The Lifelong Affects and Consequences of Domestic Violence Essay Example for Free

The Lifelong Affects and Consequences of Domestic Violence Essay Domestic Violence has been proven to have an unhealthy impact on the victims exposed to the violence. Most people do not realize the scope of the potential adverse affects that domestic violence has on adult victims, pregnant victims, children and adolescents that are exposed to the type of behavior. When a woman is pregnant and becomes a victim of domestic violence, she is not the only one affected, but her fetus is as well. Domestic violence has been linked to physical, mental and emotional damage to its victims which can result in the development of significant disorders that linger throughout their life. The prevention and assessment for domestic violence is very essential in order to stop the adverse affects that it has on the victims and society as a whole. Domestic violence has been given several names throughout history which includes: intimate partner violence (IPV), partner abuse, abuse, marital abuse, spousal abuse and battering to name a few (Breiding Ziembroski, 2010). Domestic violence is considered to be an event, multiple or pattern of abusive behavior that includes verbal, physical and sexual abuse towards an intimate partner or family member (Breiding Ziembroski, 2010). Domestic violence is not an issue that is associated with any single population. Domestic violence can involve individuals of any gender, race economic status. Domestic violence happens in all socioeconomic statuses, but it has been more of an increased risk when associated with women in a lower socioeconomic status. Women are considered to be the more commonly abused victims, but males can also be victims of abuse. Males are exposed to psychological, verbally and sometimes even physical abuse. Domestic violence can also occur in same sex relationships as well as heterosexual relationships. Most batterers in a relationship are generally very manipulative and controlling. They usually attempt to have power over their partner. There are usually signs that are present when abuse is involved within a relationship. The most common sign is when one partner is afraid of the other. This fear is manifested in an individual’s belief that they must accommodate their partner for apprehension of how their unhappy, abusive mate may retaliate against them. The abusers tend to use this type of violence to facilitate intimidation and to foster compliance from their victims. Minority women and younger single women who are not yet married are usually considered at increased risk as potential victims of domestic violence. The large number of domestic violence relationships usually starts off as what appears as a promising and stable union. Then everything seems to take a turn for the wo rse and the abuse begins. The abuser attempt to have their partners think that they are the only individuals that will ever be there for them and that they are the only person that they can trust. These victims are systematically isolated and removed from family and friends and their support system goes from some to one. When the victims let their guard down and become increasingly comfortable with this situation the abuse then starts. Unfortunately the victims usually stay in the abusive relationship because they are hanging on to the promises of what once was, but what will never return. After explosive abusive episodes that are directed towards the victims the batterer often starts to be remorseful and apologizes. That is followed by the abusive mate making promises and excuses for the inappropriate behaviors that has been displayed. Those promises generally revolve around the wonderful memories that were had in the beginning of the relationship. Battering usually doesn’t just start off by a partner physically beating an individual. It often starts off with verbal abuse and if the behavior is not contested or addressed it can escalate to physical abuse. The physical abuse may start as something considered to be small or insignificant; a pinch, grab or a shove. If that behavior is not correc ted it will lead to more harsh abuse in every subsequent episode. Many times victims are abused as a result of being made to participate in unwanted sex. Emotional abuse can be just as severe or in some cases more brutal than physical abuse. Physical abuse may leave a victim with visible scars, but sometimes emotional abuse has lingering lifelong effects. When a person is emotionally abused it can affect their confidence and perception of the world. The abusive partner will usually identify and focus on things that they perceive to be valuable to the victim in order to control them. One way of controlling a victim is by withholding access to things like money and basic essentials. The goal is to make the victim to feel and in essence become totally dependant upon their mate. No individual should ever be subjected to verbal, emotional, psychological or physical abuse on any level. This is why it is so important for victims to seek help that can remove them from a potentially hostile relationship before it gets violent and someone eventually loses th eir life. There are laws in place in several states that will prosecute abusers and the state will usually pick up the case and only use the victim as a witnesses. These laws have been implemented to save people that have been repeated victims of abuse. When victims are in repeated situations of abuse it usually only gets more serious which may ultimately lead to their death. The laws that are in place in most states will help eliminate those cases of repeat offenders because after a certain amount of arrests they will go to prison. Law Enforcement officials consider this to be a serious concern because it has taken the lives of so many innocent people. Some offenders are charged fines and are required to attend anger management counseling. There have been methods implemented in order to screen for individuals who are involved in domestic violence relationships. One of the most common methods of screening often takes place during physician visits. Even though this practice is not considered to be universal when actually utilized it has been found to discover more case of domestic violence. Some victims have stated that they chose not to disclose their abuse because fear of being blamed, lack of understanding from others, losing their family, their economic dependency of the abuser and lack of confidentiality within the medical home (Bailey, 2010). This simply proves that there is a very urgent need for victims to be provided with more interventions and assistance when dealing with this type of problem. Victims require compassion, sensitivity and confidentially from other individuals including health care providers. It is through this type of support that victims will feel more comfortable disclosing domestic violence within their relationship. This is an area that requires much sincerity and empathy therefore more health care providers may need to be trained in order to accurately assess domestic violence victims. It is evident that more prevention methods need to be implemented in order to teach individuals the negative associations tied to domestic violence. People that are abusers are usually trying to intimidate their victims in some way. Domestic violence should never be considered just a secret family issue. Individuals need to realize that domestic violence does not only affect the victim or the family unit in which it occurs, but it affects the society as a whole. It is a very costly matter for society when you consider social service workers, shelters, police officers that are involved in those situations in various capacities. The most important thing that needs to be focused on in all is the lives that have been lost as well as those that can potentially be lost. For example, a potential case of a domestic violence situation would be where a man beats on a pregnant woman with other children in the home witnessing the behavior. The potential harm that can be had by the fetus inside the mother could lead to short term or long term problems. The woman is at-risk for suffering greatly from psychological problems therefore being pote ntially unfit to raise her children. There is also the possibly having the children pushed into the homes of other family members or the foster care system for the state to cover the bill. The children witnessing the violence can be affected psychologically as well. The children may have to see a psychologist to work out the issues from being exposed to the negative environment. They could suffer from adjustment problems such as behavioral or mental issues. Children that suffer from behavioral or mental issues as a result of being exposed to domestic violence are predisposed to repeat that type of behavior in their future relationships. They will most likely require more skill and on-going mental health counseling to be productive citizens. These individuals may have perceived this type of violence as a learned behavior and feel that it is appropriate as it was commonplace in their upbringing. Unfortunately domestic violence can cycle through many generations of a family. Generally because this is the behavior that has been displayed and possibly condoned in the earlier generations it may continue as part of the family dynamic. This deep rooted dysfunction is very hard to break or change once it has become ingrained in the socially acceptable vi ew of an individual or their family. This cycle of violence will regrettably continue to destroy the lives of other innocent people. When domestic violence occurs it requires a lot of adjustments and it is ultimately an unnecessary strain on society. This type of violence has been going on throughout history, but it can be stopped. This is an issue that can be prevented through education and appropriate assessment. Individuals can be taught that this behavior is not acceptable. Individuals can be educated on how this behavior affects everyone from their immediate family to society as a whole. A health care professional’s ability to screen for cases of domestic violence can be more productive in identifying victims with proper training. Most social service agencies have resources for the victims to utilize. This is helpful so that he or she feels comfortable about making the transition of leaving the abusive home without fears of being homeless or if their basic essential needs would be met. Although pregnancy can seem to some the most exciting time, that is sadly not the case for some pregnant women. A woman that is pregnant is more at-risk for becoming a victim of domestic violence. It is reported that 1 in 5 pregnant women will be experience domestic violence (Bailey, 2010). There are several pregnant women per year have reported to have suffered from domestic violence. Pregnant women are a lot more likely to be abused compared to non-pregnant women. Abuse during pregnancy is not only dangerous to the women, but it is also very harmful to the fetus as well. Insensitive and cruel abuse that is perpetrated upon a woman during pregnancy can cause a number of emotional, physical and psychological issues and concerns. There are several consequences caused by domestic violence during pregnancy. Domestic violence can cause low birth weight and preterm delivery which are the highest causes of mortality (Bailey, 2010). Some of the potential consequences associated with domesti c violence includes: immediate and long term developmental delays, cerebral palsy, academic problems, language delays, attention problems, behavior issues, sudden infant death syndrome, and respiratory problems (Bailey, 2010). Women that are victims are more likely to start with prenatal services later in the pregnancy. Smoking has also been associated with violence during pregnancy, because it is used a stress relief and a coping mechanism for depression. Smoking also then adds to the increased risk factors for low birth weight and other potential health problems. Other children in the home being battered can also be a form of abuse towards the mother in the home. An unfortunate result of the parent being abused is the potential damage that can be caused on the child psychologically. It is estimated that 3.3 to 10 million children have been exposed to domestic violence every year, and 15.5 million children live in homes with violence (Kelly Klostermann, 2009). Children that have witnessed violence among their parents often have feelings of fear, helplessness, and fear for safety, anxiety and sleep disorders (Kelly Klostermann, 2009). The exposure of domestic violence has been known to be associated with many other problems in children. Some of these problems include: â€Å"poor peer relationships, higher loneliness levels during school, less likely to get along with other children, more likely to get into fights, more likely to be disliked by peers and showing more aggression towards the same sex peers† (Hunter, Katz Klowden, 2008). Some of the stress associated with being exposed to domestic violence can lead to health issues. Women victims who report having previously experienced or currently experiencing domestic violence have more likely to have had children that had been diagnosed with asthma and were more to have children that will be diagnosed with asthma in the future. There is research to conclude that a chronically elevated stress response can lead to attenuation of stress hormones that counteract the inflammatory response that causes asthma (Breiding Ziembroski, 2010). A child’s types of maltreatment, gender, age and support systems are all additional factors that affect a child’s response to the exposure of domestic violence (Overlien, 2009). Children that are younger are more vulnerable to be affected by the abuse because they are more likely to view the abuse in the home visually as opposed to older children (Overlien, 2009). Adolescents are also affected by the exposure of domestic violence. Normally adolescence is a time that teenagers are already faced with a lot of issues and it really does not help to expose them to violence. Teenage girls and boys that are violent were more likely to have been exposed to domestic violence. Teenage girls exposed to this behavior may feel that this abuse is acceptable and accept this type of behavior in relationships that she is involved in. â€Å"Majority of the adolescent boys exposed to domestic violence are more likely than unexposed boys to believe aggression is acceptable in intimate rel ationships, and behave more aggressively with intimate partners within a relationship† (Kelley Klostermann, 2009). One issue of concern is that the perception of the abusive parent is almost identical to those of non-abusive parents regarding the effect of their violence on children. The unsuitable behaviors that are displayed by these individuals can have a very severe impact on the entire family but especially the children. Even though in some cases the children are not the ones that are directly abused they may still display some of the same problems as the identified victim. The victim’s often times suffer from stress and fear from being subjected to abuse. As a result they tend to develop anxiety and other forms of issues and problems. Children are very likely to have these same problems after witnessing a parent commit an act of violence on the other parent. Thankfully there are some children that are able to handle the turmoil and chaos that takes place in the home and continue to have normal childhoods. There is a lot of research that suggests that fathers who are abusive often tim es appear to be indifferent with the effects of their actions on their victims or even their children (Rothman, Mandel and Silverman, 2007). These abusive fathers rarely report that their children are having any problems. Children are generally abused by a step-father who has less of a biological incentive to ensure the child’s well-being. Biological fathers are thought to be more likely to be abusive towards their spouse than a step father would be. Abusers that participate in intervention programs generally will show more or less remorse dependent upon their role in the family unit. Compared to step-fathers, biological fathers are thought to be more aware of the negative results of their actions, express more concern about the negative long term effects that result from their abuse, and are more likely to express intentions to change their unacceptable behavior (Mandel, Rothman Silverman, 2007). Additionally, biological fathers are also more likely than step-fathers to have genuine concerns for both male and female children alike. Their fear is that female children will be predisposed to suffering the same type of abuse that they witness at the hands of their abusive parents. In regards to male children, the fear is that they will become abusers based on learned behaviors that they have witnessed. The ability for the partner to effectively parent is also affected negatively. In every case this number is higher for biological fathers than it is for step-fathers. There are also children that are exposed to domestic violence that do not react negatively. A study that was done in a battered women’s shelter showed that one third of the children in this particular shelter had no particular outcomes from being exposed to abuse in the home. It was concluded that those children were members of families that avoided the negative effects of domestic violence (Hunter, Katz Klowden, 2008). One method that parents use in order to avoid their children from being negatively affected is emotion coaching. â€Å"These parents usually use low intensity emotions within their child and themselves, view the child’s negative emotion as a chance for intimacy or a teaching moment, they then validate and label their child’s emotion. And problem solve with the child by discussing goals and strategies for handling the situation that led to the emotional feeling† (Hunter, Katz Klowden, 2008). The children that have experienced emotion coaching usually perform better in an academic setting, incur fewer illnesses and are better equipped to handle their emotions. Women that are subjected to this type and level of abuse generally identify doctors and nurses as a potential support system. Many times their abuse will go unnoticed as there has traditionally been little training regarding identifying and responding to abuse victims. This abuse comes in many forms and can even include emotional, sexual, financial, and physical violence. Domestic violence can result in a myriad of problems for women that can range from health problems to psychological issues. These victims usually suffer recurring health problems and seek some type of assistance in an attempt to manage those problems. Post traumatic stress disorder and depression are the two major psychological issues that are most frequently diagnosed for victims of this level of abuse. These victims are very likely to have a higher level of anxiety than most other people. Unfortunately, if these victims cannot get the help that they need they may seek out alternative solutions to cope with their problems. These solutions may come in the form of illegal drugs and alcohol abuse. These are attempts to mask or pacify the pain and anxiety that they are dealing with. Abuse was the beginning factor for a lot of chain smokers and alcoholics. An extreme but regrettable solution to people that are dealing with domestic violence comes in the form of attempted suicides. Domestic Violence victims do not have an age limit and even the elderly can be involved in disputes. Usually when violence is instigated towards the elderly it is even more crucial because the elderly are more fragile and don’t heal quickly from attac ks. Violence towards the elderly is no more acceptable to for them as it is for the younger individuals. Violence is wrong and it is harmful for individuals from any age. Domestic violence toward the elderly maybe rare and statistics maybe appear unclear because most cases are blanketed under the term elderly abuse. Most victims don’t get the medication and the counseling treatment that they need to help them to regain their status as productive members of society. However, the reality is that these victims will receive the appropriate level of health care or have some type of intervention is highly unlikely. This is in part due to the fact that domestic violence is almost non-existent in most cases because it is not always disclosed or identified on the first office visit. Unless it is disclosed during an office visit there may be no documentation or reports of any type of domestic violence in a victims file. Without the disclosure of the abuse from the victim there is a very slim chance that the victim will be afforded any possible type of assistance from their health care provider that can be supplied for them. There have been some improvements in identifying and asking the appropriate questions that numerous health care providers have been exposed to through training and awareness programs. This is very important as most women will often seek assistance by frequent visits to the doctor’s office for what may seem to be routine issue, all the while it may be a silent cry for help. The education and advocacy for the prevention and assessment of abuse cases can prevent harm for individuals of all ages. Some individuals may have grown up with the assumption that abuse is appropriate and have decided as adults to continue the pattern. Some individuals may think that abuse will keep their partner scared of them and will never leave them. There are also others that choose to resort to violence when under the influence of some type of drug. Regardless of the reason domestic violence should never be acceptable in any degree. Every individual deserves to be treated with respect and allowed to feel safe at all times and in any situation. References Bailey, B. A., (2010, June). Partner Violence During Pregnancy: Prevalence, Efforts, Screening, and Management. International Journal of Women’s Health, 2, 183-197. doi:10.2147/IJWH.S8632 Bogat, G. A., DeJonghe, E.S., Eye, A., Levendosky, A. A., (2008). Symposium: Violence Against Children and Women. Journal of Postgraduate Medicine, 54(4), 294-300. Retrieved from http://www.jpgmonline.com/text.asp?2008/54/4/294/4143 Bogat, G. G., Eye, A.V., Levendosky, A.A., (2007) New Directions for Research on Intimate Partner Violence and Children. American Psychological Association, 12(1) doi: 10.1027/1016-940.12.1.1 Breiding, M. J., Ziembroski, J. S., (2011). The Relationship Between Intimate Partner Violence And Children’s Asthma in 10 States/Territories. Pediatric Allergy and Immunology. 22, 95-100. Doi: 10.1111/j.1399-3038.2010.01087.x Clements, C. M., Hungerford, A., Ogle, R.L., (2010). Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence: Relations Between Partner-Child Concordance and Children’s Adjustment. MEDLINE, 25(2), 185-201. Retrieved from http://www.web.ebschohost.comezproxy.liberty.edu: 2048/ehost/detail?sid=26a34189-af9c-4722- Feder, G., Rutterford, C., Sharp, D., (2010, February 2). Primary Care Identification and Referral to Improve Safety of Women Experiencing Domestic Violence. BMC Public Health, 10(54). Retrieved from http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/10/54 Hunter, E., Katz, L.F., Klowden, A., (2008). Intimate Partner Violence and Children’s Reaction to Peer Provocation: The moderating Role of Emotion Coaching. Journal of Family Psychology, doi: 10.1037/a0012793. Kelley, M. L., Klostermann, K.,(2009). Alcoholism and Intimate Partner Violence: Effects on Children’s Psychosocial Adjustment. Environmental Research and Public Health, 6, 3156-3168. Doi: 10.3390/ijerph6123156 Mandel, D. G., Rothman, E. F., Silverman, J. G., (2007, November). Children Exposed to Domestic Violence: Conclusions from the Literature and Challenges Ahead. Violence Against Women, 13(11),1179-1191. doi:10.1177/1077801207308260 Overlien, C., (2009, December 8). Children Exposed to Domestic Violence: Conclusions from The Literature and Challenges Ahead. Journal of Social Work, 10(80) doi: 10.1177/1468017309350663

General George Smith Patton Essay -- Papers

General George Smith Patton A burning desire to go forth and reach personal conquests exists inside every man. This passion often navigates the would-be hero into a state of tragedy involving pain and suffering for those around. One individual, in particular, inflicted strain and duress on others with a harsh, and often criticized unorthodox style of leading when he took his campaign across Europe and into Germany. General George Smith Patton, Jr. led an expedition across a continent to rid the world of its Nazi powers. This journey marked the conquest of perhaps the world's greatest war general and his reputable demeanor. Patton experienced respect and admiration throughout his life, starting very early when he was just an infant. He was born into a highly respected and extremely wealthy family in San Gabriel, California. It was this early taste of good fortune that allowed Patton to develop a taste for fine things such as horses. Growing up he was an avid polo player and became very good especially in college. After attending exquisite private schools, Patton left and attended the U.S. Military Academy and graduated in 1909. (WB 140) After his graduation, Patton joined the cavalry and eventually served in World War I. Patton was an excellent physical specimen and a strong addition to any early fighting battalion. Along to go with his sleek build was a strong mentality of perseverance and excellence, which he drilled into his life everyday. "From his earliest years, he believed himself destined to be a soldier. Much of his life was spent in the limelight. As a young cavalry officer and well-rounded athlete, he competed in five events during the 1912 Olympic games held in Stockholm, Sweden. He placed ... ... Essame, H. Patton: A Study in Command. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 1974. Farago, Ladislas. The Last Days of Patton. New York: McGraw Hill Book Company. 1981. Mysak, Joe. "Patton: The Man Behind the Legend 1885-1945." National Review. 38 (April 25, 1994): 52-53. "An Educated Army." Africe News Service. 11 Feb. 2000: 179. Patton. Dir. Franklin J. Schaffner. 20th Century Fox, 1970. New Line Home Video, 1985. "Patton." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Second Edition. 12. Orozco-Radisson. Cole. Detroit. 1998. "Patton's Plan for Winning the War." Newsweek. 8 Mar. 1999: 48. "General George S. Patton, Jr. Biography." 2000 WriteForCash.com. http://www.allsands.com/generalgeorgep_ra_gn.htm. "George Smith Patton, Jr." GSP. 1 Jun. 1998. http://www.angelfire.com/sys/popup_source.shtml.

Pre-Linguistic Development

As linguistic development designates the stage when children are able to manipulate verbal symbols, it should be apparent that pre-linguistic development refers to the stage before the child is able to manipulate such symbols. Consequently, this stage is sometimes called the pre-symbolic stage. com/english-iii/">Pre-linguistic development, therefore, concerns itself with precursors to the development of symbolic skills and typically covers the period from birth to around 13 months of age. Four stages can be identified: * Vegetative sounds (0-2 months): the natural sounds that babies make, e. . crying, coughing, burping, and swallowing. * Cooing and laughter (2-5 months): these vocalizations usually occur when the baby is comfortable and content.They are typically made up of vowels and consonants. * Vocal play (4-8 months): the infant engages in longer and more continuous streams of either vowel or consonant sounds. * Babbling (6-13 months): at least two sub-stages are identified â₠¬â€œ reduplicated babbling, in which the child produces a series of Consonant-Vowel (CV) syllables with the same consonant being repeated (e. . wa-wa-wa, mu-mu-mu) and non-reduplicated babbling, consisting of either CVC vocalizations (e. g. mom, pip) or VCV vocalizations (e. g. ama, ooboo). [See Speech Development] Up to this stage of development much of what the child produces is really no more than a sort of verbal play. The child is practicing individual sounds, and sound sequences, and gaining the motor skills necessary to produce what will eventually be considered as actual adult words. So, young children make various sounds and others then assign meaning to these.So, for example, a child may reach for an object whilst at the same time saying ‘m’. An adult may interpret this as the child wanting help to get the object. The child, having realized that this combination of physical gesture (reaching) and articulating ‘m’ prompts an adult to pass the desir ed object, may go on to repeat this behavior. The child is learning that certain actions that he or she performs can be used to control his or her environment. These changes come about because the child’s ability to focus their attention on their caregiver and on objects becomes more refined as they mature.For example, from 0-2 months there is shared attentiveness in which only the baby and caregiver form part of any interactive event – all other elements are ignored. From 2-6 months there is interpersonal engagement when the baby is conceptually able to differentiate their own self from the caregiver and focus attention on each other and on the ‘message’ of the communicative event. Then, from about 6-15 months there is a shift such that the child is now able to focus attention on objects (e. g. cups, toys, books) and understand that the communicative event is focused on these.This is sometimes called joint object involvement. It is, however, the emergence of words from about 12 months onwards that signals the onset of linguistic development. This is the stage when there is symbolic communication emerges. Linguistic Development Linguistic development occurs at what is called the One Word Stage. It is at this stage that we can properly talk about a child’sexpressive language, i. e. the words used to express emotions, feelings, wants, needs, ideas, and so on. This should not be confused with the child’s understanding or receptive language. The two are, of course, closely related.However, a child will typically understand much more than he or she can actually express and a child’s expressive language, therefore, lags behind its comprehension by a few months. Early One Word Stage (12-19 months) Before the emergence of the first ‘adult’ words the child will use specific sound combinations in particular situations. The sound combinations are not conventional adult words but they appear to be being used con sistently to express meaning. For example, if the child says mu every time he or she is offered a bottle of milk then this may be considered to be a ‘real’ word.Similarly, if the child says bibi each time he or she is given a biscuit then, even though the sound combination does not represent an exact adult word, it would still be considered an early word. These early words are called protowords. The child will also be using gesture together with these specific vocalizations in order to obtain needs, express emotions, and so on. The important point is that the child is consistent in his or her use of a particular ‘word’. Later One Word Stage (14-24 months) The words used by the child are now more readily identifiable as actual adult words.A variety of single words are used to express his or her feelings, needs, wants, and so on. This is the stage at which, amongst other things, the child begins to name and label the objects and people around them. Examples i nclude common nouns such as cup dog hat proper nouns such as Dad Sarah Rover and verbs such as kiss go sit The child may also use a few social words such as no bye-bye please The child will not yet have developed all the adult speech sounds and so the words used are unlikely to sound exactly as an adult would say them.However, they are beginning to approximate more closely to an adult model and they are beginning to be used consistently. At the end of the One Word Stage the child should have a much larger vocabulary, should be able to sustain a simple conversation, be using several adult speech sounds appropriately, and be conveying meaning through the use of single words in combination with facial expression, gesture and actions. These single words will express a variety of meaning. The next stage in the child’s development of expressive language is that he or she begins to combine two words together into simplephrases.Two Word Stage (20-30 months) It is at this stage that t he child begins to produce two-word combinations similar to the following. daddy car shoe on where Katie Note that a variety of different word classes may be combined: * For example, daddy car involves the combination of two words from the same word class of nouns one noun (daddy) with another noun (car). * However, shoe on consists of two words from two different word classes, nouns and prepositions: one noun (shoe) plus a preposition (on). * Also, where Katie uses a so-called interrogative pronoun (where) together with a proper noun (Katie).In fact, a high percentage of these two-word combinations incorporate nouns. This is not surprising, as the child has spent a lot of time learning the names of objects and people. These are the important things in his or her environment and the things that are most likely to be manipulated, talked about, and so on. They are often the concrete, permanent things to which the child can most readily relate. In addition, at this Two Word Stage there is also prolific use of verbs (e. g. go, run, drink, eat). Three Word Stage (28-42 months)As its name implies, at this next stage of development children extend their two-word utterances by incorporating at least another word. In reality children may add up to two more words, thereby creating utterances as long as four words. The child makes greater use of pronouns (e. g. I, you, he, she, they, me) at this stage, e. g. me kiss mummy you make toy he hit ball It is at this stage that the child also begins to use the articles the, a and an. At first their use is inconsistent but as the child approaches 42 months of age they become more consolidated in their utterances, e. g. me kick a ball you give the dolly he throw an orangeIn addition, it is common for the prepositions in and on to be incorporated between two nouns or pronouns, e. g. mummy on bed you in it Sarah in bath Four Word Stage (34-48 months) From about 34 months the child begins to combine between four to six words in any one utterance. There is greater use of contrast between prepositions such as in, on and under and adjectives such as big and little, e. g. mummy on little bed daddy under big car daddy playing with the little ball Complex Utterance Stage (48-60 months) This stage is typified by longer utterances, with the child regularly producing utterances of over six words in length.It is at this stage that the concept of past and future time develops and this is expressed linguistically in a child’s utterances, e. g. we all went to see Ryan yesterday [past time] Daddy is going to get a shoe [future time] Robert stopped and kicked a good goal [past time] Some of the more conceptually difficult prepositions such as behind, in front and next to also become established at this stage. The child will also be using the contracted negative, e. g. can’t rather than can not, didn’t rather than did not, won’t rather than will not, and so on.Example utterances include the followi ng. Helen can’t go to granddad’s house Connor didn’t stop crying he won’t eat up all his dinner for mummy There is a lot of controversy about just when the Complex Utterance Stage is completed. Some researchers claim that at five years of age a child has developed all of the major adult linguistic features and that the only real progression beyond this stage is the further acquisition of vocabulary items. Other researchers, however, argue that children up to the age of 12 years are still developing adult sentence structure.As indicated, our overview of language development has focused on how the child develops longer and longer utterances, i. e. it has concentrated on expressive language. It should be noted, however, that there is a parallel development of comprehension, or receptive language. So, for example, at the Early One Word Stage the child is capable of understanding a few single words spoken by others as well as speaking a few words. Similarly, a t the Three Word Stage the child can also comprehend the four to six word utterances spoken by others as well as producing such utterances themselves.In summary, the child will need to be able to comprehend utterances at least at the same level as those that he or she is able to construct and use expressively. In reality, we find that a child’s level of understanding actually precedes their level of expression. That is to say, a typically developing child will always understand more than they can express. The extent to which the development of receptive language precedes expressive language is highly variable and it is not possible to define any precise norms. The following table summarizes the stages of early development of expressive language.

Major General Henry Halleck in the Civil War