Emotional Development versus Intellectual Development Description of graphical content is included between Description Start and Description End. Transcript Start [Slide start: ] Text read by speaker Audio Description: A slide reads Emotional Development Versus Intellectual Development. Patty Obrzut: Now that you can identify the emotional level of a child, Dr. Nielsen in her book, "Are You Blind?," makes a distinction between the emotional level and the child's intellectual level. So what does she mean by intellectual level? To make this distinction, let's talk about a child who is diagnosed with austic-like tendencies or autism. Let's say that the child is also legally blind. This child is observed to throw temper tantrums if not given his way, if he's frustrated, or when introduced to new activities. This child can also be aggressive and attempt to hit, kick, or bite other people. If an adult asks the child to come to the table to work on a six-piece shape sorting puzzle, you know the kind that has the star, the square, the circle, this child will do some protesting, but they will come to the table. Sometimes the adult might have to promise that the child can maybe listen to music once the puzzle is completed or maybe play with their favorite toy. This child might need occasional verbal prompting to continue the task, but he is capable of completing the puzzle. Now at what age can a child independently work a six-piece shape sorting puzzle? The answer is that a 2-1/2 to 3-year-old child can complete a six-piece puzzle. So for this example, the child's intellectual level is developed to the point of a 2-1/2 to 3-year-old, because he has skills to that level. Dr. Nielsen describes this in her book, "Are you Blind?," as the intellectual level. Now take that same child and allow him to play independently. This child will typically play away from adults or other children. He might select simple music toys. So, most of you are familiar with toys that play songs like Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star or Old McDonald, so when you push the button they might say this is the yellow square, or this is the blue circle. Now, the austic child who is playing with this type of toy will frequently repeatedly hit the same button over and over again. So for example, they'll go "twinkle, twink, twinkle, twink, twinkle, twink," or they'll go "this is, this is, this is" instead of letting the button go this is the yellow square. This child will also flick a toy in front of his face or they might spin objects on the floor. If a toy doesn't work properly, this child will usually seek out an adult to get a new toy, or to fix the old toy, but as soon as that toy is working properly, this child is going to move away, and again play on his own. So, now at what age do you see a child push a simple push-button toy over and over again? What age does a child play with toys independently, and away from other people? At what age do you see a child flick or spin an object? [Slide start: ] Description Start: Title: Gap in Emotional-Intellectual Levels left-side graphic: title "Intellectual Level = 2-3 years over a two-sided arrow pointing down to title "Emotional Level = 6-9 months," over another title "Behavior Problems" right-side text: Need to close the gap or behavior problems occur. Description End: The answer is all of these things are usually done by a 6- to 9-month-old child. So Dr. Nielsen would assess that this child's emotional level is at the 6- to 9-month-old level. Now which of these skills, the intellectual level or the emotional level, do most teachers and parents feel that they should be building on, to help the child learn new skills? Most people are going to select the intellectual level of 2-1/2 to 3 years old. [Slide end:] Unfortunately, this will cause greater disparity between the emotional level and the intellectual level of the child. If this child perceives himself to be a 6- to 9-month-old, but adults in his world are asking him to act like a 2-1/2 to 3-year-old, he does not have the emotional skills needed to be successful. The child is more likely to continue to have emotional outbursts and exhibit greater aggression. As the child gets older, he's going to become bigger and stronger and the aggressive and self-injurious behaviors might become more difficult to respond to. Remember, how can a learner be expected to interact with others if the child has not developed to the appropriate emotional level? Socially a child at two years of age engages in parallel play and only begins associative play at an age of three years of age. [Slide start: ] Text read by speaker It's imperative that a child be given daily opportunities to engage in activities that focus on the emotional level. This can be achieved by using the Five Phases of Educational Treatment. [Slide start: ] Text read by speaker Audio Description: A slide reads Active Learning Space, www.activelearningspace.org, January 2017. At the bottom are logos for Penrickton Center for Blind Children, Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and Perkins School for the Blind.