, with her being autistic and non-verbal her
parents have put her on medication to hold off on her
period.
 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
P H YS I C A L D E V E L O P M E N T

• Snowman (2013) discusses how schools should follow the

sex education policy, so that it will help teach students
about how their bodies are changing.
• According to University of Washington (1993), just being
open and discussing the changes to the child and being
aware of their changes can help the child understand what
is happening.
 EMOTIONAL BEHAVIORS
AC C O R D I N G TO U N I V E R S I T Y O F
WA S H I N G TO N ( 1 9 9 3 )

• Age range of 12 to 15 years would commonly be sulking.

• They would have a direct verbal anger towards an authority
figure.
• At this age, they would also be worried about their grades,
appearance and popularity.
 EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENTAL
LE V E L AC C O R D I N G TO S N OW M A N
(2013)

• Children at this age would have feelings of:

• Confusion
• Anxiety
• Depression
• They may also have extreme mood swings and have low self-confidence.
• Snowman says that it could be due to :
• Rapid changes in height,
• Weight
• Body proportions,
• Increase in hormones and an increase in their academics.
 13 YEAR OLD
E M OT I O N A L C H A R AC T E R I S T I C S

• The 13-year-old girl that I observed would fit some of what

the University of Washington had said. She would get very
upset when things wouldn’t go the way she wanted or if
something was bothering her. With her being non-verbal
and not being able to verbally ask for what she wants, she
would get upset more frequently. She does have friends
who are not autistic and she has a completely different
attitude when they come around, she tries to blend in with
them. She would sometimes run away from her parents to
be alone. When she is alone she likes to wear headphones
that are blasting her favorite songs to ignore her
surroundings.
 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
E M OT I O N A L D E V E LO P M E N T

• According to University of Washington (1993), they say not

to dismiss the child’s concerns and for the parent to accept
their child’s behavior and expect respect for their own
feelings as well.
 COGNITIVE/ INTELLECTUAL
B E H AV I O R S AC C O R D I N G TO U N I V E R S I T Y
O F WA S H I N G TO N ( 1 9 9 3 )

• At this age, children like to start arguments and discussions.

They would also be found reading a lot which would also
relate to them be able to memorize things.
• They begin to think logically about concepts and being to
plan for their future.
• At this age, they will also feel the need to feel important in
the world and needing to do something.
 COGNITIVE/ INTELLECTUAL
D E V E LO P M E N T LE V E L AC C O R D I N G TO
P I AG E T A N D V Y G OT S K Y

PIAGET
• Piaget (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p.
25), At this age, they would be in the
formal operational stage which is
when the child is able to deal with
abstractions, form hypotheses, solve
problems systematically, and engage
in mental manipulations.
• They also have the ability to
manipulate relationships and variables
mentally.
• The child would also be able to
understand and use complex
language.
VYGOTSKY
• Vygotsky (Snowman & McCown, 2013,
p. 32), “Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive
development is often referred to as a
sociocultural theory because it
maintains that how we think is a
function of both of social and cultural
forces.”
• Vygostsky believed that children gain
significantly from the knowledge and
conceptual tools handed down to
them by those who would
intellectually advance.
 13 YEAR OLD
C O G N I T I V E / I N T E LLE C T UA L B E H AV I O R S

• The 13-year-old I observed is not as intellectually advanced

as someone who could be at her age. She uses a tablet and
is able to select what she wants so others would know that
she was hungry or that she wanted to go outside to go on
the swings. She has a lot of help from teachers, family and
friends so she is socially influenced, she will just take a little
while to understand what needs to be done.
 RECOMMENDATION FOR
C O G N I T I V E / I N T E LLE C T UA L
D E V E LO P M E N T

• According to University of Washington (1993) they say not

to put ideas down that the child may have and to
encourage their exploration of thought. It is also best to
encourage the child to join causes and community groups.
• According to Child Development Institute (2015) it says for
a positive family its best to include open parent-child
communication and encourage the child to participate in
positive extracurricular and community activities.
 PSYCHOSOCIAL/SOCIAL BEHAVIORS
F RO M U N I V E R S I T Y O F WA S H I N G TO N
(1993)

• At this age, the child will withdraw from parents and would
feel like the parent is too restrictive.
• The child would be annoyed by their younger siblings and
would show to be in a group of friends.
• Girls at this age would show more interest in boys than
boys would be in to for girls.
 PSYCHOSOCIAL/ SOCIAL
DEVELOPMENT
BY ERIKSON (2013)

• The child would be learning roles and skills that would be

needed to prepare them for when they become an adult. At
this age group it is important for the child to know who
they are so that they do not go into a stage of role
confusion. The child must learn appropriate behaviors in
certain situations and to experience stability in their life so
they know who they are. (Snowman & McCown, 2013,
p.19)
 13 YEAR OLD
P S Y C H O S O C I A L B E H AV I O R S /
C H A R AC T E R I S T I C S

• The 13-year-old that I observed does not show withdrawal

from parents only if she is feeling upset and wanting to be
alone after not getting what she wanted. At her school, she
is learning to do things at home that she could do
independently which in the future may change the way that
she acts towards others but at the moment she needs
others to do every day things.
 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
PSYCHOSOCIAL/SOCIAL
D E V E LO P M E N TA L

• According to University of Washington (1993) they believe

that parents should be affectionate towards the child but
give the child space to be independent and to let them go
out on social activities. They also say to make sure to set
clear, firm, but flexible limits so that you still have a hold of
the child.
• According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention
(2017) they state that parents should show warmth and
sensitivity. At the same time there should be routine and
household rules and appropriate discipline when needed.
 MORAL/ CHARACTER
BEHAVIORS

• University of Washington (1993) states that the child would

know their right and their wrongs and would try to find
the correct decision by themselves. They would also be
concerned about everyone being treated the same way and
will be unlikely to lie about things.
 TYPIC AL MORAL/CHARACTER
DEVELOPMENT
B Y KO H L B E R G

• A 13-year-old would be place in to the stages 3-4, known as

the Conventional Morality stage. At this stage this group is
known to follow what the society is doing. Stage 3: known
as “good boy, nice girl” stage is where the child will do an
act to have another feel impressed. Stage 4: known as “Law
and Order” stage, it is said that if we do not obey the laws,
the whole society would fall according to Kohlberg.
 13 YEAR OLD
M O R A L B E H AV I O R S / C H A R AC T E R I S T I C S

• The 13-year-old girl I observed does not conform to what

the Moral characteristics either the book or online
resource has come to say. The only thing that would come
close is when she would do a routinely chore without her
parents around telling her she needs to do it. For example:
Usually her parents would have to ask her if she needs to
use the restroom or just take her and see if she could go,
but lately she has been able to tell her parents either by
sign language or by using her tablet to let her parents
know.
 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
MORAL/ CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

• According to University of Washington (1993) they say to

help make the child’s decision easy for them if they have
trouble making the decision alone. It also mentions to show
examples of how to respect others either at their age or
adults.
 REFERENCES

• Medline (2017). Adolescent

Development. Retrieved from https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002003.ht
m
• University of Washington. (1993). Child development: Using the child
development guide. Retrieved from
http://depts.washington.edu/allcwe2/fosterparents/training/chidev/cd06.htm
• Snowman, J. & McCown, R. (2013). ED PSYCH. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth,
Cengage Learning.
• Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017). Child
development. Retrieved from
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/facts
• Child Development Institute (2015). The ages and stages of child
development. Retrieved from https://childdevelopmentinfo.com/ages-
stages/#.WR3Id_QrLrc