Summary NRS 434VN Topic 2 Assignment: Developmental Assessment and the School-Aged Child/Health Assessment: Grand Canyon University: Rated A+

Developmental Assessment and the School-Aged Child Stephanie Green Grand Canyon University: NRS 434VN December 2, 2018 1 This study source was downloaded by from CourseH on :30:13 GMT -05:00 DEVELOPMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND THE SCHOOL-AGED CHILD Developmental Assessment and the School-Aged Child Assessment of the pediatric school-aged child should be comprehensive and tailored to the specific needs for age and developmental stage. School-aged children grow slowly until the onset of puberty. They are mentally active, eager learners and can understand a cause and effect situation. Children this age are building self-esteem and want to fit in with peers. They may begin to make lifestyle choices and have poor judgment. Issues relating to smoking, alcohol and drugs and sex need to be discussed with this age group (Hagan, Shaw, & Duncan, 2017). School-aged children range in age from five to twelve years of age. When performing assessments on this age group, it is important to understand the steady growth and developmental stages for each (CDC, 2018a). Beginning the assessment by establishing a rapport with the parent or caregiver will help to establish trust with the child. The school-age child should participate in the interview process to allow the child to see that they are important. This also allows the nurse to assess language, cognitive, social and intellectual abilities. Older school-age children need privacy, as the need for questions relating to risk-taking behavior, drug or alcohol use, or sexual activity, the parent may be asked to leave the room (Chiocca, 2015). Following the collection of subjective data, or history taking, the objective data, or physical examination begins. School-age children are able to sit on the exam table and the exam can proceed in a head to toe manner. While collecting the history, the general appearance of the child is assessed noting alertness, posture, gait, speech, hearing, color, nutritional status, cleanliness, and interaction with parents. Vital signs, and height and weight are measured and recorded. The comprehensive physical assessment is then conducted beginning at the head and proceeding down the body using the techniques of inspection, palpation, percussion, and 2 This study source was downloaded by from CourseH on :30:13 GMT -05:00 DEVELOPMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND THE SCHOOL-AGED CHILD auscultation (Chiocca, 2015). Care is taken to assess painful areas and genitalia at the end of the physical assessment. With the age range of the school-age child, some modifications may be necessary to elicit cooperation and encourage engagement with the child. During the assessment of the young school age child distractions and games may be used while the older school age child would rather talk about school, friends and extra-curricular activities such as baseball, or gymnastics (Hagan, Shaw, & Duncan, 2017). The five-year-old child is just beginning to attend school. They experience new developmental challenges such as readiness for school and separation from parents. Socially and emotionally, a child this age wants to please and be like their friends, is more likely to agree with rules, sings and dances, can tell what is real and what is make believe, and is becoming more independent. Language and communication skills improve allowing them to speak clearly, form sentences to tell simple stories, understand future tense, and they know their address and phone number. Cognitively, a five-year-old child is able to count to ten, draw a person with at least six body parts, print some letters and numbers, and draw shapes such as triangles and squares. Physically, they are able to stand on one foot, hop, skip, perform a somersault, use a fork and spoon, swing, climb, and use the restroom