Needs of A School Aged Child Between the Ages of 5 and 12 Years Old Paper

            Physical assessment of children is an important technique that nurses utilize to plan the care plans. The assessment entails the acquisition of essential data about the child’s growth and development in aspects such as social, physical, cognition, and learning. The assessment techniques that nurse largely rely on include observation, palpation, auscultation, and percussion. It is also important to consider other aspects such as culture of the family and its effect on the use of some assessment techniques (Leifer & Fleck, 2021). Therefore, this paper is an analysis of a school-aged child and techniques that would be utilized.

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Physical Characteristics/Findings

            The assessment of a school-aged child focuses on identifying the normal or any abnormal developmental findings. The assessment techniques utilized largely depend on the developmental stage of the child since skills and capabilities vary based on age. The assessment of a school-aged child is expected to yield results such as strong and smooth motor skills, which enable them to perform activities such as dressing and engaging in physical activities. The assessment is also expected to demonstrate normal development milestones such as height, weight, language, and cognitive skills appropriate for the child’s age. Children aged at least six years should be able to engage in physical activity for the development of their desired body image. In addition, secondary characteristics should be seen as the school-aged child nears pre-adolescence stage. Some of the anticipated changes include pubic hair, breast development in girls, and penis enlargement in boys (Cooper & Gosnell, 2022).

Modifying Assessment Techniques

            The assessment techniques used in children should be modified to match their developmental stages. For example, the assessment of children aged five years may necessitate the use of assessment skills such as observation and obtaining further information from parents about the child’s concern. The other strategy when assessing them may include the use of age-appropriate toys to gain attention and trust of the child to facilitate easy assessment. Children aged six years and above have a high comprehension level. As a result, they can explain their health problems in a manner that the nurse understands. The nurse should encourage independence among children of this age by allowing them to express their health concerns and involving them in making some of the less complex interventions. As noted initially, the nurse should also consider the unique cultural values, beliefs, and practices of the family. Culture may affect the child’s expression in cases where the family or the child prefers a healthcare provider of similar gender during the assessment. The other approach to modifying children assessment entails utilizing less invasive techniques such as palpation and auscultation (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2018). These strategies enhance the child’s collaboration in the assessment.

Chosen Child

            The selected child for assessment in this case study is A.Y. a 12-year-old girl. A.Y. is at the adolescence stage of development. She has symptoms associated with adolescence stage including breast enlargement and is in the initial stage of growth of pubic hair. She also demonstrates cognitive and psychological signs of the pre-adolescence stage. At this stage, it is expected that A.Y.’s adrenal and sexual glands have developed. The assessment showed that the client has not started her menstrual cycles. There is the broadening of her hips alongside an increase in her height. She has also developed complex cognitive skills and engages in complex mental tasks such as exploring cause-effect relationship between different aspects of life. She has also started being interested in her body image. She reports that she spends most of her time ensuring that she dresses appropriately because of the image she holds in her class. She is also interested in social relationships (Cooper & Gosnell, 2022). She has never engaged in sexual intercourse. Her friends are both boys and girls in her class.

            Erickson’s theory of growth and development can be applied in A.Y.’s. According to Erickson, human development occurs in eight steps, which reflect the entire life of human beings. Ego development occurs in each of these steps. They include infancy (trust vs mistrust), toddler (autonomy vs shame and doubt), preschooler (initiative vs guilt), school age (industry vs inferiority), adolescence (identity vs. confusion), and young adulthood (intimacy vs isolation). There is also middle age (generativity bs stagnation), and older adulthood where ego development is on integrity vs despair (Gross, 2020).  

A.Y.’s stage of development according to Erickson’s theory is adolescence stage. Adolescence is a stage where children begin their self-identify. A failure to achieve this milestone leads to confusion. The adolescents should be assisted to set goals and priorities for their adult life. They should also be assisted in managing their expectations to avoid confusion. A.Y. does not demonstrate any signs of confusion in her development. She has started setting her goals and is guided by her parents manage unexpected events. A.Y. has developed her desired social, cognitive, and physical skills as per her age (Orenstein & Lewis, 2022). As a result, I will offer her direct explanations about her needed health promotion behaviors. She understands her health needs and how to achieve them.

Conclusion

            Child assessment is an important skill for nurses. Assessment techniques depend largely on the stage of one’s development. The assessed child is in adolescence stage. Therefore, the family and community at large should help the child develop her desired roles by supporting her goals and priorities.

References

Cooper, K., & Gosnell, K. (2022). Foundations of Nursing—E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences.

Gross, Y. (2020). Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development. In The Wiley Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences (pp. 179–184). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118970843.ch31

Kail, R. V., & Cavanaugh, J. C. (2018). Human Development: A Life-Span View. Cengage Learning.

Leifer, G., & Fleck, E. (2021). Growth and Development Across the Lifespan – E-Book: A Health Promotion Focus. Elsevier Health Sciences.

Orenstein, G. A., & Lewis, L. (2022). Eriksons Stages of Psychosocial Development. In StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK556096/

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Assessment Description
The needs of the pediatric patient differ depending on age, as do the stages of development and the expected assessment findings for each stage. In a 500-750-word paper, examine the needs of a school-aged child between the ages of 5 and 12 years old and discuss the following:

Describe the different physical characteristics/findings within the school-aged child. Explain how you would modify assessment techniques to match the age and developmental stage of this child.
Choose a child between the ages of 5 and 12 years old. Identify the age of the child and describe the typical developmental stages of children that age.
Applying developmental theory based on Erickson, Piaget, or Kohlberg, explain how you would developmentally assess the child. Include how you would offer explanations during the assessment, strategies you would use to gain cooperation, and potential findings from the assessment.
You are required to cite a minimum of three peer-reviewed sources to complete this assignment. Sources must be published within the last 5 years, appropriate for the assignment criteria, and relevant to nursing practice.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. A link to the LopesWrite technical support articles is located in Class Resources if you need assistance.