Case Study of Kaitlyn. Jenna Yeiter. Manchester College

Transcription

1 Case Study 1 Case Study of Kaitlyn Jenna Yeiter Manchester College

2 Case Study 2 INTRODUCTION Kaitlyn, a five-month-old, is an African-American little girl. She was adopted by a Caucasian couple, Karen and Nolan. This adoption is an open adoption with some contact with the birth parents. The parents have been married for about ten years living in the same country home in Fulton, Indiana. Both parents work outside of the home, Karen (32) as a nurse and Nolan (36) as a machine operator. Kaitlyn has a foster brother, Benaiah, who is three years old. There is an inside cat, Lacy, and two big dogs outside. Some of Kaitlyn s interests include: being held, chewing on her hands, jumping in the jumper, watching Benaiah play, and listen to music. Kaitlyn does not like to lay still; she always wants to be doing something. Kaitlyn is being observed in her own home for the study of the development of children for a child development course. PHYSICAL Kaitlyn's prenatal condition was normal. She grew at a normal rate with a normal pregnancy. Katie was born a little premature. She spent a couple of weeks in the hospital. She was soon to normal size and weight. No one would ever know that Kaitlyn spent time in the hospital as a newborn. Katie is at a normal size for her age. She is even a little bigger than she should be. She has a big smile and big, bright eyes. She has a lot of black hair that is so tightly curled it sticks to her head. Being five months old, Katie is where she should be developmentally. She is able to do many basic things. Katie can look around and watch the people around her. She even is interested in the television. She likes to watch it. Katie can roll over some, but it

3 Case Study 3 is like she does not mean to do it. She will learn quickly how to roll over on her own though. Katie plays with her hands and feet and realizes what they are there for. Katie often smiles when she is happy and knows that people are talking to her. Katie is very active. She loves jumping in the jumper seat. She will jump on her own if a person holds her up and makes her bounce. Katie can stand up with help and is able to sit up with help also. Katie is capable of holding on to a toy and chewing on it. She does not like to be left alone in a room, so she is able to tell when people are not around her. COGNITIVE Kaitlyn is now six months old. She is developing very normally cognitive. Kaitlyn has been through the first two substages of Piaget's six substages of the sensorimotor stage. According to Feldman (2007) the first two stages are: "simple reflexes" and "first habits and primary circular reactions." (p. 150). Kaitlyn is now in substage three: "secondary circular reactions." It is described by the following by Feldman (2007): "During this period, infants take major strides in shifting their cognitive horizons beyond themselves and begin to act on the outside world." (p. 150) Kaitlyn makes an assimilation when women are holding her. She thinks because it is a woman's face that she sees, it is "mom." Later down the road, she will begin to accommodate her mind to say that this is not mom; it is just another woman like mom. Kaitlyn is starting to speak. She is able to babble. She also laughs when she is having fun. She was observed talking a lot when she was happy and playing with her toys. Kaitlyn has no real memory yet. She is too young to start to remember thinks.

4 Case Study 4 Kaitlyn is now "beginning to recognize her name," according to her mother (K. Hutsell, personal communication, March 31, 2007). While being observed, she responded to her name every so often when called. Kaitlyn is starting to become curious. She is beginning to play with toys a lot. She also stares at different things for an extended amount of time. For example, she was watching the television. Kaitlyn is able to follow things with her eyes. EMOTIONAL Being adopted, there is not a lot to know about Kaitlyn prenatally. Kaitlyn is now six months old. She is showing more and more emotion as she ages. Kaitlyn s overall attitude is very content. She likes to be held or to just play with herself while lying on her back. Kaitlyn smiles when she is happy, which is almost all the time. She enjoys being held and paid attention to. Kaitlyn is now at the age where she may cry when she is let alone. An example of this is when I was babysitting her one day and I left her lying in the living room, she started fussing because no one was around her. Kaitlyn also has different cries for hunger, pain, cold, and wet, which is pointed out by Gober in his Developmental Checklist for 0-12 months old (2002). Kaitlyn also is able to recognize her mother and father. She knows no strangers at this stage in her life. Kaitlyn now squeals and talks when she is happy and having fun. When Kaitlyn is scared, she shows her fear through movements and sound. Kaitlyn is learning that she is in the world. She can recognize herself in a mirror and she often will giggle at herself. She also is learning who is who. For example, she

5 Case Study 5 knows her parents and brother really well and also some of her extended family. She is able to recognize that she has not seen some of these different people in her life. Kaitlyn is also able to recognize her caregiver. REFLECTION Kaitlyn is in her infancy years of life. She is now six months old. Work with Kaitlyn has been a lot of fun. I have been able to observe many things about Kaitlyn that I have learned in the course of the class. One major thing I have noticed is when I walked in the door and said Kaitlyn's name she looked directly at me. She is old enough to recognize her own name. Another thing I have noticed is that Kaitlyn loves to babble. Babbling is the beginning of her being able to talk. Talking is something that Kaitlyn will begin in a few months when she is closer to one year old. A final example of Kaitlyn developing is that she enjoys staring at things for an extended period of time. While watching her one day, I noticed that she seemed to stare at the television for a long time. It was almost as if she was watching the television. This is part of her developing cognitively. I have learned so much working with Kaitlyn. I am more aware about the way infants develop and grow. I have been able to watch Kaitlyn grow over the three months of this case study. I have greatly enjoyed this experience. I have learned a great deal during this time in the case study and in the class. I hope to be able to apply everything I learned to my future as a teacher and more so as a mother.

6 Case Study 6 References Feldman, R. S. (2007). Child development. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Person. Gober, S. (2002). Six simple ways to assess young children. Albany, NY: Delmar.