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The Germinal Period. Once the fertilization has taken place, the zygote begins dividing and moving down to the uterus which is the muscle organ that will contain and protect the developing infant. This process takes about a week.
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The Germinal Period • Once the fertilization has taken place, the zygote begins dividing and moving down to the uterus which is the muscle organ that will contain and protect the developing infant. This process takes about a week. • Then a mass of cells, now forming a hollow ball, firmly attaches itself to the wall of the uterus this also takes about a week. • This two week period is what is called the Germinal Period. • The placenta which is a special organ that provides nourishment and fiber and the umbilical cord that connects the organism to the placenta both develop at this time
The Embryonic Period • Once attached to the uterus, the developing organism is called an Embryo • This period will last from two weeks after conception to eight weeks. • Cells will continue to specialize and become various organs and structures of a human infant. • After this time the embryo should be about 1 inch long has primitive eyes, nose, lips, teeth, arms and legs and a beating heart.
The Critical Periods • The critical period is the time during which some environmental influence can have an impact, often devastating, on the development of the infant. • Teratogen is any substance such as a drug, chemical, virus, or other factors that can cause birth defects. • Each structural development is only affected during certain times such as, The arms and legs are only affected 3 ½ to 8 weeks. The heart is most affected during 2 ½ to 6 ½ weeks. The central nervous system is 2 to 5 weeks.
Fetal Period Is the time from about eight weeks after conception until the birth of the child. During this time the fetus length increases by about 20 times, and its weight increase from about 1 ounce at 2 months to a little over 7 pounds. • Muscles begin to contract in the third month. Although the mother doesn’t feel this movement around the fourth month. • The last few months continue the development of fat and the growth of the body, until about the 38th week.
Physical Development • Immediately after birth the respiratory system begins to function, filling the lungs with air and putting oxygen into the blood. Body temperature is now regulated by the infant’s own activity and body fat. The digestive system takes the longest this is another reason for excess body fat. It provides fuel until the infant is able to take in enough nourishment on its own. • Some sensory abilities take time to reach “full power” such as taste, hearing and vision. • Infants manage a tremendous amount of development in motor skills from birth to about 2 years. By the time the average infant has reached the age of 1 year it has tripled its birth weight and added about another foot to its height. The brain triples it’s weight in the first two years. Reaching about 75 percent of it’s adult weight.
Piaget’s Theory: Four Stages of Cognitive Development • Piaget believed based on observations of his own children and others, that children form mental concepts or schemes as they experience new situations and events. • The Sensory Stage concerns infants from birth to age 2 they use their senses and motor abilities to learn about the world around them • The Preoperational Stage is ages 2-7 where children are developing language and concepts. • Concrete Operations Stage is ages 7-12 Children become capable of conservation and reversible thinking. • Formal Operation Stage is 12 to adulthood where abstract thinking becomes possible.
Stages of Language Development The development of language is a very important milestone in the cognitive development of a child because language allows children to think in words rather than just images, to ask questions, to communicate their wants and needs to others and to form concepts. The stages are: • Cooing • Babbling • One-word speech • Telegraphic speech • Whole sentences
Autism Spectrum Disorder • Is actually a whole range of disorders which cause problems in thinking, feeling, language, and social skills in relation to others. • Rumors and misinformation about the causes of autism have been circulating on the internet for many years. For example, a major source of misinformation began in 1998 when British Gastroenterologist, Dr. Andrew Wakefield published the results of two studies that seemed to link the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine to autism and bowel disease in children. The studies were quickly denounced by autism specialists and because of this publication there was a measles epidemic due to parents refusing the MMR inoculation for their children.
