Infant/Child Development by The National Library of Medicine

The first segment of this film is titled "A Baby's Day at Twelve Weeks." Over footage of a 12-week-old baby and his mother, Arnold Gesell of the Yale Clinic of Child Development explains the developmental importance of each aspect of the baby's day, which begins as he wakes, stretches, and yawns. His yawn sends extra oxygen to his brain. Stretching makes his heart beat more strongly. He recognizes his mother and nurses at her breast. He naps in his crib. Gesell says babies show their individuality even in the way they sleep and wake up.

Для переключения субтитров с английского на русский, нажмите кнопку Настройка справа от символа "СС" и выберите Русский язык To switch the captions above from Russian to English, select the Settings button to the right of the “CC” symbol (place cursor in the movie frame itself, lower right). In the Subtitles/CC box, select English.

This presentation describes the etiology of mental retardation and discusses the potential for rehabilitation counselling and work potential in the various levels of retardation. In this presentation normal intellectual growth and development are first described. The effects of the inadequate intellectual functioning on the life of the retarded child are then explored. While the child with an intelligence quotient below 84 is considered to be retarded, this program stresses the importance of his adaptive behavior rather than his I.Q.

This program discusses and demonstrates the neurological examination of the newborn. The examination techniques and the standards used to distinguish normal from abnormal responses are the result of a collaborative project to study the neurological disorders of infancy and childhood at the National Institutes of Health. The program examines several different infants during the first week of life to illustrate both normal and abnormal responses to various neurological tests. The program discusses in considerable detail the criteria used to differentiate normal from abnormal responses.

This silent film was shot in Maudsley Hospital, London, and shows children handling various types of objects, placing them in their mouths, and looking around for the objects when they are removed. Apparently in contrast to non-psychotic children, these subjects search for a missing object only in the place where it was located immediately prior to removal--in the child's left hand, for example. Learn more about this film and search its transcript at NLM Digital Collections: http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9616519.

This film shows a series of tests which were run on a white male baby at the ages of one, two, three, and six years of age to test the boy's mental, cognitive, and motor skills. When the child was one-year old, blocks were placed in front of him. He pushed and pounded them on the table. He was also given a cup, rattle, and bell which he pushed and pounded on the table. The last test showed the nurse trying unsuccessfully to get the child to stand upright on his own. When the child was two-years-old, blocks were placed in front of him and he threw them into a bowl.

This film represents the first use of a motion picture in child analysis. The film was used to study the play activities of children with psychiatric problems. The first case is a white female, eight years old, with petit mal seizures. She demonstrates tantrums and rebelliousness. She shows oral sadism and cannibalism toward the analyst. When the analyst acts out a seizure, the child holds on to her. The child shoots an imaginary policeman. The second case is a white male, age 19, with epilepsy, who plays both female and male roles.

Produced by the North Carolina Board of Health and sponsored by the New York-based Mental Health Film Board, this film focuses on "the trials of adolescence," in particular the experiences of a girl named Susan who feels misunderstood by her parents and others. She chafes against their rules, and is also deeply disappointed when she doesn't get the part in the school play that she was expecting. She feels lonely and unimportant. A sympathetic adult from school helps her talk through her concerns, encouraging Susan to try to understand her parents' need to protect her.