Child Psychology /Special Education
Special Education
Child psychology is the study of developmental changes in infants, children and adolescents.The growing child is analyzed for physical growth , development of motor skills to cognitive development to the formation of one’s personality and identity. Child psychologists also observe whether children are born with natural mental capabilities as compared to learning and acquisition of knowledge through experience
Following Aspects are observed of Child’s Growth & Development
Cognitive development
Deals with the development of mental capacities, such as motor skills, language and problem-solving.
Emotional development
Refers to the way a person responds emotionally to different situations.
Physical development
Growth of the individual and the development of milestones is assessed. Various measurements, such as weight, height and head circumference, are noted
Social development
Concerned with the way an individual develops relationships and interacts with other people around him.
Memory development
Somewhat related to cognitive development and looks at how memory processes work and develop
PSYCHOSOCIAL ASSESSMENT
Behavioural Assessment
Behavioral assessment is a continuous process of acquiring information about the current level of skill behavior and current problem behavior by using various methods like interviewing, direct observation, administering behavioral checklist, and rating scales.
Assessment of intelligence
Intelligence tests are administered for a variety of reasons including identification (of intellectual disability, learning disability, other cognitive disorders, giftedness,) and as a cognitive adjunct to clinical evaluation. Screening and detailed assessment used to assess the mental age(including DQ and SQ) of the children according to their chronological age. It is also useful to understand the level of functioning in respect of each factor of intelligence (memory, problem solving, reasoning, social intelligence, arithmetic skills etc)
Assessment of autism and ADHD
Various standardized tests will be used to identify the features of autism and ADHD in children, diagnosing and understanding the level of disability caused by the conditions.
Assessment of learning disabilities
Standardized assessment tools will be used to recognize various difficulties in learning of children especially in the areas of reading, written expression, impairment in mathematics etc.
PSYCHOSOCIAL INTERVENTION
The goal of psychosocial interventions is to improve one or more of the following outcomes:
- To reduce the impact of stressful events and situations
- Decrease distress and disability
- Minimize symptoms; improve the quality of life
- Reduce risk & Improve communication and coping skills.
It includes effective therapies: therapies on the basis of humanistic, existential, gestalt, and person-centred approaches.
- Cognitive therapies
- Social Skill Training
- Systemic therapies: family and group therapies
- Counselling- parental counselling, child counselling
Behaviour Modification therapy
Behavioral Intervention
It offers ways of understanding and managing behaviors, and the techniques of behavior modification are used both for increasing desirable behaviors and decreasing undesirable behaviors.
Applied Behavior Analysis : Strategies that increase and decrease behavior, differential reinforcement, antecedent/stimulus control, Extinction and shaping, promoting generalization and maintenance, contingency management, contingency contracting, token economy, self-management and self-control strategies, positive behavioural support,