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C.H.I.L.D. Protocol™ Glossary

C.H.I.L.D. Protocol™ welcomes you to the Glossary page! This resource is designed to help you understand the key terms and concepts used in this website. The glossary is organized in alphabetical order and lists largely terms related to the fields of child development, assessment, neuropsychology, infant/child psychology, among others, to make content – specific words easily accessible to account holders.

As we designed this website having an interactive book in mind, we include terms that may be either newly introduced, uncommon, or specialized to facilitate understanding of the complexity of the concept regarding children developmental process.

Connect if you have any questions, need further clarification, or would like to include a must-have term. Please do not hesitate to reach out to our support team.

Number 0Number 1Number 2Number 3Number 4Number 5Number 6Number 7Number 8Number 9 - Letter ALetter BLetter CLetter DLetter ELetter FLetter GLetter HLetter ILetter JLetter KLetter LLetter MLetter NLetter OLetter PLetter QLetter RLetter SLetter TLetter ULetter VLetter WLetter XLetter YLetter Z
A

Areas of development

Definitions
  1. Children develop skills in the following main areas of development: physical, neurophysiological, sensory-perceptive, psychomotricity (gross & fine motor), communication (speech/language), cognitive, and socioemotional. Those skills can be observed during daily life activities.
Related Words
  1. Developmental delay
  2. Developmental disabilities

Assessment

Definitions
  1. Assessment involves the systematic collection of information to evaluate a child's developmental progress and supports in identification of strengths, needs, and areas of concerns.

B

Brain Plasticity

Definitions
  1. Brain plasticity, or neuroplasticity, refers to the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life. It is essential for learning and adapting to new experiences.

C

Categories

Definitions
  1. A feature of the website which provides users the ability to categorize child profiles. For example, Parent/Guardians and also Medical/Clinical Professional account types may want to have categories such as: 0-1 yrs, 1-2 yrs, 2-3 yrs, 3-5 yrs, and 5-7 yrs. Whereas, an Educator account type may want to have categories such as: 2025 Pre-k, 2025 K, 2025 1st Grade.

Child Development

Definitions
  1. Child development refers to the continuous and gradual process of growth and changes occurring in children from birth through adolescence. It encompasses physical, sensoriperceptive, psychomotricity, communication, cognitive, socio-emotional, and social areas of development.

Cognitive Development

Definitions
  1. Cognitive development relates to a child's intellectual growth, including their ability to think, learn, remember, and solve problems. It often includes aspects like language development and reasoning skills.

D

Development process and delays

Definitions
  1. Children do not develop or acquire skills on an expected schedule but there is an expected continuum regarding the chronological age when some skills are developed or acquired. Some infants start walking around 9-10 months, while others will take their first steps around 14-15 months, and both are within the range of expected development. Gaps in when children perform a skill usually are not cause for concern unless there is more than one sign for concern. Children develop skills in the following fundamental areas: physical, neurophysiological, sensorial, perception, psychomotricity (gross & fine motor), communication (speech/language), cognitive, and socioemotional. Those skills can be observed during daily life activities. Some risk factors that may impact a child development include complications during pregnancy or at birth (e.g.: genetic, premature or post mature birth; low birth weight; Apgar scores, heart or respiratory conditions); other health conditions (e.g.: genetic, low or high level of sugar, chronic ear infections; vision problems; illnesses, events, or injuries with significant and long-term impact on a child’s daily activities); or environmental circumstances (e.g.: lead poisoning; poor nutrition; exposure to alcohol/drugs before birth; child abuse or neglect; traumatic events).
Related Words
  1. Development process and delays
  2. Developmental delay
  3. Developmental disabilities
  4. Individual differences in development
  5. Learning disabilities

Developmental Assessment Tools

Definitions
  1. Developmental assessment tools are standardized scales, instruments, and questionnaires used by professionals to assess various aspects of child development, such as the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development or the Ages and Stages Questionnaires.

Developmental delay

Definitions
  1. Means that a child is constantly behind in expected skills for his age, e.g., a 3–4-year preschooler who is not imitating or copying a horizontal line may be just a little behind in that one skill. But if the child also is not able to hold a spoon to feed self, it seems the child is behind in more than one fine motor skill, pointing toward a possible developmental delay. Developmental delays such as speech delay may be caused by hearing loss from ear infections, or a physical delay may be caused by a premature or post-mature birth, ICU, or long hospitalization. Developmental delays can occur in just one area or in various. In young children, delays may also be early signs of learning and attention deficit, e.g., a speech/language delay may point to learning or communication disorder. Early detection and intervention can help children develop skills that are not quite there yet. My practice showed that from 30% of children that showed concerns during a developmental screen, 20% received 6–12-month intervention and were leveled to their chronological age. Parents should never discard their concern, as they are the ones who know their child the most. Looking for help is the most important action a parent can do to change a child’s future.
Related Words
  1. Development process and delays
  2. Developmental delay
  3. Developmental disabilities
  4. Individual differences in development
  5. Learning disabilities

Developmental disabilities

Definitions
  1. are an inability to develop or acquire skills, or perform daily life tasks, though children can make progress with proper intervention. Some conditions that can cause developmental disabilities include Down syndrome, Angelman syndrome, autism, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) or brain injuries.
Related Words
  1. Development process and delays
  2. Developmental disabilities
  3. Developmental delay
  4. Individual differences in development
  5. Learning disabilities

Developmental Screening

Definitions
  1. Developmental screening is a brief assessment used to identify children at risk of developmental problems, serving as an initial step in the assessment process.

E

Early Intervention

Definitions
  1. Early intervention involves providing specialized support and therapies to children with developmental delays or disabilities as early as possible to optimize their developmental outcomes.

Emotional Development

Definitions
  1. Emotional development concerns a child's ability to understand, express, and regulate their emotions. It involves the development of empathy, emotional intelligence, and coping skills.

Executive Function

Definitions
  1. Executive functions are higher-level cognitive skills that help a child plan, organize, and regulate their behavior. They include abilities such as decision-making, problem-solving, and working memory.

I

Individual differences in development

Definitions
  1. Some developmental concerns regarding a child’s performance or behavior may arise when comparing a child’s development to other children of the same age. Not all children develop at the same time or the same way as their peers, cousins, and friends. Each child is unique. By listening to one’s gut instinct and talking with some knowledgeable people that is a child development professional, a lay person may gain insight about a concern, and may be encouraged to talk to the child’s pediatrician or an early intervention professional.
Related Words
  1. Development process and delays
  2. Developmental delay
  3. Developmental disabilities
  4. Individual differences in development
  5. Learning disabilities

L

Learning disabilities

Definitions
  1. are neurologically based processing problems that can interfere with learning basic skills such as reading, writing and/or math. Higher level functions (organization, time planning, abstract reasoning, long or short-term memory and attention) may be impacted by delays. Learning disabilities can be a non-verbal learning disability, dyslexia, dysgraphia, or dyscalculia.
Related Words
  1. Development process and delays
  2. Developmental delay
  3. Developmental disabilities
  4. Individual differences in development
  5. Learning disabilities

M

Milestones

Definitions
  1. Developmental milestones are key achievements or behaviors that are expected at specific ages, such as a child's first words, first steps, or mastery of certain skills.
Related Words
  1. Development process and delays
  2. Developmental delay
  3. Developmental disabilities
  4. Learning disabilities
  5. Individual differences in development

N

Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Definitions
  1. Neurodevelopmental disorders are conditions that affect the development of the nervous system and often lead to difficulties in motor, sensorial, communication, cognition, socio-emotional areas of development, and learning. Examples include Global developmental delay, Cerebral palsy, Communication disorders, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Tourette disease, Down syndrome, among others.

Neuropsychology

Definitions
  1. Neuropsychology is a science integrating the relationship between psychological observations of human actions and expressions with observations of the mind through the brain and nervous system functioning. It focuses on how the brain's structure and function impact a child's motor, sensorial, psychomotor, communication, cognitive, emotional, and social development.

Norm-Referenced Assessment

Definitions
  1. Norm-referenced assessments compare a child's performance to that of a larger group of children of the same age. This helps in determining how a child's development compares to typical milestones.

R

Report of Findings

Definitions
  1. A report summarizing a child's development, highlights strengths, and outlines areas in need of attention. It helps guide intervention and support strategies.

Risk factors

Definitions
  1. Risk factors (or red flags) are complications occurring during the developmental process that may impact a child's development and may include hurdles during pregnancy or at birth (e.g.: genetic, premature or post mature birth; low birth weight; Apgar scores, heart or respiratory conditions); other health conditions (e.g.: genetic, low or high level of sugar, chronic ear infections; vision problems; illnesses, events or injuries with significant and long-term impact on a child’s daily activities); or environmental circumstances (e.g.: lead poisoning; poor nutrition; exposure to alcohol/drugs before birth; child abuse or neglect; traumatic events).

S

Social Development

Definitions
  1. Social development pertains to a child's ability to form and maintain relationships, cooperate with others, and understand social norms and roles.

C.H.I.L.D. Protocol™ Scales

0-7 years of age

C.H.I.L.D. Protocol™ Books

+ Years experience

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