Danielle Pertile

EDU220 / Fall 2015

11/01/2015
PRISM Case Study Part II
Physical
Lila, at age 5, is right on track in her physical development. According to Snowman
(2013, p. 49), children in her age group are active and energetic, but need downtimes and rest
between periods of activity. Lila is an extremely active little girl. She enjoys running and
chasing, climbing, swinging on the swings, and riding her bike or scooter. This is also in line
with the CDCs milestone checklist for 5-year-olds which states that they like to hop, swing,
climb and do somersaults (2014). She also enjoys her afterschool activities of swim class,
gymnastics and soccer. Lila needs periods of rest after activities and can become cranky in the
evenings if she has been denied downtime though it is usually not severe.
Snowman also points out that children at this age are experiencing growth in their frontal
lobes, and are better able to focus, organize and carry out simple tasks (2013, p. 49). Lila enjoys
helping adults with household chores, and can focus on one activity, (either play, chores or
homework) for an extended period of time. She is able to complete simple tasks such as putting
laundry and toys away or wiping the counters of her bathroom.
( R) Emotional
According to Snowman (2013, p. 50), 5-year-olds should be somewhat able to regulate
their emotions, and can articulate what theyre feeling, such as being happy, mad or sad. Lila is a

very happy child, and it takes a lot to upset her. When she does become angry or sad, the feeling
is usually fleeting and Lila will go back to giggling without much effort. Lila is fully able to
articulate her feelings to her friends or caregivers. When asked whats wrong? she can respond
with: Im mad because Her reasons for being upset are not always logical, but she is
nonetheless able to explain her feelings.
According to DSHS Fosterparentscope, Lila should be concerned with pleasing adults
(1993), and Ellsworth says she should Enjoy adult company - and bond with a warm teacher
(1999). These are both true of Lila. She is very outgoing with adults and does not act shy or
nervous upon meeting new adults. She is very affectionate toward caregivers and her parents.
Being as outgoing as she is, Lila has no problem buying something by herself, asking a librarian
for help, or asking a parent at the park about their baby.
Intellectual/Cognitive
According to Piaget, Lila is in the Preoperational stage of cognitive development, which
is marked by the gradual ability to conserve and to decenter (Snowman, 2013, p. 25-26). Lila is a
bright child and has the ability to learn quickly and retain information. She sometimes struggles
with what Piaget called decentration, which is the ability to consider more than one aspect of
an issue at a time (Snowman, 2013, p. 25). When Lila is practicing her reading, she struggles
with words that have the same beginning sound but not the same ending sound (such as this
and that or words that are plural), as she tends to not look at all of the letters, but rather the
first one or two and will guess the word from there.
Vygotskys theory of cognitive development states that social interactions produce
advances in cognitive development (Snowman, 2013, p. 34), which is very true of Lila. She

likes to play school with her older sister Ella (age 8), and Ellas best friend Jacob (age 9), a game
in which Ella and Jacob teach Lila. Lila then uses some of the tricks she learned from them to
complete her homework.
Because Lila is preoperational, her intelligence according to Sternberg (Snowman, 2013,
p. 74) is more practical than creative or analytical. She is not yet ready for abstract thought. She
is a very creative child when it comes to art and play, but her creativity does not extend to her
problem-solving. For instance, when asked to put a toy away on a high shelf her first response is
I cant reach that high rather than to use the stool that is present in her playroom. This is
evidence of her inability to assess a problem to figure out a solution.
According to Gardners Theory of Multiple Intelligences, there are eight intelligence
categories, and Lila is able to span many of them, but probably falls into the BodilyKinesthetic and Musical categories the best. She is a very sensory learner and likes to touch,
manipulate, dance and sing. Lila also has a fantastic memory for song lyrics, and can recite
poems or songs easily and with drama and inflection.
Social/Psychosocial
Socially, Lila is very outgoing, friendly and independent. Lila definitely fits into the
Initiative v. Guilt stage of Eriksons stages of Psychosocial Development (Snowman, 2013, p.
18). She desires to complete tasks on her own, but constantly wants to know why and how things
work. She is fully capable directing activities and planning what should happen next (though not
very far in advance). There is also still evidence of the Autonomy v. Shame & Doubt stage, as
Lila is adamant that she does certain things (like dressing) without adult help, and becomes
frustrated when adults try to take over the task in order to do it for her.

Being only 5, Lila has not given much thought to her identity and falls into Marcias
Identity Status category of Identity Confusion (Snowman, 2013, p. 21) simply because of the
fact that she is not old enough to grasp the abstract concept of identity. Lila has not yet come into
contact with views from the outside world that tell her she should be a certain thing, so she has a
limited but very strong view of herself: she is independent and happy, smart, strong, and silly.
Being a girl, she is sure to face challenges to her identity, especially in regards to being smart and
strong as gender stereotypes become more pronounced.
Moral
Lila has a very primitive and simple view of morality, which is right in line with the
major theorists mentioned in the Snowman textbook. According to Piaget, Lilas morality is
considered the Morality of Constraint (Snowman, 2013, p. 41), which perfectly describes
Lilas views: rules are black and white, and breaking a rule will inevitably end with someone
getting in trouble. With Kohlbergs Theory of Moral Development, Lila falls between Stage 1
(Punishment-obedience orientation) and Stage 2 (Instrumental relativist orientation). Lila sees
rules and the consequences of breaking them as absolute, and puts a very strong emphasis on
fairness and an even exchange (Snowman, 2013, p. 42). If she and her sister are caught making
a mess and Lila is disciplined first her response will be but Ella made a mess too! which is
evidence of her desire for fairness.
Gilligans more female-based view of moral development does not necessarily match
Lilas personality. Gilligan argued that females care less about separation and independence and
more about remaining loyal to others through expressions of caring, understanding, and sharing
of experiences (Snowman, 2013, p. 43), but Lila does not necessarily fit this view. She is
certainly a caring person, but is independent more than she is caring, at least at this stage in her

development. Likewise, Noddings care theory states that a caring orientation to social and
moral development is an alternative to the orientation of justice, fairness and individual rights
(Snowman, 2013, p. 44). Lila is still very much on the side of justice and fairness, though that
is subject to change as she grows older.

REFERENCES
CDC. (2014, March 27). Important Milestones: Your Child at Five Years. In Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. Retrieved from
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/milestones-5yr.html

DSHS Fosterparentscope. (1993). Child Development Guide. In DSHS Fosterparentscope.

Retrieved from
http://depts.washington.edu/allcwe2/fosterparents/training/chidev/cd06.htm

Ellsworth, J. (1999). Online lesson: 'PEPSI' as a screening tool. In ESE 504: Methods and
Materials in Special Education. Retrieved from
http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~jde7/ese504/class/pepsi/lesson2-1-1.html

Snowman, J., & McCown, R. (2013). ED PSYCH (pp. 18-52). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth,
Cengage Learning.