Running Head: DEVELOPMENTAL OBSERVATION OF A TWO YEAR OLD Riches 1

A Developmental Observation of a Two Year Old Boy with Autism

Crystal Riches
Salt Lake Community College
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I chose to meet with a two year old boy, Thomas (name is changed for reasons on
confidentiality) in his nursery class at church and watch him with a developmental eye. I am
going to divide this observation into three categories; physical development, cognitive
development and social/emotional development.
Regarding physical development Thomas is above average height and weight (34 pounds
and 34). Berger states that the average weight for a 2 year old is 28 pounds and a height of 34
(Berger, 2014, p. 92). His coordination seemed to be a lot lower than his peers. It took him many
minutes to figure out how to put the right shapes into the right holes in a certain toy, which he
needed hand over hand guidance to understand the concept. Thomas seemed uninterested in any
of the group activity games. He chose to sit in the corner away from his peers and disliked when
anyone came near him. He had a shoe string that he kept with him at all times that he wound
around his fingers as he played. Most times, he would rock and back and forth while winding his
string around his fingers and clapped loudly as he stared at the toys. Thomas seemed to not have
an interest in running or chasing anything. When a ball rolled to him, it stayed where it was and
he didnt even touch it. He didnt seem interested with anything other than blocks. He didnt
respond to his name unless a teacher touched his arm to gain his attention.
During Music Time, Thomas chose to not participate in the activities unless a teacher
came up and helped him participate. He seemed to really attach himself to one teacher in
particular and would allow her to help him participate. If this teacher stayed near him, he was a
lot more willing to jump with his peers but he would not allow anyone to touch him other than
this teacher.
Thomas has quite low cognitive abilities, the book states that mental combinations allow
children to copy behavior (Berger, 2014, p. 116) Thomas needed hand over hand help to
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understand that the box opened and he was able to put things in it. He could not copy by
observation. It also seemed that he also did understand object permanence (Berger, 2014, p
114) because once his string was locked in the box by the teacher, he got upset and grabbed the
teachers hands to make sure that she could get it back out for him. After a lot of prompting from
the teacher Thomas was able to understand how to open and close the box and how to retrieve
his string. It is important to say that he understood the concept after a while, which shows that he
can improve with consistent help. The teacher did mention that they had been working on that
task for about a month. So it seems that Thomas does work at a lot slower pace than his peers
cognitively.
Thomas has low social/emotional development as well, because anyone that would come
near him he would try to hit or bite them. If he wanted a toy that a peer had, he would stand up
and take it without even trying to communicate his needs. Thomas did use quite a bit of sign
language to communicate basic needs hungry, more, done, happy However, he doesnt seek
out the teachers to communicate with them. He will wait for them to communicate with him first.
I did see him try and get the teachers attention, so it does seem that in the future he will be able
to communicate feelings and ideas with his teachers. However, he chooses not to speak almost at
all, even though he knows quite a few words because I could hear him as he was playing in the
corner. The words he could say are fast, no, car, blue I feel that if he continues to feel
comfortable in his nursery class that he will eventually seek out more social avenues.
His emotional development is quite low as well. If he feels frustrated or overwhelmed in
any way. He will drop to the ground and throw a fit until someone gives what he wants.
Fortunately, the teachers dont buy into it and just let him scream until he wears himself out.
These tantrums may be something he can get away with in the home, but doesnt get away with
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in the classroom. This may be his way of working through frustration, or it may just be a tactic
he uses to get what he wants.
I feel that Thomass weaknesses are all of the development categories. He has little to no
desire to play with others. He is content to play on his own with his string. However, when
bubble time came. It was like he was a different little boy. He jumped up and tried to catch the
bubbles just as the other kids did. When a peer got near him, he didnt even notice because he
was so preoccupied with the activity. This was the first time I saw him interact with the teachers
when bubble time ended. He squealed, Bubbles, please! and they continued to play bubbles.
After talking with the teachers, they said that they reward Thomas with any verbal
communication he uses to help him feel comfortable with communicating.
It seems that the teachers are not afraid to work with Thomas in a healthy and
developmental way. He seems to be growing and developing, even though it seems to be a lot
slower than his peers. I feel that if the teachers continue to work with him one on one frequently
and help him interact with his peers, he may catch up and be perfectly on par with his peers in
the future. I feel that if they bring bubbles (or other things he enjoys) into the curriculum it may
help him come out of his shell and break through developmentally.





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References
1. Berger, K. S. (2014). Invitation to the life span (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.