这正常吗?? Top 5 Things to Know 关于 Your Young Child’s Development

写的 梅兰妮·许博士.D., Clinical Psychologist and Early Childhood Program Manager at CHC

许多家长指出，在这个可怕的、前所未有的时代，有一线希望是有机会花更多的时间和孩子在一起. 然而，这种增加的关注有时会导致更多的担忧:我的孩子是否被耽误了? Are they reacting to the anxiety of these times? Or am I just more concerned and sensitive because of my own personal stress?

You may have seen commercials from organizations such as 前5 and wondered why professionals often emphasize this age range. 这是因为生命的头五年是为儿童在社会发展中取得成功奠定基础的关键时期, 在学校, 在其他环境中. 因此, 年幼孩子的父母经常担心他们的孩子是否“走上正轨”，以及何时寻求更多的信息或支持可能会有所帮助. 所有的孩子都以自己的速度发展，而对一些孩子来说，差异或延迟可能是暂时的, others may benefit from professional support, especially when there are situational stressors. 下面我们将讨论五个重要的发展领域，以及何时考虑寻求帮助.

感觉处理

Children explore and make sense of their world through their senses, 包括视力, 触摸, 声音, 气味, 和味道. 然而, some parents notice that their child seems to seek a lot of sensory information, 比如喜欢爬山, 跳, 崩溃, 触摸, 和移动. While these are all normal 行为s in development, sometimes this seeking leads to other problems, 比如受伤, difficulties participating in group activities, or social isolation due to aggression or other children becoming overwhelmed.

Children also sometimes seem to seek only the sensory aspects of experiences, 比如反复倾销, 叠加, 开放, 关闭, 或者仔细观察玩具的各个部分. When play becomes less exploratory and more repetitive, this may be a sign that development is stalling. 在对面, some children seem overly afraid of exploring and do not like heights, 快速运动, 噪音, 纹理, 或者某种口味. These can cause problems with frequent tantrums due to overstimulation, 避免某些活动, 公共场所的困难(如.g.(杂货店、商场、游乐场).

当这些感官寻求或逃避行为开始干扰孩子参与并从同龄活动中获益的能力或影响家人离开家的能力时, 这可能是一个迹象，表明孩子在理解他们的感官方面可能会从支持中受益.

运动发育

As babies gain more control over their motor abilities, they are more able to explore and learn from their environments, leading to the development of more independence. If a child is not meeting their motor milestones (e.g., 坐在独立, 爬行, 走, 拾取物品, 放下和捡起玩具), 这可能会限制他们的互动能力和成功感，并可能导致挫败感. This can also cause the child to become more socially isolated on the playground, lead to higher risk of injury because of clumsiness, or interfere with daily living skills such as eating and dressing. 达到运动里程碑的延迟有时也可能是其他延迟的早期迹象, as development links across multiple domains.

沟通

Before babies can say an intelligible word, they are already communicating through their eye gaze, 面部表情, 手势, and vocalizations – sometimes quite emphatically! 功能性沟通的第一步是沟通意图，或使用某些东西(如.g., facial expression, vocalization, gesture, words) to deliver a message.

• 你的孩子是否表现出交流意图?他们是否明白自己的行为会影响他人的行为?
• If they are not talking yet, do they use these other ways to compensate?
• 他们是通过眼神交流与看护者交流，还是更专注于行动.g., 把你的手放在某件东西上打开它，而不是把目光从你身上移到那件东西上，然后做个手势)?
• 他们能模仿声音吗?家人以外的人能听懂吗?
• Are they frustrated because they are not understood?
• 他们是否看起来没有听你说话，或者他们是否很难始终按照你的指示行事?

As communication is the way we interact with others, these difficulties are often the first area of concern for parents, and delays often contribute to difficulties in social and 行为al domains.

社会能力

孩子们自然会寻求别人的注意，并以模仿别人的行为为乐.g., wearing mommy’s shoes, pretending to cook like daddy). They are born curious and want to be around others. 通过玩耍, children learn how to take the perspective of others, 实践和过程经验, 学会妥协, 分享, 和其他人一起工作. 早期发育的第一个危险信号是缺乏游戏或社会模仿的自然发展, 哪些可以抵消语言延迟. 此外，在游戏中，孩子们既喜欢活动，也喜欢与他人分享活动的过程. 虽然所有的孩子都有不同的性格，有些人比其他人或多或少外向, 有时孩子们更专注于活动而不是社交互动.

尽管暴露在各种情况下, sometimes children do not seem to learn how to 分享, 妥协, or understand the normal give and take of interactions, 导致回避同伴, 小组活动中的困难, and difficulties with starting or sustaining interactions. While some of these difficulties may stem from emotions (e.g., 焦虑)，有时它们可以表明内在的社会困难，这些困难可能会从进一步的评估和支持中受益.

行为

Social growth runs in parallel with 行为al development, and children learn their limits by testing them. While this can be frustrating while it develops, children often learn by doing; for example, 学习 that hitting someone else leads to tears, 伤害, 以及其他后果. 通过这种社会接触, 他们学会了别人对他们的期望，以及如何调节自己的情绪和行为. 游戏约会和其他社交机会对于帮助孩子们获得这些经验和学习与他人玩耍和协商是很重要的. 而所有的孩子都在考验自己的极限, 有时，孩子们似乎无法学会如何在不使用身体手段的情况下进行调节或谈判, which often causes difficulties in daycare or preschool settings, as well as in their relationships with peers. 因为我们想成为他们情绪和行为的主人，而不是相反, 有时，在学习如何识别自己的情绪方面，孩子们可能会从支持中受益, 忍受痛苦, and deal with their feelings in a prosocial way.

总结

It is easy (and natural) to be worried about your child’s development, 尤其是在这个时代, but the important thing to remember is that you are not alone. 如果你担心, consult with a professional; do not wait and see! Even if the difficulties are due to your child’s reaction to general stress, 我们的专家随时为您提供咨询、指导和实时支持. Occupational therapists help with gross and fine motor development, including 学习 daily living skills (e.g., buttoning, feeding) as well as sensory processing and regulation. 演讲 and 语言 pathologists help with verbal and nonverbal communication, 包括鼓励语言发展，教父母如何在家里的日常活动中支持语言发展. Psychologists help with social-emotional development and 行为, including 学习 and practicing coping and social skills, 针对问题行为, 培养情感洞察力, developing and implementing structure, and integrating information from the rest of the team.

即使有延误, 早期干预被证明是非常有效的，可以在发展方面产生显著的积极影响. 发展发生在一个范围内，我们总是想要庆祝每个孩子的独特性，同时密切关注潜在的支持领域，以最大限度地发挥每个孩子的优势. 同样重要的是要记住，网上的很多信息都是未经审查的，在做决定之前，一定要咨询你孩子的儿科医生和其他有执照的专业人士. 如果你担心, please reach out to your child’s pediatrician and other experts, 如果你觉得没人听你说话, 坚持! 你是孩子的专家, and we encourage parents to be empowered to advocate for their children.

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Dr. 许在奥克兰儿童医院自闭症干预中心(CHAI)的实习期间，她对自闭症谱系障碍和发育障碍儿童及其家庭的工作产生了热情。. Dr. 许目前继续在Kaiser Permanente研究部门兼职工作，参与自闭症研究项目，担任两项研究的临床负责人, SEED(早期发展探索研究)和EARLI(早期自闭症风险纵向调查).

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