Physical Milestones

Around 10 years of age a girls

body will begin to produce more
estrogen, facilitating the growth of
breast tissue and extra fat deposits
in the hips. Boys will begin
producing more testosterone
around 12 years of age. His voice
will deepen, facial and body hair
will begin to appear and he will
experience an increase in overall
muscle mass (Mossler, 2011).
Adolescents will fine tune gross
motor skills such as running speed,
kicking accuracy, and dribbling a
ball (Berk, 2012).
Language Milestones
As children begin to move into the
formal operations stage of Piagets
cognitive development theory,
they rely heavily on language and
verbal reasoning skills to think
about abstract relationships such
as time, space, justice or freedom
(Berk, 2012).
Cognitive Milestones
During adolescence, the child will
begin to reason about abstract

concepts and his strategies for

decision making improve (Berk,
2012).
Social and Cultural Factors
Socio-economic status of the
family and parental monitoring
affect adolescent risk-taking
behaviors, aggression, depression,
and anxiety (Institute of Medicine,
2011).
Signs of Atypical Development
By adolescence, children should
demonstrate inhibitory behaviors
that allow them to focus on a
specific task and block out
distractions from all others. If a
child is not able to block out the
extraneous stimuli, it may indicate
a deficit in attention that results in
behavior and academic problems.
Attention-deficit hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD) prevents students
from focusing on tasks, waiting for
turns, and from paying attention to
details. Students may blurt out,
talk excessively, avoid school or
homework, and fidget or squirm in
class. (Berk, 2012; Powell &
Driver, 2013).

Strategies for Families

An adolescent with ADHD will
benefit from having established
routines. He can use an agenda to
make notes of all his
responsibilities at school or home.
Keep rooms used for homework as
uncluttered as possible to minimize
distractions. It will also be
beneficial to use self-monitoring
strategies such as timers to signal
breaks in homework and checklists
to stay on task without getting
forgetful or frustrated (Powell &
Driver, 2013).
Play-Based Strategies
Rule-based games can provide rich
opportunities for self-regulation,
memory, and critical thinking. Play
board games that require strategy
like Monopoly or chess, card games
like Rummy that require critical
thinking and planning. Winning
and losing give children social skill
practice.