Assignment: Healthy Child Adolescent Brain Development Lesson 8 Reflection

After reviewing all of the content in the lesson, prepare your response to the following:

Research has shown that the brain can be affected by various factors such as emotions, stress and threats, playfulness, and attention.

What might be some “informal” yet “intentional” ways that program staff can address healthy child/adolescent brain development during program hours?

Think about what types of activities/exercises can be done in youth programs to give participants time and practice reducing threats and stressors that may be effecting them outside of the program?

Why is it important to consider the four different learning styles (ST, SF, NT & NF) when creating learning activities? How can all learning styles be accommodated in order to avoid causing stress on the participants while also helping contribute to positive brain development?

The transition of young people with long term conditions from childhood to adulthood, and the part health services should play in the transfer of their healthcare, have come to prominence in the last ten years. This is in part because young people with such problems now live longer and in part because we know that this transition is often accompanied by poor health and social outcomes in terms of disease control, social participation and educational achievement.

Government guidance on transition is prolific but does not have an evidence base.4 The Kennedy report5 identified the needs of young people with complex health needs and the failure of Commissioning groups to address these needs. More recently the UK Child Health Outcomes Forum has recommended there should be two new indicators, one for transition and one for developmentally appropriate healthcare.6

The issues that need to be researched in transition have been set out,4 as have good practice principles in research with young people;7 and the National Institute for Health Research has funded a 5 year programme of research.8

Adolescent development used to be regarded as determined by changes in hormones and social expectations occurring in an unchanging brain. However, over the last 10 years it has been recognised that the adolescent brain changes in fundamental ways, as striking as changes over the first few years of life or in old age. Also this period of change lasts longer that the period of pubertal change, and adolescent brain maturation should be considered to extend from 11 to 25 years of age.9-11

The teenage years may be marked by certain indisputable biological and social realities, but what is widely understood as “normal adolescence” is socially constructed.12 Anthropological and historical research has demonstrated that what it means to be young varies between cultures and over historical periods.13, 14 In our time, for economic reasons many people in their twenties now return or continue to live at home; increased life expectancy may persuade young people to spend more time exploring places, jobs and relationships, thus delaying their search for a permanent job or long tem relationship. This article will not discuss further these interesting issues because we want to concentrate on the very concrete changes that occur in the brain between the ages of 11 and 25.

In this article we link some of the behavioural manifestations of adolescence to the new knowledge of brain morphology, neurochemistry, and function. We will then discuss their relevance to healthcare providers of services for young people with long term conditions in transition from childhood to adulthood.

Important information for writing discussion questions and participation

Welcome to class

Hello class and welcome to the class and I will be your instructor for this course. This is a -week course and requires a lot of time commitment, organization, and a high level of dedication. Please use the class syllabus to guide you through all the assignments required for the course. I have also attached the classroom policies to this announcement to know your expectations for this course. Please review this document carefully and ask me any questions if you do. You could email me at any time or send me a message via the “message” icon in halo if you need to contact me. I check my email regularly, so you should get a response within 24 hours. If you have not heard from me within 24 hours and need to contact me urgently, please send a follow up text to

I strongly encourage that you do not wait until the very last minute to complete your assignments. Your assignments in weeks 4 and 5 require early planning as you would need to present a teaching plan and interview a community health provider. I advise you look at the requirements for these assignments at the beginning of the course and plan accordingly. I have posted the YouTube link that explains all the class assignments in detail. It is required that you watch this 32-minute video as the assignments from week 3 through 5 require that you follow the instructions to the letter to succeed. Failure to complete these assignments according to instructions might lead to a zero. After watching the video, please schedule a one-on-one with me to discuss your topic for your project by the second week of class. Use this link to schedule a 15-minute session. Please, call me at the time of your appointment on my number. Please note that I will NOT call you.

Please, be advised I do NOT accept any assignments by email. If you are having technical issues with uploading an assignment, contact the technical department and inform me of the issue. If you have any issues that would prevent you from getting your assignments to me by the deadline, please inform me to request a possible extension. Note that working fulltime or overtime is no excuse for late assignments. There is a 5%-point deduction for every day your assignment is late. This only applies to approved extensions. Late assignments will not be accepted.

If you think you would be needing accommodations due to any reasons, please contact the appropriate department to request accommodations.

Plagiarism is highly prohibited. Please ensure you are citing your sources correctly using APA 7th edition. All assignments including discussion posts should be formatted in APA with the appropriate spacing, font, margin, and indents. Any papers not well formatted would be returned back to you, hence, I advise you review APA formatting style. I have attached a sample paper in APA format and will also post sample discussion responses in subsequent announcements.

Your initial discussion post should be a minimum of 200 words and response posts should be a minimum of 150 words. Be advised that I grade based on quality and not necessarily the number of words you post. A minimum of TWO references should be used for your initial post. For your response post, you do not need references as personal experiences would count as response posts. If you however cite anything from the literature for your response post, it is required that you cite your reference. You should include a minimum of THREE references for papers in this course. Please note that references should be no more than 5 years old except recommended as a resource for the class. Furthermore, for each discussion board question, you need ONE initial substantive response and TWO substantive responses to either your classmates or your instructor for a total of THREE responses. There are TWO discussion questions each week, hence, you need a total minimum of SIX discussion posts for each week. I usually post a discussion question each week. You could also respond to these as it would count towards your required SIX discussion posts for the week.

I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course!

Hi Class,

Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts.

Contact me if you have any questions.

Important information on Writing a Discussion Question

• Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references)
• There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article.
• Include in-text citations in your response
• Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information
• Follow APA-7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor

• A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week.
• Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article
• Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references)
• Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count.
• Follow APA 7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

• Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points.
• Here are some helpful links
• The is a great resource