Developmentally Appropriate Rating
Ratings should be completed considering the child’s developmental and/or chronological age depending on the item. Development is predictable. While every child and environment are unique, we know that many developmental milestones (e.g. walking, talking and toilet training) can be expected by certain ages.
Developmental disorders and medical conditions can lead to children having a developmental age that is different from their chronological age. A diagnosis such as Autism or Intellectual Disability often means caregivers need to make many adaptations to meet the child’s needs.
When rating, be sure to consider all the important individual differences that can be impacted by developmental and/or chronological age. How does development become relevant to the needs of the child and caregiver? In other words, anger control may not be as relevant for a very young child but might be considered very relevant for an older youth regardless of developmental age.
Caregiving Capacity Changes Over Time
Sometimes, a caregiver can be overwhelmed by the amount of daily care an infant or preschooler needs. However, they might have no problem with a fairly independent teenager who has learned some daily living skills. The opposite can also be true; some caregivers thrive with caring for an infant or younger child.
Be Flexible in Your Understanding of Strengths
A child’s developmental age can affect what kind of strengths emerge. A developmentally young child’s greatest strengths may come from their caregivers. It makes sense for these strengths to be the most important to build in a plan of care.
If you are looking for resources to increase your knowledge of developmental milestones, age appropriate expectations, and developmental disabilities, here are two excellent sources:
- CDC Developmental Stages: Resources, Research, Articles, Materials; Milestones, Safety, Brain Development https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/index.html
- CDC Developmental Disabilities: Resources, Research, Articles, Materials; ASD, ADHD, Fragile-X https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/developmentaldisabilities/
Would you like to learn more about the 4th Key Principle? There are excellent multi-media resources.
Do you prefer learning through multiple modalities, i.e. AUDIO, VISUAL, and INTER-ACTION?
If you answered "YES" to either of these questions, we invite you to follow the link below!
You will be prompted to login to your TCOM training account, then you are brought to the DIGITAL TIP SHEETS page. Scroll down the page and choose one of our interactive videos.