Gregory's spatial cognition skills development through object play

Spatial Cognition Skills

Psychosocial Profile

Gregory is a toddler. He is the subject of this observation. He is 3 feet 2 inches tall. He weighs 38 pounds. He has blonde hair and almond shaped green eyes. He is Caucasian with a pinky-pale complexion.

While performing the observation, Gregory wore jeans, a blue tank top, brown sandals, and a blue baseball cap.

Gregory lives with his mother and father, a 4-year-old sister, a cat named Sprinkles, and a parrot named Bella. The parents have been married for five years and had their first child, Jackeline during their first year of marriage. His father is a high school teacher and is 36 years old. His mother is a housewife and is 30 years old. The mother earned her degree in English at the age of 22.

The primary care givers of Gregory are his parents with his mother taking care of him full time. When his father comes home from work or has vacation, he spends time with Gregory. Gregory will start pre-school when he turns 3.

The subject and his family live in a multi-family unit that is rented. They live on the first floor. It is located in the city. The neighborhood is noisy and has a large population of children Gregory's age or older. The house has white siding and a glass and wood door.

His sister plays with him at times. His mother is always at home with him unless she has to go somewhere with the father. In that case, a babysitter takes care of the two children. He has playdates with other children his age. He also goes to the park often and plays with other children and his sister.

Observation

07/31/2016 was the date when the observation was held. The time was from 5:00pm to 7:00pm in the subject's house. The mother was present with the sister and cat present as well. Gregory, the subject, sat in what the mother called a 'Plastic Colorplay Superyard'. They were all in the living room. Gregory had five toy cars to play with. One was a truck, the other a fire engine, and three were racing cars. He had a pile of blocks and a Speak and Spell.

The subject appeared excited when he saw the Speak and Spell and pressed the button. When he heard the noise, he proceeded to continue pressing the buttons, especially when it spelled cow and played the sound of a cow. He giggled when it played. When the mother tried to offer the blocks, Gregory ignored the blocks and continued pressing the cow button.

This went on for half an hour. The mother then took the subject out and sat him on the sofa. She turned on the television and turned the channel to a kid's program. He smiled and so did his older sister. They sat and watched together for an hour. After the television show ended, the mother placed him back in the playpen but with just the blocks. She wanted to see if he could spell cow.

The subject ignored the blocks at first. Then the mother grabbed the "C," "O," "W" blocks and would "moo" each time he touched them. The sound made him laugh eventually he took interest in the blocks. He mimicked the arrangement his mother had them and spelled out "COW." The mother then took some more blocks and brought it over to Gregory to play with.

He piled them up and began building towers. He built a pyramid, and smaller towers that topped down. When they toppled down, he tried to use more blocks underneath the second layer of blocks for support. Then when they fell, he got angry and kicked the blocks away. Then his mother took him to his bedroom to nap.

Assessment

The subject provided insight into his cognitive and spatial skills. By showing preference for the button labeled "Cow" and becoming excited when he saw the toy in the beginning, means he can identify objects, and has the ability to choose what he likes.

Gregory tested each button to hear the sound he likes. When he found the button, he kept pressing it. When he heard his mother make the sound and then point to the block, he could recognize and make a connection to the blocks and the sound. Eventually, he was able to copy what his mother did and spelled out the word "Cow." "

While the spelling of the word came from copying his mother, he was able to engage with his mother thanks to the positive association he has with the sound a cow makes. This was enough to prompt him to copy what his mother did. He learned through hearing the sound both using the toy and with his mother and the blocks.

When he touched the Speak and Spell, he could also differentiate between the buttons. He could memorize which buttons were which because of the sound made. When watching television, when he saw animals he clapped. He made a positive association with animals from the television screen.

This denotes several cognitive processes happening and shows his ability to copy, relate, make connections, and express his preference to others. Although the subject did not do what "Fitting Objects into Holes: On the Development of Spatial Cognition Skills" suggested in relation to objects and holes, he did demonstrate spatial and cognitive abilities through association, mimicry, and understanding the buttons in the Speak and Spell. He also could pile blocks into shapes and regrouped when blocks fells. Ultimately he became angry when he noticed the blocks fall again and gave up.

The subject appears to understand how to plan effectively. However, can be prone to anger when frustrated. Subject also has the ability to relate words to sounds and enjoys certain sounds over others.