emotional skills – ECI – Module 1: Atypical Development

Emotional Skills

Children with atypical emotional development¹ have difficulties when they deal with feelings and emotions. Understanding and sharing feelings and emotions is very hard for these children. Just as with social skills, difficulties with emotional development are usually indicators of serious developmental difficulties. Children with atypical emotional development do not “grow out” of their difficulties. They may be at risk of injuring themselves or others. Children with special needs in this area require immediate attention and should be referred to the appropriate specialists as early as possible, rather than waiting for children “outgrow” these difficulties.

Some emotional indicators of atypical social behaviours include:

A child showing little or no affect since the very early stages

Some indicators that appear in the preschool years and onwards:

Showing low or no energy;
Changing moods very easily; e.g., from happy to mad or to sad for no apparent reason;
Being very difficult to comfort or calm when upset;
Being unable to calm him or herself down, or self-soothe;
Having difficulties with adapting to different situations, with little or no self-regulation;
Avoiding eye contact with caregivers, friends and strangers;
Acting scared or panicking when someone moves quickly;
Being overly clingy to others at all times;
Showing same level of affection to caregivers and strangers;
Lying most of the time;
Hurting others;
Hurting self;
Being withdrawn and/or seeming overly shy;
Crying or laughing often for no obvious reason;
Over eating or under eating on a daily basis;
Eating non-food items, like toys or pebbles;
Sleeping too much or very little;
Difficulties falling asleep.

Some indicators that appear from early school years and onwards:

Having intense temper tantrums almost on a daily basis;
Engaging in sexually inappropriate behavior, like frequently touching and rubbing private parts (theirs or others);
Continuing to wet the bed or having toileting accidents;
Having difficulty paying attention and concentrating;
Running away from home or school;
Being afraid of common objects or of participating in daily activities (e.g. going to the bathroom, using rulers, scissors, etc.).

1 see References

Communication Development

A Brief Overview¹

Being aware of language and communication milestones is important for parents and other caregivers. We often hear statements like the ones listed below from parents whose children are not speaking “like other children”, or from professionals, including family physicians:

“My two year-old has yet to utter her first words, but since her pediatrician is not concerned, I guess I should not think about this too much.
My three year-old only uses one-word phrases, but so did his father. I guess this runs in my husband’s family and I should not be worried.
Leave your child alone. She will talk when she is good and ready. You are ‘making a mountain out of a mole hill’ (exaggerating).”

Nevertheless, the speech and language patterns of these children seem to be different than those of others their age. These differences show both in the way they talk, or the quality of their expression, and in quantity, or how many words they know and can put together into sentences.

It may be that some physicians are not aware of the early signs of speech and language delay in young children. They may want to avoid worry for parents so they reassure parents that their children will develop language at their own pace.

It is also true that some children talk earlier than others. These children usually fall within the typical range of speech and language development. At the same time, a parent’s concerns about their child’s speech and language development are always valid and need to be heard. Parents need to consult with a public health nurse or a speech and language pathologist.

Signs of severe delay include:

Not talking at three years of age;
Speaking in only one word phrases at five years of age;
Not speaking clearly (e.g., having severe speech difficulties at seven years of age).

Resources:

Click here for a list of different speech, language and communication disorders.

1 see References

A Brief Overview1

1 see References

A Brief Overview¹