Describe the application of biological perspectives in health and social care. Discuss Gesells theory on how a childs development is considered to be biologically programmed.

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Unit 8: Assignment 8.6

P6: Describe the application of biological perspectives in health and social care.

8.6a: Discuss Gesell’s theory on how a child’s development is considered to be biologically programmed.

Arnold Gesell used the term maturation to describe the process of changes that take place during our lifespan. These might be changes in what we do: babies sit up, they walk, and they begin to talk. These might also be physical changes, as our bodies grow and develop from childhood to adulthood. Maturational changes are biologically programmed and come about as a result of our genes, said Gesell. If a change takes place as a result of maturation, it should be universal which it will happen in all people, sequential which it will follow the same predictable pattern and biological which it does not need any environmental influences to make it happen. If changes occur in all children, in the same order, and as a result of some kind of biological unfolding, it should be possible to map this process out. We can work out developmental norms that the ages at which children normally are able to sit up, walk and begin to talk. For example a map might help us to understand more about the process of development, and would also allow us to look at how individual children are developing. If they seem to be slow to develop motor skills or languages skills, for example we might think about involving an occupational therapist or a speech and language therapist to help stimulate their development in these areas. Developmental screening may be carried out routinely by health visitors on babies and young children. Some children may be screened again, perhaps before they start school. This aim is to discover any areas where children’s development might be falling behind that of other children, they might then be referred on for more detailed assessment and intervention. The Gesell Development Schedules aim to chart the development of a number of skills in children up to six years old. The areas covered are motor skills which fine and gross motor skills, language skills which understanding and using language, personal-social skills which skills involved in interacting with others and adaptive behaviour which the ability to learn from past experiences. Gesell’s early work was criticised because it was based on observations of only a small number of white and middle class children who lived in the same American city. However, psychologists have got much better devising ways of measuring children’s development. Although Gesell believed that he was observing a biological process, many of the items in developmental schedules depend on both biological and environmental factors. For example, children will be slow to learn to walk if they hardly ever taken out of their cot and they learn to speak more quickly if they are exposed to good models of language. In the health and social care sector it is important to recognise that children’s development is not fixed by their biology. If it was, there would be little point in trying to find ways of helping them to catch up if they were delayed.        

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Assignment 8.6b

Use a twin study to consider the influence of a person’s genetics on their development and behaviour.

Gesell’s classic study involved twin girls, both given training for motor skills but one given training for longer than the other. There was no measurable difference in the age at which either child acquired the skills, suggesting that development had happened in a genetically programmed way, irrespective of the training given. A child learns to whether or not an adult teaches him/her, suggesting physical development at least is largely pre-programmed. There was no measurable difference in the age ...

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