Identify the scenario and discuss relevant information on both children in the scenario

I decided to use the infant scenario for this analysis. In this scenario two infants of the
same age are seen interacting with their teacher, as well as briefly with each other. The first
child, Dana, is an average twelve-month-old child. Her physical development falls within the
norms for her age. The other child, Jorge, has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy which limits
his motor functions.
Complete the attached developmental checklist based on your observations of the
children in the scenario
Child: Dana
Observer:
Mark the column that best describes the child's developmental functioning:
Mastered: The child exhibits this skill.
Emerging: The child is still working on mastering this skill.
Not Developed: The child is not developed in this skill.
Unable to Rate: There is no information provided to assess this skill.
DOMAIN: Emotional and Social
Development
Greets caregiver with a smile, hug or kiss
Responds to soothing words or holding
Expresses emotions
Shows likes and dislikes for particular
objects
Sucks on fingers to calm self when upset
Copes with stress by playing with familiar
toys
Offers a toy to another child who is upset
Moves arms, legs or body to get something

DOMAIN: Cognitive Development

Responds to words or gestures
Does something to produce an effect

Mastered
X

Emerging

Not
Developed

Unable to
Rate

X
X
X
X
X
X
X

Mastered
X

Emerging

Not
Developed

Unable to
Rate
X

Produces own sounds or babbles

Looks for a missing toy
Looks out the window and waits for a
familiar
person to return
Turns pages of book, looks at pictures
Uses familiar gestures such as waving
goodbye

DOMAIN: Physical Development

Crawls to get somewhere
Uses furniture or object to pull self up
Transfers toy from one hand to another
Uses pincher grasp
Sits by self and maintains balance
Child: Jorge
Observer:

X
X
X
X
X

Mastered
X
X

Emerging

Not
Developed

Unable to
Rate

X
X
X

Mark the column that best describes the child's developmental functioning:
Mastered: The child exhibits this skill.
Emerging: The child is still working on mastering this skill.
Not Developed: The child is not developed in this skill.
Unable to Rate: There is no information provided to assess this skill.
DOMAIN: Emotional and Social
Development
Greets caregiver with a smile, hug or kiss
Responds to soothing words or holding
Expresses emotions
Shows likes and dislikes for particular
objects
Sucks on fingers to calm self when upset
Copes with stress by playing with familiar
toys
Offers a toy to another child who is upset
Moves arms, legs or body to get something

DOMAIN: Cognitive Development

Responds to words or gestures
Does something to produce an effect

Mastered

Emerging

Not
Developed

Unable to
Rate
X

X
X
X
X
X
X
X

Mastered

Emerging

Not
Developed

Unable to
Rate
X
X

Produces own sounds or babbles

Looks for a missing toy
Looks out the window and waits for a
familiar
person to return
Turns pages of book, looks at pictures
Uses familiar gestures such as waving
goodbye

DOMAIN: Physical Development

Crawls to get somewhere
Uses furniture or object to pull self up
Transfers toy from one hand to another
Uses pincher grasp
Sits by self and maintains balance

X
X
X
X
X

Mastered

Emerging

Not
Developed
X
X

Unable to
Rate

X
X
X

Summarize your data from the checklist

I completed the attached checklist for each of the children in the scenario. Because the
scenario is so short, many of the items on the checklist were marked unable to rank as they
were simply not described in the scenario at all, and obviously I was not going to make
assumptions outside of the information I was given to work with. Dana may show like or dislike
for particular objects and Jorge respond to words or gestures, but these things were not in the
scenario, so I was unable to discern the degree to which these abilities have or have not
developed.
In the scenario, Dana switches to Miss Molly's arms with a smile and gives her a large
hug. This shows that she has mastered the first item on the emotional and social development
portion of the checklist. She then crawls to a bookshelf and grabs a book, showing that she can
move herself to obtain a desired object. Dana shows her emerging ability to show emotion by
crying when she desires attention and biting Jorge to show her frustration when she is not given
the undivided attention she desires. Based on just the information provided in the scenario, Dana

does not respond to soothing words, as she continues to cry as he caregiver rocks and sings to
her. She also does not suck on her fingers as a way to soothe herself, and does not offer a toy to
Jorge, who is upset and crying.
Dana shows that she can respond to words and use familiar gestures when she waves
goodbye to her mother as prompted by her caregiver. She does not turn pages in a book on her
own, and instead places the book in her mouth when she takes it from the shelf. Dana shows her
ability to crawl when she moves from the bookshelf to the caregiver, and demonstrates her
ability to pull herself up when she stands using the caregivers knee.
Jorge shows that he responds to holding when he quiets after the caregiver begins to hold
him. He shows emotion when he cries for attention from his car seat, but he does not show selfsoothing techniques such as sucking on his fingers. He has motor limitation so he is not seen
crawling or moving around at all.
Define possible outcomes (normal and atypical development) specifying how they would
inform your teaching and guide your intention to seek additional assessment
Jorge has already been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, which contributes to the delay in
motor functions. His progress will need to be monitored to discover the extent of the physical
disability. He will also need to be monitored for cognitive delays. Dana, on the other hand,
shows no signs of physical or cognitive delays at this time. Her progress like will not need to be
monitored as closely, unless her progress does not continue. If she begins to show signs of
delays, further assessment will need to be done to find the cause of the problem.
Identify strengths/weaknesses of using the profile tool
Using the profile provided had strengths and weaknesses. It was nice to have the
information readily available, including a premade checklist to follow. It was convenient to have

information provided to me, and I felt like I could be more objective, since I have no prior
knowledge of the hypothetical children in the scenario. On the other hand, I could not tell if the
behaviors in this scenario were atypical, since I have no knowledge of the childrens behavior
outside of the information provided. I also cannot easily tell the degree of mastery of the items
on the checklist, since I did not see the events described.
Identify other tools that might be used to support collection of data
There are many tools that can be used to collect data. A narrative description would be
useful to gather more detailed information. The information could then be broken down into a
checklist, or individual event samples for easier use later. Anecdotal records of atypical events
would also be useful at this age, as new skills emerge.
Discuss adaptations to the assessment tool or other assessment tools you might use and
explain your rationale for using those options
I feel the checklist provided was not appropriate for use with Jorges known disability.
The physical portion of the checklist focuses on childrens emerging mobility (crawling,
standing, sitting, etcetera). Knowing that Jorge has mobility limitations, it is unfair to compare
him against a checklist designed for typically developing children. Any assessment used should
be adapted with his diagnosis in mind, so that his development can be monitored in a meaningful
and appropriate way.