Part 1: Create a simulated case study, relevant to your area of specialization, of a preschool child, 2–5 years of age, who presents developmental challenges related to factors described by Piaget’s or Vygotsky’s developmental milestones and Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory.
Your case study should be 1–2 pages in length and it should describe:
The child’s strengths and challenges.
The medical, family, and social context.
The developmental challenges that were evident in the behavior of the child.
Individual and cultural factors that theory and/or research indicate could impact the child’s development.
Any other factors you deem appropriate based on your understanding of the theory and related research.
To develop this case, you should:
Explore theory and research related to early childhood development in the cognitive domain.
Use either Piaget or Vygotsky to describe those age- or stage-related milestones expected at the age of your selected child.
Develop your case by creating a challenge for the child in the cognitive domain in early childhood. Describe what the child struggles with not meeting the expected theoretical milestones in the cognitive domain.
Explore, through theory and research, Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory of the various systems that can influence development. Describe the typical influences in those systems that would likely be most evident for a child in the preschool years.
Develop your case study further by creating an environmental context for the child in specific systems in Bronfenbrenner’s theory. Include any specific issues that you want to explore through research, such as influences of a specific culture or ethnicity, specific socioeconomic status, family structure, attachment issues, and neighborhood context.
Maintain a resource list of the materials you consulted to build your case.
Follow APA guidelines for style and formatting, as well as for citing your resources. Include a reference list of the scholarly resources you use.
Part 2:
Research
Complete the following:
Research evidence-based interventions that have been effective in meeting the challenges of the child you described in your case study, from the perspective of your own professional specialization (as far as possible).
Explain how the deficits in the cognitive and other developmental domains affect development in early childhood.
Explain how the environmental contexts impact development and functioning.
State the recommended interventions that align with your specialization.
Include evidence for those outcomes from the professional literature.
Explore briefly the literature on cognitive development over time, considering that early influences can impact development across the lifespan.
Explain, from the perspective of your specialization, how the early cognitive challenges could be manifested across the lifespan.
Explain how (or whether) this might help in understanding and determining an approach to working with an individual who had early cognitive challenges.
