{"id":73,"date":"2015-07-08T12:48:37","date_gmt":"2015-07-08T16:48:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/?page_id=73"},"modified":"2026-02-20T16:11:49","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T21:11:49","slug":"section-1-expected-development","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/index.php\/section-1-expected-development\/","title":{"rendered":"Module 1: Expected Development"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Please be sure you have read the &#8220;Introduction to the program&#8221; section to ensure you&#8217;re ready to start OPT-In-Early.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As we said before, if your child is doing all or most of the things expected for her age, she may not need special learning sessions. How will you know this?\u00a0The best way is to consult a doctor or other specialist in child development. It also might help you if we review some things that you can expect at different ages during the first few years of your child\u2019s life.<\/p>\n<p>So what we\u2019re going to do now is briefly describe what can be expected in your child\u2019s development of language, thinking, and relating to other people. We are\u00a0not going to cover movement skills like walking, running, balance, and handling small objects. If you are concerned about your child\u2019s development in these areas, try to talk to an expert in this area, like your pediatrician, a developmental pediatrician, a physical therapist or an occupational therapist.<\/p>\n<p>If your child is not doing a skill because she has not had the opportunity to learn it or to do it, then that does not mean she has a delay in his development. For example, if your child does not recognize herself in a mirror because she has never seen a mirror, that would not be a sign of delayed development. Or \u2013 when she\u2019s older, if your child\u2019s shoes do not have laces, then she would not be expected to know how to tie her shoes.<\/p>\n<p>So now let\u2019s talk about what to expect in the development of your child\u2019s social interactions, language, and thinking, and we\u2019ll touch a little bit on self-help skills like dressing and eating. We\u2019re not going to talk about every aspect of development in these areas \u2013 that would take much too long \u2013 but we\u2019ll describe the highlights that you can look for. If your child has missed some of these important milestones, we hope the rest of the OPT-In-Early program will help you teach them. Some of these skills will be discussed specifically in later modules; some of them won&#8217;t be discussed directly, but the teaching methods you will learn will help you know how to work on them.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">The 1-Year-Old<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/1077012399?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0&amp;color=8dc7dc\" width=\"437\" height=\"360\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">The 18-Month-Old<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/884195220?title=0&amp;amp;byline=0\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>The 2-Year-Old<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/884191595?title=0&amp;amp;byline=0\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">The 3-Year-Old<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/884199590?title=0&amp;amp;byline=0\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>The 4-Year-Old<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/1016366446?title=0&amp;amp;byline=0\" width=\"437\" height=\"360\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>The 5-Year-Old<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/1016366899?title=0&amp;amp;byline=0\" width=\"437\" height=\"360\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Self-Control<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/1016369585?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0&amp;color=8dc7dc\" width=\"437\" height=\"360\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">When Should You Be Concerned About Your Child&#8217;s Development?<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/1016369130?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0&amp;color=8dc7dc\" width=\"437\" height=\"360\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Two Important Things:\u00a0 NOTE: this material is explained in the video just above, at 5 minutes 30 seconds. We are putting this below, with a little more detail, so you can read it over if you wish.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>One is consistency \u2013 you can\u2019t expect consistency from a toddler. No child will look back at you every time she points at something she wants, or pay attention to your voice every time you speak to her, but she should do it some of the time.<\/p>\n<p>Another important thing to note is that when we talk about delayed social interactions, we\u2019re not talking about shyness. Many children will be very sociable with familiar people, making good eye contact, cuddling, pointing, smiling, paying attention to their faces and voices. However, when faced with strangers, some of these children may become distressed, will hide behind parents and refuse to look at the stranger. This is very typical.<\/p>\n<p>In the clips we\u2019ve shown you to demonstrate social interaction that is concerning, the child has gotten used to the adult and is not being shy as much as uninterested and avoiding her. The two children in these videos are attached to their moms, are sometimes cuddly with their moms, and sometimes look at them, but they still don\u2019t make a lot of eye contact with their moms, or point, follow a point, or try to communicate with gestures or with sounds, and they also show the unusual behaviors we\u2019ve mentioned.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;d like to make another point about eye contact in specific cultures. While there are cultural variations regarding the preferred amount of direct eye contact, or mutual gaze, with another person, these usually apply to older children and adults. Eye contact is a universal feature of mother-infant bonding, and is found in\u00a0<strong><em>all\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>cultures. Babies have a natural tendency to focus on the face, and especially on the eyes of other people, especially their parents or other caregivers. Eye contact helps babies build attachment to others, recognize how others feel, and see what others are looking at. Reduced eye contact or active avoidance of eye contact is a feature of autism across all cultures. Throughout this program we will encourage parents from all backgrounds to reinforce eye contact in their infants, especially those who are at risk for an autism spectrum disorder.<\/p>\n<p>To sum up what we\u2019ve been discussing, here\u2019s a list of some behaviors of concern. Again, be aware that no toddler will do what\u2019s expected all the time, but she should do what\u2019s expected some of the time, like look at you, point to things, and have a happy expression on her face.<\/p>\n<p>One important point about this list of concerning behaviors: <strong>we have listed them in their severest form<\/strong>. For example, we list NO PRETEND PLAY and DOESN\u2019T RESPOND TO HIS\/HER NAME. But you should also be aware of milder forms of these concerns. For example, a child may have a bit of pretend play but it\u2019s only what the child has been specifically taught or she\u2019s less interested in pretending than other children her age, or she does the same bit of pretending over and over. Similarly, a child might respond to her name every once in a while, but much less than you would expect for her age. It can be difficult to decide if the child is delayed in any of these areas, or showing less interest or ability than would be expected. Don\u2019t hesitate to bring up any concerns with your child\u2019s health provider or other expert in child development.<\/p>\n<table style=\"background-color: #a0ded1;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<h2>Behaviors that are Concerning:<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>Does not make eye contact with you or other adults<\/li>\n<li>Does not try to imitate actions, sounds, or facial expressions<\/li>\n<li>Does not smile back at you when you smile<\/li>\n<li>Is not interested in playing with other children<\/li>\n<li>Does not do pretend play<\/li>\n<li>Does not point to ask for things<\/li>\n<li>Does not point at things to show them to you<\/li>\n<li>Does not look at things you are pointing to or looking at<\/li>\n<li>Does not hold things up to show them to you<\/li>\n<li>Does not respond to her name<\/li>\n<li>Does not seem interested in listening to people talking<\/li>\n<li>Stares at things in an unusual way<\/li>\n<li>Is very sensitive to noises or ignores noises that others notice<\/li>\n<li>Makes unusual noises over and over (like &#8220;ticka, ticka, ticka&#8221;)<\/li>\n<li>Has an interest in one activity or toy \u00a0that is so strong that she seems to have little interest in anything else<\/li>\n<li>Makes unusual movements over and over (pacing, rocking, spinning, hand flapping, finger twisting)<\/li>\n<li>Tends to walk on her toes<\/li>\n<li>Bangs her head hard enough to hurt, on the floor or furniture or with her hand<\/li>\n<li>Repeats the same words or phrases over and over that she has heard in a video, song, or from someone else<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Boys and Girls<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Will boys and girls show these behaviors differently? There has been a lot of research in the last decade or so looking at whether boys and girls with autism are different. Some studies of older children suggest that girls may have somewhat milder difficulties with social interaction, or show somewhat milder repetitive behaviors. However, the research findings are not consistent. These findings overall suggest that\u00a0 autistic behaviors, such as those listed above, are not different between boys and girls, especially in the toddler age group (ages 1-3 years).<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">What Should You Do If You Notice These Things?<\/h2>\n<p>As we said before, you should consult a doctor if you have any of these concerns. It might be helpful if you can bring your child\u2019s doctor a list of skills that you think might be delayed, as well as behaviors you see that concern you. But even if your concerns are not very specific, don\u2019t hesitate to discuss them with your child\u2019s doctor. There are questionnaires your doctor can give you that are designed to see if your child is at risk for developmental delays, including language delay, or social-emotional delay, or for specific developmental\u00a0disorders\u00a0like autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Your concerns should be taken seriously, even if your child\u2019s development turns out to be perfectly fine.<\/p>\n<p>If you have no concerns about your child\u2019s development in the areas of social skills, thinking, or language, then you will not need to do many of the things we will describe in these programs, like having learning sessions to teach specific skills. However, some of the ideas we will discuss, like rewarding good behavior and how to handle behavior you don\u2019t like, may still be useful. And even though you won\u2019t need to have special learning sessions, you may still be interested in how to teach skills by breaking them down into small steps \u2013 this can be useful in teaching any child, for example, if you\u2019re teaching your child to dress herself, bathe herself, or tie her own shoes.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/index.php\/section-2-basic-principles\/\">Next: Module 2<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-summary\">\nPlease be sure you have read the &#8220;Introduction to the program&#8221; section to ensure you&#8217;re ready to start OPT-In-Early. As&hellip;\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/index.php\/section-1-expected-development\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;Module 1: Expected Development&rdquo;<\/span>&hellip;<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-73","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/73","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73"}],"version-history":[{"count":69,"href":"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/73\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10802,"href":"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/73\/revisions\/10802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}