Author Description

The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA. [...] The dimensions of early child development that matter the most are the physical, the social/emotional, and the cognitive/lan- guage. [...] A young child's brain is an 'environmental organ' just like the lungs or the skin, growing and developing according to the amount and quality of stimulation in the child's immediate environment. [...] On the EDI, these three domains are measured using five scales: the 'physical health and well-being' scale addresses the physical domain of development; the 'social competence' and 'emotional maturity' scales address the social/emotional domain; and the 'language and cognitive development' and the 'communication skills and general knowledge' scales address the language/cognitive domain of developm [...] Language and cognitive development • Above the 90th percentile, a child is interested in books, reading and writing, and rudimentary math, is capable of reading and writing simple sentences and complex words, and is able to count and recognize numbers and geometric shapes.