Cognitive Function in Elaboration Phase: Elaboration of Cognitive Categories

When this Cognitive Function is adequate the child will have the ability to:

*move from a concrete example to an abstract understanding using language as a tool

*link a verbal label to it's underlying concept (ie. explore the meaning of a word like "conscience")

*Discover, label and verbalize underlying principles

* "think out loud" when working through an activity

*elaborate verbally on how gathered data can be organized into relevant categories

When this Cognitive Function is impaired the child may display:

*lack of correct label for a particular object, sequence, relationship or concept

*have difficulty moving from a concrete task to the underlying abstract principle

*be unable to express himself/herself and "think through" their approach to tasks

*have difficulty explaining oncepts in great depth due to the limited expressive or receptive vocabulary

*be unable to generalize a cognitive skill to similar tasks (ie. may be able to compare two blocks but cannot use the same criteria to compare other objects)

Strategies to Correct Impaired Elaboration of Cognitive Categories

Areas to use Mediate Learning:

*Intentionality & Reciprocity: the parent provides correct labels to describe the mental process

*Meaning-the parent provides reasons for applying thinking skills

*Bridging-The parent encourages the application of a strategy