Developmental Stagesof the

Typical6-12 year old

Group 2

6 yearsGross Motor Milestones

• Hops, skips, jumps, throws and catches ball

• Constantly on the go lugging, tugging, digging, dancing, climbing, pushing and pulling

• Try activities that exceed their abilities (i.e.: swinging too high, building too tall)

6 yearsGross Motor Milestones

• Seems less coordinated than previous year, awkwardness may cause accidents (i.e.: falls out of chair while eating, knocks over glass, etc.)

6 yearsFine Motor Milestones

• Increased control in hand use

• Increased speed and dexterity

• Master printing and work on cursive

• Copies designs, shapes, letters & numbers

• Mature pre hension patterns

• Manages buttons, zippers, laces & other closures

• Ties a knot and bow• Prints name

6 yearsFine Motor/ADL’s

• Independent with all basic self care

• Begin chores (i.e.: help with cooking, laundry, sweeping, dusting, making bed etc.)

6 yearsSpeech-Language Milestones

• Names some letters, numbers and currencies• Sequences numbers• Understands Left/Right• Uses increasingly more complex descriptions• Engages in conversations• Receptive vocabulary of ~20,000 words• Sentence length ~ 6 words• Understands most time concepts• Recites alphabet• Rotely counts to 100• Uses morphologic markers appropriately• Uses passive voice appropriately• Speech is intelligible

6 yearsCognitive Milestones

• Begins to demonstrate concrete operational thinking

6 yearsSocial-Emotional Milestones

• Feels one way only about a situation; has some difficulty detecting intentions accurately in situations where damage occurs

7 yearsGross Motor & Fine Motor Milestones

Gross Motor• Achieves an adult reaching

strategy• Execute multiple small

movement strategies (early braking) when reaching for an object

• Monitor their movements in a closed loop strategy to control their reaching

Fine Motor/ADL’s• Prints many words• Writes in cursive• Draws detailed pictures• Manages dexterity tasks (i.e.:

playing piano, stringing small beads, fastens necklace)

• Draws 3 interlocking circles• Ties shoe laces• Measures ingredients & uses

simple kitchen utensils• Squeezes toothpaste on

toothbrush• Brushes teeth independently• Starts flossing teeth

independently

7 yearsSpeech-Language Milestones

• Should have mastered the consonants: s, z, r, th, ch, wh and the soft g (i.e.George)

• Understands opposites• Tells time to the quarter hour• Complete simple reading• Can write or print many words• Understands terms such as: alike, different,

beginning, end, etc.

7 yearsCognitive Milestones

• Begins to use some rehearsal strategies to aid memory; better able to play strategy games; may demonstrate conservation of mass and length

• Simple planning and inhibition—ability to resist distraction

7 yearsSocial Emotional Milestones

• May express 2 emotions about one situation, but these will be same valence; understands gender constancy

8 yearsGross & Fine Motor Milestones

Gross Motor• Jumps rope skillfully• Throws and bats a

ball more skillfully

Fine Motor/ADL’s• Makes lunch• Cleans room• Packs school bag• Draws vertical diamond• Cuts things with a knife• Plays a game requiring

considerable FM skill and good reaction time

8 yearsSpeech-Language Milestones

• Complex/compound sentences used with ease• Should be a few lapses in grammatical construction

(i.e.: tense, pronouns, plurals• All sounds, including blends, should be established• Reading with considerable ease • Writing simple compositions-better spelling• Control rate, pitch and volume of voice• Carries on adult conversation• Follows fairly complex directions with little repetition• Well developed time and number concepts

8 yearsCognitive Milestones

• Difficulty judging is a passage is relevant to a specific theme

8 yearsSocial-Emotional Milestones

• Understands that people may interpret situation differently but thinks this is due to different information

9 yearsGross Motor Milestones

• Combine strategies to increase efficiency of movements in order to reduce attention required

• Master fine timing adjustments to perturbations

• Continue to use closed loop reaching strategy which inhibits the ability to execute anticipatory adjustments and minimize error

9 yearsFine Motor/ADL’s Milestones

• Can draw a circle made of 8 dots

• Enjoys hobbies requiring high levels of FM skills (i.e.: sewing, model building)

9 yearsSpeech-Language Milestones

• Listens attentively in group situations• Understands grade level material• Speaks clearly in an appropriate voice• Asks and responds to questions• Participates in conversations and group discussions• Uses subject related vocabulary• Stays on topic, uses appropriate eye contact and

takes turns in conversation• Summarizes a story accurately• Explain what has been learned

9 yearsCognitive Milestones

• May demonstrate conservation of weight

9 yearsSocial-Emotional Milestones

• Can think about own thinking or another person’s thinking but not both at the same time

10 yearsGross & Fine Motor Development

• Gross Motor• Jumping distance

continues to increase

• Fine Motor

10 yearsSpeech-Language Milestones

• Becomes a more sophisticated speller

10 yearsCognitive Milestones

• Makes better judgments about relevance of a text

• Begins to delete unimportant information when summarizing

• Hypothesis testing and impulse control reaches adult levels

10 yearsSocial-Emotional Milestones

• Can take own view and view of another as if a disinterested third party

11 year oldGross & Fine Motor Milestones

• Gross Motor• Running speed

stabilizes for girls

• Fine Motor

11 yearsSpeech-Language Milestones

• Forms opinions based on evidence• Listen for specific purposes• Listens and understands info. presented by others• Uses words appropriately in conversation• Understands some figurative language• Gives accurate directions to others• Summarizes & restates ideas• Organizes info. for clarity• Uses subject area info. & vocabulary for learning• Make effective oral presentations• Follows written directions

11 yearsSpeech-Language Milestones

• Takes brief notes• Learns meanings of synonyms and multiple

meaning words• Use reference materials• Explain author’s purpose and writing style• Make inferences• Paraphrase• Write effective stories and explanations• Develop a plan for writing• Edit for grammar, punctuation and spelling

11 yearsCognitive Milestones

• May demonstrate conservation of volume

11 yearsSocial-Emotional Milestones

• Still has trouble detecting deception

• Spends more time with friends

12 year oldGross & Fine Motor Milestones

• Gross Motor• Plays ball more

skillfully due to improved reaction time

• Fine Motor

12 yearsSpeech-Language Milestones

• Maintain eye contact and use gestures, facial expressions and appropriate voice during group presentations

• Participate in class discussions across subject areas

• Summarize main points• Report about info. gathered in group tasks• Learn meanings of unfamiliar words through

knowledge of root words, prefixes and suffixes• Prioritize info. according to the purpose of

reading

12 yearsSpeech-Language Milestones

• Describe development of character and plot• Describe characteristics of poetry• Analyze author’s language and style• Use reference materials to support opinions• Writes for a variety of purposes• Vary sentence structure• Revise writing for clarity

12 yearsCognitive Development

• Shows skill in summarizing and outlining• Improvements in goal setting• Verbal design and fluency, motor

sequencing & planning emerging• Increased inhibition • Increased verbal memory• Short term memory reaches adult levels

12 yearsSocial-Emotional Milestones

Typical Developmental Skills6-12 year olds

References• Asha.org(American Speech and Hearing Association)• www.brightfutures.aap.org(American Academy of Pediatrics)• Ames, LB, Gillespie, C, Hayines, J & Ilg, FL. The Gesell Institute’s Child from

One to Six: Evaluating the Behavior of the Preschool Child. New York. Harper & Row, 1979.

• Campbell, S. Vander Linden, D, & Palisano, R. Physical Therapy for Children. Missouri:Saunders Elsevier, 2006.

• Effgen, S. Meeting the Physical Therapy Needs of Children. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Company, 2005.

• Schmitz, C, Martin, N, & Assaiante C. Building anticipatory postural adjustments during childhood: A kinematic and electromyographic analysis of unloading in children from 4 to 8 years of age. Experimental Brain Research: 2002.

• Case-Smith, J; Allen, A; Pratt, P (1996). Occupational Therapy for Children. St. Louis. Mosby, Inc.

References

• Cech, D; Martin, S (1995). Functional Movement Development Across the Lifespan. Philadelphia. W.B. Saunders

• Huizinga M, Dolan CV, van der Molen MW. Age related change in executive function: developmental trends and a latent variable analysis. Neuropsychologia. 2006; 44: 2017-2036.

• Capilla A, Romero D, Maestu F, Campo P, et. Al. Emergence and brain development of executive functions, Actas Esp Psiquiatr. 2004; 32 (6): 377-386.

• Anderson V. Assessing executive functions in children:biological, psychological and developmental considerations. Pediatric Rehabilitation. 2001;4(3):119-136.

• Romine CB, Reynolds CR. Sequential memory: a developmental perspective on its relation to frontal lobe functioning. Neuropsychology Review. 2004;14(1): 43-64.

References

• Tsujimoto S. The prefrontal cortex:functional development during early childhood. Neuroscientist. 2008;14 Available at http://nro.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/14/4/345-a Accessed March 30, 2009

• Ylvisaker M. Feeney T. Executive functions, self regulation and learned optimism in paediatric rehabilitation: a review and implications for intervention. Ped. Rehab. 2002;5(2)51-70.

• Rueda MR, Rothbart MK, McCandliss BD, et.al. Training maturation and genetic influences on the development of executive attention. Porc. Natl. Acad.Sci. U.S.A. 2005;102(41). Available at http://www.pnas.org/content/102/41/14931.long Accessed March 31, 2009