A few days ago we saw how detect delays in children's psychomotor development Up to 3 months. Today we go one step further and explain how to do it with boys and girls up to 6 months.
In the same way, with the table in front, and after drawing a vertical line in the age that we want to assess, we will look at the actions that have been left (including those we commented a few days ago, at the entrance of 0 to 3 months) and the that are crossed by the line, adding the stars as explained in the entry of the Haizea-Llevant Table.
Sociability area exploration
• Horizontal optical chase *** (3.3; 4; 5.5) Material needed (M): Flashy object (small red ball or other object of interest). Exploration (E): When lying supine or sitting on your mother's lap, place the striking object in front of you (30 cm.), Moving it 90º to one side and then the other to its original position. Positive response (RP): If you follow the object with the head and eyes, along the entire arc of displacement, from side to side. • Search for the fallen object * (5.8; 6.8; 7.8) M: Flashy object (small red ball or other object of interest). E: Sitting in your mother's arms, attract your attention with a striking object. When you are looking at it, drop the object out of your visual field. The examiner will not move her hand or arm if it is not to drop the object. A: If you search for the object.
• Eat a cookie * (5.6; 7.1; 7.9) (Assessing the age of introduction of gluten, it is not intended to check if you already take gluten, but if you are able to perform this action). E: Ask the mother to give her a cookie (gluten-free cookies or other foods can be used) or request information about it. RP: If you keep a cookie or any food in your hand, taking it to your mouth and eating it.
Language area exploration
• Babbles ** (5.6; 6.2; 7.8) E: Observe if during the exam it emits a syllable with consonant. Eg ma / da / pa / la. RP: Let him do it.
Exploration area exploration
• Directs the hand to the object ** (4.2; 4.8; 5.8) M: Flashy object (small red ball or other object of interest). E: The child is placed in his mother's lap, with his elbows at table level so he can easily place his hands on it. Put on the table, in the range of your hands, an easy toy to catch and encourage, with words or gestures, to do so. RP: If he directs his hand towards the object even if he fails to take it.
• Change hand objects *** (5.5; 6.3; 8) M: Select an object from the available material. E: Observe during the test if the child passes an object from one hand to another. You can be encouraged to do so. RP: If you do it without helping yourself with your mouth, body or table.
• A handkerchief is removed from the face ** (5.7; 6.4; 7.5) M: A handkerchief. E: Put the child in a supine position and cover his face with a handkerchief. RP: If you remove with one or both hands the handkerchief with which your face has been covered. ATTENTION: The use of a single hand or a marked asymmetry are warning signs.
Postural area exploration
• Step by sitting: head flexion ** (4; 5; 7.5) E: Place the child in supine position (face up) and, taking it from the hands or forearm, gently incorporate it until sitting. It is important to keep in mind that if the child fixes his gaze on an object taller than his face - for example the examiner's face - he may not try to flex his head. RP: Upon reaching 45º, the head must be forward with respect to the trunk.
This item is very similar to the one commented in the previous entry, called “Step-by-step: head-aligned with the trunk” when the child is expected to keep the head aligned with respect to the body. In this screening the difference is that the child must actively advance the head with respect to the trunk.
And that's all for today. With what has been explained so far it is possible to examine children up to 6 months. In a few days we will expand the explanation of the items in the Haizea-Llevant Table with those that are part of the 6 to 12 month period.
