Development Across the Life Span

Introduction

Child lying on a bed looking at a laptop computer Think back as FAR as you can remember….can you remember being 6 years old and in first grade? Many of you can. Can you remember being 4 years old and in preschool? Some of you may have a memory or two from that time. Can you remember being a toddler at 2 years old? Chances are that you won't have any memories from that early age. You certainly will have no memories of the time before you were born when you were developing and growing in your mother's uterus.

As you have grown in chronological age you have also matured and developed in 4 areas:

Your thinking, reasoning, and mental skills – Intellectual/Cognitive Development
Your body size, strength, movement, and physical abilities – Physical Development
Your interactions with others, ability to maintain relationships and friendships – Social Development
Your ability to understand, analyze, and act upon your feelings – Psycho/Emotional Development

In this module, we will see how humans develop from a fertilized Ovum (egg) into a mature adult and what changes happen and milestones are met along the way.

Essential Questions

What is "growth and development"?
How does the body stay in a state of constant balance?
How do certain conditions affect the way that the body functions and maintains balance?
What are the developmental milestones for physical, cognitive, psycho-emotional, and social development?
What development happens "pre-birth"?
What can negatively influence a pregnancy?
What are the stages of life?
How do humans change and grow as they progress through each stage of life?
What is the hierarchy of needs?

Keywords

Please review the following terms.

Life stages – the stages that each person passes through as they progress from conception to death
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs – a classification of the basic needs of the human that is placed in levels from the most basic need to the higher needs. Theorizes that only when satisfaction has been obtained at one level will a person progress to the next level
Fetus – the human being developing in the uterus from the end of the eighth week until birth
Embryo - the human being developing in the uterus from the time of conception to the end of the eighth week
Conception (fertilization) – the union of the ovum (egg) with the sperm causing the ovum to be fertilized
Homeostasis – a constant state of natural balance within the body
Wellness – the state of being in good health; being well
Genes - units of heredity material contained in a person's cells
Amniotic sac – a thin, membranous sac, also called the bag of waters, in which the fetus is enclosed and protected
Developmental milestones – significant points in the growth process, these can be considered to be physical development, intellectual-cognitive development, psycho-emotional development, and social development
Trimester – the time periods into which pregnancy is divided (A trimester is about 3 months.)
Fallopian tube – the tube that extends from the uterus to the ovary in the female reproductive system
Cephalocaudal development - the head-to-tail development of the embryo and fetus in the uterus causing the brain and elementary nervous system to develop first with further development progressing downward
Implantation – the process whereby the zygote buries itself in the upper wall of the uterus where it will stay and develop
Neonate – newborn (birth to one month)
Fontanel – soft spots in the baby's head where there is no underlying bone but rather really tough cartilage
Synapses – connections in the nervous system that develop as the human grows and allow information processing
Zygote - the fertilized ovum
Geriatrics – the field of medicine concerned with the problems of aging
Kyphosis – curvature of the spine resulting in a "hunchback" look
Osteoarthritis – a progressive joint disease characterized by painful, swollen joints and decreased mobility commonly associated with late middle age and late adulthood
Puberty – period of growth and development during which secondary sexual characteristics begin to develop
Anorexia nervosa – a psychological disorder in which a person drastically reduces food intake or refuses to eat at all
Bulimia – a psychological disorder in which a person alternately binges and then fasts, or refuses to eat at all and may use induced vomiting or abuse laxatives to purge their systems
Presbyopia – farsightedness or the inability of the eye lens to focus incoming light resulting in blurred vision at a reading distance and eyestrain
Alzheimer's Disease – a progressive, irreversible disease involving memory loss, disorientation, deterioration of intellectual function, and speech and gait disturbances
Arteriosclerosis – hardening and/or narrowing of the walls of the arteries
Palliative care – care that provides support, pain control, and comfort measures for terminally ill patients

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