Running head: Child Case Study: Alyssa Phillibert
Child Case Study Project:
Development and Growth of Alyssa Phillibert
Barry D. Thibault
University of West Georgia
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Development and Growth of Alyssa Phillibert
I.
Introduction
Alyssa Phillibert is my 4 year old niece and the child subject of this case study project in
child development. Alyssa was born on May 27, 2006 to my sister, Pam Phillibert and brotherIn-Law, Rick Phillibert. Alyssa's parents have been married for 3 years when she was born and
she is the only child in my sisters' family. This study of Alyssa Phillibert will identify the
following concepts of the important growth attributes of the developing child:

Intelligence

Academic success/failure

Thought processes

Interest in school
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Attention span

Memory

Ability to reason
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Aggression

Temper

Self control
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General disposition
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Emotional problems
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Self concept
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Self esteem
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
Egocentric behavior.
II.
Identifying information
Subject: Alyssa Phillibert
Age: 53 months (4.5 Years Old)
Sex: Female
Birth Order: 1st and only child
Height: 40 inches
Weight: 39 pounds
Parents Information:
Mother:
Pamela Phillibert, 38 years old (33 at Alyssa's birth)
High school graduate
Employed at :Manatee County Courthouse, Bradenton, Florida
Father:
Richard Phillibert , 40 years old (36 at Alyssa's birth)
High school graduate
Employed at: Time Warner Cable Company, Bradenton, Florida
Community demographics:
The Philliberts live in Bradenton, Florida. They reside in a suburban community in a
beautiful family home in a very family friendly neighborhood. They have lived in this home
for 6 years and contribute to the growth and development of the community. This suburb is in
a new part of Bradenton with brand new schools, hospitals, shopping and community
centers. The family attends BaySide Community Church which just built a new multi-million
dollar complex.
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III.
Physical development
A. Appearance: Blond Hair, blue eyes, light complexion that tans easily in the sun living in
Florida and swimming in her pool.
B. Muscle Strength: Alyssa is developing muscles due to swimming lessons and running in the
park and swinging at playground and loves being active on monkey bars.
C. Growth Patterns: Grown much taller and thicker (muscular) in a consistent pattern with age
same % of her age group. Hereditary, ethnic origin and nutritional factors are important to
Alyssa's height (40 inches) and weight (39 lbs) and her doctor says she is growing normally
for her age and family history and background.
D. Activities: The following activities are enjoyed by Alyssa: swimming, running, swinging,
playing in pool, bike riding. Excellent coordination with eye and hand motor skills. Alyssa is
proud of all her accomplishments in the development of these gross motor skills, she is
excited to show everyone her activities and accomplishments.
E. Comparison with peers: Alyssa can be compared to other students in her class and possesses
many average to above average and exceptional skills in comparison. According to her
teacher, Alyssa is more mature mentally than others in her class. She has excellent hand/eye
coordination in coloring and her artistic ability is developing . The classroom teacher says
that Alyssa is very motivated in her learning and likes to learn new things. She often gets
upset when is told to do things a certain way because she likes to do things "her way".
F. Gross (large) motor skills:
Skills observed:
Walking
Running
Jumping
Climbing
Performance:
Compared to other children:
11 months started walking
16 months coordinated to run
18-24 months
18-24 months
Avg.
Avg.
"
"
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Throwing
Catching
riding a tricycle
Swinging
Hopping
Galloping
Skipping
Dancing
balancing skills
Singing
18-24 months
"
18-24 months
"
18 months
Avg.
Not swinging on her own (problems pumping legs)
40 months
"
"
2 years
good coordination at balancing skills
developing a musical ear and interest
G. Fine (small) motor skills:
Skills observed:
Performance:
Compared to other children:
handling small objects
Excellent Fine Motor Skills
Above Avg.
pincer grasp (using the thumb and index finger to pick up objects) 7/8 months
Eating
2 years- using her own spoon
Above Avg.
Buttoning
2.5 on her own
Above Avg.
Zipping
has not used a zipper on her own
Above Avg.
tying shoelaces
Cannot tie her own shoelaces yet
Above Avg.
Dressing
"Fashion Queen"- likes to pick out her own outfits
Undressing
2.5 years
working puzzles
2 years enjoying building puzzles
Cutting
loves to do artistic things
Pasting
loves to do artistic things
Coloring
loves to do artistic things
Painting
loves to do artistic things
manipulating blocks
1.5 months
IV.
Emotional development
Interactions with peers. (Interview with Alyssa's Mom: Pam Phillibert)



How does your child interact with other children?
Alyssa plays very well overall with other kids. She shares with others and is concerned
about the well being of other children. She does not often get jealous but sometimes seeks
attention while mom is on phone and not focused on her.
How is she a follower or a leader?
Alyssa is more of a leader than a follower especially at home in her own environment.
How does he/she influence the others, if at all?
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




Most students keep an interest with Alyssa at school, she is a big influence to her peers.
When & how is the child friendly, cooperative, hostile, outgoing, withdrawn?
She could show signs of all listed emotional attributes depending on when she is tired and
does not get what she needs/wants.
Does the child engage in aggressive behavior?
Alyssa used to have some concerns of biting others at school at a younger age. She gets
aggressive with her dog (coco) ,cranky with mother when she is tired and is getting ready
to go to school. She can also get aggressive when she does not get her way!
How does the child react to aggression expressed by others?
Alyssa does understand aggressive behavior and tells them that they are being bad and
understands when they are wrong. Alyssa watches the show" The Nanny" with her
mother and can recognize/ understand aggressive behaviors in other children.
Who does the child spend the most time with?
Most time is spent with her mother (Pamela Phillibert)
Does the child express sympathy to others?
Alyssa is helpful and sympathetic to all who is in need. She recently helped a classmate
at school with applying a Band-Aid and calling the teacher for help on the playground!
C. Adult Interactions (Interview with Alyssa's parents and observation)
1. Parents (observed)

Describe the parent-child interaction if observed.
Alyssa is loving towards both parents but she is better behaved with her dad
around and does not try to "get away" with things.
2. Teachers (interview)

Does the child have a favorite teacher?
Alyssa loves her new teacher Ms. Krista and can compare her older teachers to
her favorite. Alyssa feels comfortable and enjoys seeing her after time away. She
learns a lot of new things from this new teacher and her parents have noticed an
improvement in attitude and learning adjustment with Ms. Krista.

Compared to the others, how well does the child listen & follow the teachers'
requests and instructions?
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Alyssa does very well with listening and following adult requests and
instructions. It does take a while to warm up and feel comfortable with some
adults in many situations.

Is the child clingy, dependent or independent?
Alyssa is very independent and likes things done her way and get upset if things
don't go the way she planned.

How do the teachers react to this child?
All teachers like Alyssa and have not had any concerns with teacher/student
relations.

How do the teachers deal with problems concerning this child?
It is the policy of the school to remove all children from the situation and place
them into new environment. Alyssa will behave in the new environment and
learn from her mistakes.
What methods of guidance and control are used with all children? tone of voice?
"Listening ears", positive notes. Tone of voice from Dad. Bribery is used
sometimes to get her to do things she needs to get done. example: "If you eat all
your food we will go to the park" or "if you do not pick up your toys, you will not
go swimming at the beach!" Negative notes sent home to parents form the
teacher.

How are positive actions reinforced?
Stickers used to purchase toys from a basket on Fridays at school.

How do the teachers help this child learn?
Teachers make the lessons fun in school and Alyssa is always entertained and
feels good about accomplishing homework and having her parents involved.
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
How much attention does this child get from teachers?
Alyssa receives average attention from the teachers at school.
V.
Social development
Emotions.

Does she cry easily?
Yes, Alyssa will cry when she overtired and upset will make her cry. Alyssa
needs to get her own way otherwise, she will cry.

become frustrated?
Alyssa gets frustrated when she does not get what she needs/wants!

indicate that she is happy, mad, sad, hurt, etc.?
She can express her feelings to parents about her mood.
Self esteem.

How would you describe the self-esteem of Alyssa? Alyssa has an average self
esteem for her age group. She gets frustrated with herself when a project is not
coming out the way she planned or expected. She often gets upset trying new things
until she gets comfortable and realizes that she can't compare her projects to moms
projects.

In what areas is your child most advanced for his/her age? Alyssa is most advanced
in her artistic abilities, speaking vocabulary and ability to learn Spanish at school.
Teacher says she is bored at school sometimes because lack of challenge.

Which abilities are least developed? Writing numbers!
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
Which areas are average? Listening skills
VI.
Cognitive Development
Alyssa is learning to use the number concepts while counting and she can count to the
number 20, but often times skips the number 13. She would
say,"1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,14,14,15,16,17,18,19,20" . Alyssa does not understand the use of
math words such as "add", "subtract", "more", "less", "bigger", "longer", "shorter", indicating
she is learning through rote rather that an understanding of true quantity or size at this point in
development. Understanding these math operations are considered "operations" or "reversible
mental actions and in time Alyssa will be able to mentally add and subtract using her mind
rather than just learning by rote practice.
When working (or playing), she is easily distracted by other people and noises. The
ability to reason is indicated by words and/or actions. Alyssa explains that she "figured out"
something by getting excited and asking everyone to come see the surprise she has for them. At
this stage in her development, curiosity, creativity and imagination are often expressed through
imaginary activities and people. Alyssa is developing this through the playing of "house" and
mimicking her mom sweeping the floor as she creates a house cleaning scene while using her
own imagination. Creatively, Alyssa needs guidance to finish a project. Her mom needs to tell
her to draw a picture of a ladybug rather than Alyssa deciding to draw a ladybug on her own.
Alyssa's short term and long term memory abilities are getting stronger as she develops. She has
begun expressing things that happened a while back, as well as a better comprehension of the
usual daily routines, people, and special events in her life.
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VII.
Language development
According to Santrock, " children use speech is not only for social communication, but
also to help them solve tasks." (Vygotsky,1962) This "private speech" is considered an important
tool during the early development of children. Alyssa is in this "self talk "stage (ages 3-7) which
is where children may talk to themselves while thinking/doing certain tasks (getting dressed,
bathing). This "self talk" will eventually lead to her inner thoughts and is a indicator of children
who will become socially competent.
Alyssa has no problems with phonetics and she does speak clearly and correctly. Her
vocabulary is increasing as she begins to understand and use more conversation with the people
around her. She tends to listen and absorb semantics from these people and tries to mimic them
at times. Alyssa has shown that she understands the word "Frustrated" by getting upset and
throwing her hands in the air while trying to tie her shoe she claims" I am so frustrated" .This
statement with the correct use of syntax (good grammar) and in the correct context above other
student's use according to her teacher. Non verbal clues are being learned as well, I think a
source for children with these clues come from watching TV and socializing with
peers.
VIII.
Moral development:
Alyssa is learning through her home, school and church the importance of right and
wrong. The common moral discussion of forgiveness is an important lesson that she has been
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learning through her church community. The BaySide Community Church provides weekly
lessons for all family members including a special church for the younger kids that learn
important lessons through social interaction, reading/interpreting the bible with creative arts, in a
safe environment.
The constructivist, Vygotsky provides an approach to learning that emphasizes the social
context of learning through social interaction. Vygotsky believes that learning is constructed via
social interaction and language as well as the use of the “zone of proximal development” . Moral
development is a difficult challenge for young children because of their constant desire to please
themselves and they do not understand the concepts easily. Parents/teachers need to help the
child in a way that they assistance the child with difficult problems or ideas and the child does
not learn alone.
IX.
General Assessment:
I have learned a great deal about the development of children during this assignment with
my assessment and interview with Alyssa and her family. I have used the knowledge I learned
from the chapter readings of this course of human growth and development to evaluate Alyssa's
development with other students her age. This knowledge will help me understand the behavior
and common issues of the students I work with on a daily basis. According to Santrock, (pg.
138) "Parents and educators who clearly understand how young children develop can play an
active role in creating programs that foster their natural interest in learning, rather than stifling
it."
Jean Piaget studied children's development by observing, talking and listening to them
while they worked on exercises with him. Before Piaget, there was not an understanding of the
theory on how intelligence develops through childhood and into adulthood. Piaget developed
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his findings to create his well-known stages of cognitive development which have made a lasting
contribution to the education and development of the child. At Alyssa's age (2- 7 years old)
children are starting to make sense of the world around them and their mental understanding of
this world improves in time. This is known as the process of adaptation and all children must
learn this in order to live in the changing world around them. Alyssa has a good sense of her
world around her and loves to explore and learn. She is in the Preoperational Stage of
development where a child is able to make mental representations of unseen objects while
beginning to use deductive reasoning. This particular stage is broken down to 2 substages of
development. The first substage is called the Symbolic Function Substage (age 2-4) and the
second substage is called the Intuitive Thought Substage (age 4-7). This turning point is
particularly important in the development of Alyssa because she is now just beginning the
second substage as she is in her fourth year of development.
In the next coming months Alyssa will begin to distinguish between her own and
someone else's perspective. This inability to distinguish perspective is known as Egocentrism.
This inability to understand perspective is greatly improved when one learns how to respond
verbally. This is certainly the case when I try to speak with Alyssa on the phone. She nods and
does not verbally respond because she is still thinking egocentrically. The development we will
see in the upcoming year will allow her see other perspectives and understand that I cannot see
her nodding and she will learn to communicate with dialogue in the future.
During this Intuitive Thought Substage (4-7) a child uses mental symbols, words, images
and drawings to understand and interact with their world. They will learn by asking intriguing
questions and want to get to understand their world around them. Children in this stage continue
to learn language and engage in "pretend" .Alyssa has displayed many opportunities of "pretend"
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play during my observation. She pretends by playing house and cooks on her play stove. She has
learned how to bake cookies because she has observed her mother bake cookies in the real
kitchen. Alyssa loves to sing and she pretends that she is on American Idol.
This study allowed me the opportunity to interview and observe Alyssa and her family to
support my learning about the development and growth of young children. The conclusion of this
case study of Alyssa's development will allow me the opportunity to become a better teacher by
understanding the development of a student's cognitive, moral, emotional, social, physical and
language attributes of pre-school aged children.
Journal References
Kauchak, D. and Eggen, P. Learning and Teaching: Research-Based Methods. Boston: Allyn
and Bacon, 2003.
Lindsay Lipscomb, Janet Swanson, and Anne West. Scaffolding. Accessed September 22, 2010.
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL) (May 5, 2010). APA formatting and style guide.
Retrieved September 20, 2010, from: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/.
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Read more at Suite101: Gardner, Piaget, and Vygotsy: The Nature of Learning
http://www.suite101.com/content/gardner-piaget-and-vygotsy-the-nature-of-learninga282595#ixzz10ObCt97k
Santrock, J.W., (2008). Essentials of life-span development (1st ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.