Thinking, Learning & Language

Executive function development in children by age

Executive function development in children by age

What executive functions include Executive function is an umbrella term for related abilities that allow a person to regulate behavior in service of a goal. Core components include inhibitory control, working memory, cognitive flexibility, planning, organization, monitoring, and sustained attention. Inhibitory control supports waiting, stopping, and resisting an immediately compelling response. Working memory allows a […]

Language delays signs children

Language delays signs children

What language delay means In clinical terms, language delay usually means a child is acquiring language skills more slowly than expected for age. Expressive language is the ability to produce words, phrases, and sentences. Receptive language is the ability to understand words, directions, questions, and meaning. A child may have trouble with one domain more […]

Communication skills development

Communication skills development

What communication skills include Communication is broader than clear pronunciation or the number of words a child uses. Receptive language refers to understanding words, sentences, questions, gestures, and increasingly complex instructions. Expressive language refers to communicating meanings through speech, sign language, symbols, writing, or an augmentative and alternative communication system. Speech production is the physical […]

Language development and speech milestones progression in children

Language development and speech milestones progression in children

What language development includes Language development involves more than the number of words a child can pronounce. Receptive language is the ability to understand words, gestures, questions, and increasingly complex sentences. Expressive language is the ability to communicate needs, thoughts, and experiences through sounds, gestures, words, phrases, and sentences. Speech refers more specifically to the […]

Attention span by age explained

Attention span by age explained

What attention span means clinically In practice, attention span is not just the number of minutes a child can sit still. Clinically, it includes sustained attention, which is the ability to stay with a task; selective attention, which is the ability to filter distractions; and divided attention, which is the ability to manage more than […]

Memory development in children

Memory development in children

What memory means in childhood Memory is not one single ability. In child development, it is useful to think about several interacting systems. Implicit memory supports skills, habits, emotional associations, and familiar routines, often without conscious recall. Explicit memory involves conscious remembering, including facts and personal experiences. Within explicit memory, semantic memory stores knowledge such […]

Problem solving skills development

Problem solving skills development

What problem solving means in childhood In children, problem solving is the coordinated use of attention, memory, language, motor planning, emotional control, and flexible thinking to reach a goal. A toddler turning a box into a step, a preschooler deciding how to share blocks, and a school-age child checking a math answer are all using […]