Developmental Stages
0-1Year
Intellectual Development
- Follow moving object with eye movement
- Reach out and grasp musical or spinning objects
- Look for objects that disappear from view
- Turn his head to the direction of sound calling from behind
- Put objects into and pour them out from a container
- Reach out for toy that is far away from him (e.g. pull a toy car to himself with a rope)
Social & Emotional Development
- Turn his face to or smile at approaching and familiar people
- Reach for object, such as towel which covers an adult’s face
- Smile when playing hide-and-seek
- Turn his head to the direction of name calling
Language Development
- Locate the source of sound
- Respond to his name
- Communicate with people by making sound deliberately
Gross Motor Development
- Press his hands against the floor when being held by his pelvic bones by adult (6 months)
- Maintain his balance for 30 seconds when sitting on the floor and can reach for toys with both hands (7-8 months)
- Be down on his knees and hands, and reach for toys (9 months)
- Stand alone for 5 seconds (9-12 months)
- Stand up from sitting posture with support of furniture (10-12 months)
Fine Motor Development
- Reach for objects spontaneously
- Grasp objects with his palm
- Poke objects with index fingers
- Take objects out and put them into container
Life Skills Development
- Suck milk from bottle
- Put food on spoon into mouth with both lips
- Drink from cup held by adult
1-2 years
Intellectual Development
- Flip through picture books page by page
- Explore interesting objects with hands (e.g. touching, patting, twisting)
- Achieve goals with the aid of complex body movements
- Understand the names of some objects
- Point to not less than 3 important parts of body in response to naming
- Put two pegs into holes
- Solve problems by trial and error
Social and Emotional Development
- Imitate motions or behaviors of others
- Look at the direction pointed by adults
- Greet people or share food if prompted by adults
- Respond to simple situational commands, e.g. ‘give me’, ‘sit down’, ‘get the toy for me’
- Play with others in an interactive way, e.g. pushing ball
Language Development
- Say single words, mainly objects, people and actions
- Understand the names of objects
- Understand situational commands
- Understand collocations
Gross Motor Development
- Climb up and down stairs by himself
- Bend and pick up objects from the floor
- Squat for 30 seconds
- Walk steadily
Fine Motor Development
- Put small objects into containers with his thumb and index finger
- Build a tower of 2 bricks
- Scribble with crayons
- Tear objects apart with two hands
- Put one circular cup into another circular cup
Life Skills Development
- Put food into his mouth with fingers
- Suck up liquid through a straw
- Chew solid food
- Use gestures or speech to show his toilet needs
- Pull down his trousers with both hands
2-3 years
Intellectual Development
- Point out learnt picture by the name (e.g. orange, grape, bus, doll)
- Match 4 colors (e.g. red, yellow, blue, green)
- Match 3 basic shapes
- Line up 3 blocks horizontally by imitation
- Count from 1 to 3
- Tell the names of objects (e.g. flowers, the sun, ships)
Social and Emotional Development
- Do simple housework in response to adults’ instruction
- Enjoy role play or hide-and-seek
- Answer questions like ‘what’s your name?’, ‘how old are you?’
- Identify community facilities, such as McDonald’s, MTR stations
Language Development
- Use adjectives, such as big/small, dirty/clean
- Understand commands made up of two components, e.g. place the apple here
- Understand simple questions, such as what is it?
- Say 2-3 words phrases, e.g. mum cut apples
Gross Motor Development
- Jump forward by 4 inches without losing his balance
- Jump over a rope which is 2-inch high
- Jump from a platform which is 4-inch high
- Move on a balance beam which is 6 inches in width by putting one foot in front of the other foot
- Walk up one stair every two steps by himself
Fine Motor Development
- Build a tower of 7 bricks
- Thread 2 beads of 1.5 cm in diameter
- Turn the pages of book one at a time
- Hold crayon with first three fingers and draw circles by imitation
Life Skills Development
- Pick up food with spoon from a bowl and eat
- Drink from a cup alone without spilling it
- Sit on the potty to empty his bladder or bowel
- Undress simple clothing, e.g. socks, shoes, trousers, jackets
3-4 years
Intellectual Development
- Distinguish between boys and girls
- Identify simple shapes, e.g. rectangle, square or circle
- Identify common colors, e.g. red, yellow, green or blue
- Count from 1 to 10
- Achieve goals by means, e.g. cut oranges with knife
- Know what is ‘up’ and what is ‘down’
Social and Emotional Development
- Follow instructions, e.g. give mum the blocks
- Say “Thank You” to others properly
- Understand why others are angry or happy, e.g. his little brother is crying because his has lost his car
- Answer questions about his family, e.g. ‘where do you live?’
Language Development
- Say phrases composed of 3 or more words, e.g. ‘Dad goes to work by bus’
- Use conjunctions, e.g. ‘after that’
- Ask different questions
- Understand collective nouns, e.g. ‘stationery’, ‘fruit’
- Understand commands composed of 3 components, e.g. ‘The dog wants a soft drink and vegetables’
Gross Motor Development
- Stride over 1 foot
- Run toward and kick a static ball for 5 feet
- Throw a tennis ball for 3 feet
- Walk for 10 feet while holding a tray by both hands without knocking down the cup on the tray
Fine Motor Development
- Cut a strip of paper that is 5 cm in width with a pair of scissors
- Draw a triangle by imitation
- Draw lines within the boundary of 1 cm
- Fasten big buttons with coordinated hand movements.
Life Skills Development
- Feed self with spoon neatly
- Flush the toilet after use
- Dress and undress simple clothing, e.g. socks, shoes
- Turn on and off water tap
4-5 years
Intellectual Development
- Understand the meaning of “in front of”, “behind” or “near”
- Fill the missing numbers in 1-20
- Identify common shapes, e.g. circle, square, triangle, star-shape, rectangle, heart-shape
- Name the kind of colors up to 9
Social and emotional development
- Rely simple messages, e.g. ‘tell mum to bring a towel container next time’
- Take part in role-playing games
- Engage in group games that require turns taking
Language Development
- Understand why things happen in daily life, e.g. why people have to drink water?
- Enjoy jokes and riddles
- Understand and recount simple stories
- Engage in telephone conversation
Gross Motor Development
- Stand on 1 foot for 5 seconds without losing his balance
- Stride and jump forward for 2 feet
- Jump with two feet over a fence with a height up to his knees
- Catch an 8-inches plastic ball thrown from 6 feet away with both hands
- Throw a tennis ball, which hits the wall 5 feet away after hitting the floor once
Fine Motor Development
- Draw simple pictures by imitation, e.g. ‘+’, ‘X’
- Cut with a pair of scissors along a straight line for 8 cm
- Thread a rope with one hand through a pegboard panel held by another hand
Life Skills Development
- Shove food into his mouth with chopsticks
- Put on and take off T-shirts, underwear and other causal clothes
- Twist a towel roughly and wipe his face
- Brush his teeth and wash his mouth with clean water
5-6 years
Intellectual Development
- Draw simple pictures of people or animals, and tell the names of those pictures
- Do addition and subtraction of numbers up to 5 by counting fingers
- Tell his birthday
- Grouping objects of the same nature, e.g. fruit, animal, clothing
Social and Emotional Development
- Remain silent during learning activity on request by adult
- Leave classroom only with consent of teacher
- Finish task independently without close monitoring from adult
Language Development
- Comprehend the speech of adult
- Speak fluently with adult’s sentence structure
- Use reasoning to figure out why things happen, e.g. ‘why did he walk so fast?’
- Reason with the aid of language
Gross Motor Development
- Stand on one leg and maintain balance for 10 seconds
- Throw a tennis ball against the floor with one hand and use the same hand to catch the ball
- Hop on one foot for 8 consecutive times (for both feet)
- Hit a balloon upwards with alternate hands for 4 times
- Hit a basketball with one single hand for 3 consecutive times
Fine Motor Development
- Cut shapes out with scissors
- Write words (such as flower, dog) within a square with sides of 2 cm in length.
- Draw straight line of 10 cm in length with a ruler
Life Skills Development
- Clean himself with toilet paper after emptying his bowels
- Distinguish inside and outside, front and back, left and right sides of clothing
- Take a bath and apply cream to his body on his own
- Make the bed roughly
For further information, please go to http://childrehab.heephong.org/
