kgianforti asks:

Can average children develop unevenly as well (Asynchronous development)?

Can average children develop unevenly as well (Asynchronous development)? My daughter's uneven development confuses me. According to the AAP milestones, she is normal when it comes to writing and tracing but her cognitive and language skills are easily at a 5 year old level (she just turned 3 a couple of days ago). I don't believe she's "gifted" but definitely bright. But I am just wondering if average children develop unevenly as well.
In Topics: Cognitive development, Learning styles and differences
> 60 days ago


Answers (1)

lkauffman writes:
The short answer to your question is  - absolutely! It is very common for children to develop skills and abilities at various rates across time.

In addition, you should also keep in mind that children and adults typically have areas of relative strength and weakness. Given that your daughter is so young, it is way too early to speculate what her greatest areas of expertise will be, but you are most likely observing signs indicative of "what comes easy" to her and what is more difficult at this point. And, another variable in the equation is what kind of experiences your daughter has throughout development. Experiences will further facilitate and develop skill and abilities. Ah, and may experts write about variation in development by gender. As you may have heard, girl's brains develop and mature at a faster rate (see link below).

Overall, there are a variety of factors that influence development, and uneven development in any given individual child is actually quite more typical than the AAP milestones may portray. That said, you have noticed some areas in which your daughter is excelling in her development. Provide opportunities for your daughter to further develop ALL of her abilities at this point, but keep an eye on her and consider your strategy for ensuring she has enriching experiences inside and outside of school. Maybe your daughter is "officiall" gifted or maybe not, but you should educate yourself and learn all that you can to make the most of her skills and abilities, whatever they may be.

L. Compian, Ph.D.
Counseling Psychologist

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