Jill Windes
ECE205
11/19/12
Growth and Development Many people use growth and development interchangeably when they are actually two separate things. Growth is physical changes leading to increase in size (Allen, 2009). Growth is measured; “the growth rate is rapid during the prenatal, neonatal, infancy and adolescent stages and slows during childhood” (Scibd, 2012). In comparison, development refers to an increase in complexity-a change from the relatively simple to the more complicated and detailed (Allen, 2009). Development is not growth as in when a child increases in size, but it is the growth of behavior;”development is also influenced by heredity, environmental factors, culture, and family values unique to each individual” (Allen, 2009). Growth is measured by charts whereas there are domains of development that are met to measure the growth of development. In this paper I am going to discuss the six major areas of development domains, an analysis of developmental milestones, and explain factors of what can contribute to atypical development. There are six major areas of developmental domains: physical, motor, perceptual, cognitive, speech and language, and social-emotional. Allen (2009) states, “Each is integrally related to and interdependent with each of the others in the overall developmental process” (pg. 35). Basically, one area of development is influenced by another area of development and so on and so forth. For example: If Liana is not growing properly throughout infancy she is not going to hit certain milestones of development that may require gross motor skills such as walking, running, etc. Physical development and growth is generally based by genetics and a child’s environment that is more personalized; physical growth and development can actually have a direct influence on whether a child is likely to attain their full educational and cognitive potential (Allen, 2009). With physical development