P.E.P.S.

I Screening 1

P.E.P.S.I Screening

Veronique Vashon

College of Southern Nevada

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Abstract

The following is a P.E.P.S.I on the screening of Lillian Lovely Vashon. The P.E.P.S.I is a

standard of looking at a child to gauge areas of their life. We will be looking at Lillians Physical

health, Emotional health, Philopshical view on life, Social outlook, and her Intelligence. Lllian is

a bright eyed eight-year-old with a plethora hobbies. Being allowed the pleasure of viewing

how she acts when time allowed to during the Carona Virus pandemic I got to learn more about

her. I asked her a series of questions over time to see how she felt about certain situations. I

also saw how she thinks she would behave in a few hypothetical situations. I got to gauge her

physical ability as I went with her father out on their weekly walks out with him. Lillian also

gave me a special treat of sharing her developing talents with me when she allowed me to stay

around as she practiced her piano with her Dad. Through doing all this I was able to gauge an

idea and compare with charts where she stands with her peers and
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Biography

Lillian was born in April of 2012. she spent most of the early months with her parents

but soon they separated and her father, my brother. Lillian would grow up in Las Vegas and still

lives there today however her father would have to go. He would be off to school in another

state for medicine. So, she was mostly raised by her mother and her family, and her

grandparents on her father's side. This however did not stop Lillian from having a very eventful

life and showing a lot of promise from the early stages. Due to the spike in technology Lillian

was always watching videos on the internet and had a constant stream of media. Soaking this

like a sponge she started talking early and often trying to move in dance videos she saw.

Lillian never reveled in the attention and doting of others when she was younger. She

often would shoo away others who came into her space or she would remove herself. She

never had any qualms with expressing discomfort or dislike for others. I asked her grandfather

about this and he explained to me that her father had the same habits, and he did also. It was

not that she disliked people or was not affectionate, but she found it more fun to play by

herself and nurture her own creativity.

Her creative activities also did not go away as she got older and she delved into other

creative hobbies. Lillian liked to color when she was younger however now she is opting to play

piano and is often reading. When asked about it she says she loves to read and wants to write

her own book one day. I would have guessed music and reading would be her favorite subjects

to study in school, but she threw me a curve ball as she proudly said, “I enjoy math.”
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Physical

Lillian is around average to above average for her height standing at 52 inches however

her weight is slightly below average as she weighs 53 pounds. Even though she is eating plenty

of meals and has snacking in between. However, the contents of what she is eating could be

questioned. For the few meals I did eat with Lillian she seemed to eat the very same meal.

Chicken tenders and fries, when I asked her if this was her favorite meal she nodded.

I asked her if she likes fruits and veggies, she shook her head. Asking if she ate them

often gave me the same nonverbal no. When I asked her grandmother about this, she

commented that Lillian sometimes will refuse to eat unless given exactly what she wants,

adding that she also refuses to share. According to the nutritionists at the University of

Rochester a child of Lillians age should be eating three to five half cup servings of vegetables on

a daily basis. When being asked how often she does eat her fruits and vegetables Lillian just

shrugged and said she does not know.

Lillian is also not very much on the active side when it comes to playing outside. When I

asked her what she likes to do for fun she said playing games with friends. When asking her

what games, she commented the top online games she plays now such as ‘Among us’ and

‘Roblox’. I asked if they played outside, she answered without even looking at me as she

continued to play on her laptop while glancing at the tablet next to her. “No one can go

outside, so no.” From this I gained that she has a very advanced level of eye-hand coordination.

Lillian could go between two different games and answer questions of anyone who

asked them to her. According to Amanda Morin (2020) children at her age should be able to
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freely do things like catching balls and riding bikes, all things that Lily demonstrated that she

was able to do one day when her dad got her outside to play catch together. However, Morin

also mentions that someone at age sixteen should be able to build complex projects and be

advanced at typing, which Lillian is already accomplishing at the early stages of her life

Emotional

According to the CDC Lillian is at the age where she should be starting to have ideas on

what she wants to do in the future for a career, understand more about herself, want to be

accepted by friends, and be paying attention to her friendships. Lillian often demonstrates all of

these while interacting with her friends and in her daily life.

As she was once again playing games and watching other people play games, I asked her

what she wanted to do in the future. Without looking at me she said “I want to be a youtuber
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for video games” When I asked why she wanted to do that she gave a few answers. She

mentioned she wanted to be a good example to others while sharing her talents like her

favorite streamer Lilypichu. When I asked her why that’s her favorite, she told me because of

how nice Lilypichu is to everyone that she plays game with and is also a talented piano player.

Lillian also expresses the same quality of kindness when she plays games. I noticed that after

every game she played she would type in the chat box “GG” and put a smile next to it. She did

this to let all the other players know “Good Games” and that she had fun playing that round.

She also encourages people she plays with and helps with teaching others. Although this is all

virtual, she is still matching the criteria for Stanford's way of teaching good sportsmanship.

Lillian is at an age also where she is wanting to make friends and be acceptable by them.

I asked her what she does to be accepted by others. She quietly shrugged and said that she

smiles and is nice to others. I pressed the conversation and asked her why and her response

was very delayed as she showed thinking. When she did respond she explained “I want them to

be nice to me”. Scholastic says that empathy is developed in the middle of elementary school

and is learned from watching others. Lillian demonstrates basic empathy by expressing that she

understands the basic rule of if it would hurt your feelings than you should not do it, and that

she should be kind to attract friendships from her peers.

Although kindness is what attracts and keeps friends it is also important to pay attention

to them. I asked Lillian how she is keeping up with her friends and she became very quiet and

had an annoyed face. As of currently writing this is November 2020 the world has been hit by a

pandemic and it is extremely difficult to see friends and go outside. I noticed this and quietly

asked Lillian if she misses her friends and she nodded. An eight-year-old has a wide array of
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emotions and can get easily frustrated at many things. PBS says that eight is the age that

children start to understand emotions that are appropriate in both public and private settings

and it seems that Lillian understands this. I noticed that sometimes when something upset her,

she would get very quiet, excuse herself without speaking and then retire to her bedroom.

After varying amounts of time, she would come back like nothing happened and go back to the

current event she was working on. During our conversation she did not excuse herself however,

I did notice how visibly upset she had become. So, to lighted the mood I asked her the first

thing she would do when she saw her friends. She replied that when she can see her friends

again that she would be giving them all very big hugs and could not wait to see them.

Philosophical
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According to Dr.Sears (2018) between the ages of seven and ten children realize that

when they break rules they should be corrected and realize that they can help make rules and

even barging. Lillian often bargains when it comes to doing things with her father or

grandparents. Her and her father practice instruments together, and he refers to it as band

practice. Lillian would rather practice on her own or, not at all. So she often attempts to strike

up a bargain from asking for extra dessert or snacks to getting to play a game she wants to. Her

father understands what she is doing and will strike bargains back such as agreeing to her

requests if she agrees to practice for an extra amount of time.

I also asked Lillian a very hard hitting yet simple question that reflects morals and in an

effective way. “If you go shopping do you put your cart away?” This simple question shows if

you go out of your way even if you do not have to. A test of morality and integrity. Upon being

asked this she was very confused and took a long pause before answering me. Quietly she said

“My mom does so I would also.” I asked her why she thinks her mom does it and her answer did

not surprise me but delighted me. Lillian told me “It helps the people who work there” After

this I asked her if she liked helping others, she did not meet my gaze but nodded. Carrie Shrier

of Michigan State University tells us that We are our child's first teacher and that they are

learning from us every day and our parents first teachers. I also asked her another question,

one about handling altercations.

Fights are very common and can be upsetting for both parties. Its also something that

follows you for the rest of your life. I asked Lillian if she gets into a fight with her friends how

does she handle it. She became visibly upset at the idea of it and started to recount a situation

to me when she and her best friend Zylee got into a fight. Quietly and slowly opening to me
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about it, so I asked her what she feels when she has a fight and what she does after. Lillian

explained to me that she walks away from it and thinks about what happened, after that she

comes back and says sorry. Lillian told me that she can disagree with her friends and still be

friends with them. I asked her if her friends are important to her and she had a big grin and

nodded. Through this brief conversation I learned another philosophical point about her. The

American Psychological Association (APA) says that from ages eight to six children start to

understand the viewpoints of others and their different thoughts. The APA also says that

children begin to communicate and understand others better. Lillian removing herself from

situations to think over what happened and conclude it is okay to disagree is a very mature step

and shows on a philosophical level she sees the value in her friendships and what they hold to

her.

Social
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Lillian grew up between houses and still goes between houses. She stays at her aunts

with her cousin of the same age, her mother and stepfather, her grandparents on her mother's

side, and with her father his parents and me, her aunt. However even though she grew up

around so many people she is still very particular with who she will communicate with. When I

first sat down to talk to Lillian, she refused to co-operate with me. Her father had to intervene

and explain to her why I needed her help even mentioning that we are family. Even then she

would still take a long time to look at me or give nonverbal ques. I asked one of her

grandmothers about this and she explained to me that Lillian does not like to communicate

with people she does not know, even if they are family. A shy child and selective mute child can

be hard to discern from the other. I asked Lillian if she likes talking to her teaches, she

answered by shaking her head. I asked her why not and she shrugged. Cleaveland Clinic

describes children being unresponsive, rigid or flat body posture, clinginess with parents, and

slow to respond. It is also mentioned it is more common in girls than boys for a child to become

a selective mute. Lillian has demonstrated all these traits during our time together. However,

when Lillian is close to someone such as her grandpa, grandma, and father she has quite the

slick and likes to show things she finds. However, this is all done when Lillian allows for it, if you

ask her about it, she will clam up and turn the other way.

Lillian although not big on talking has one friend she does talk about. Zylee, as

previously mentioned is one of Lillians closes friends. They used to often have play dates before

the pandemic hit. The playdates as described by Lillians grandma was that Zylee is very talkative

and leads the conversations and games while Lillian is on the quiet side but will still pitch in

ideas. However, when I talked more to Lillians grandma and recalled when I myself went with
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to pick up Lillian from school she only talked to Zylee. Other kids would approach Lillian and she

would smile and use nonverbal ques or short answers. One source, Boystown an organization

dedicated towards helping families and giving children a second chance characterized this as

signs of potential bullying, and or self-isolation. It is very difficult to grasp what is happening to

Lillian on a social level between peers due to her often being deadpan with ones she does not

consider she wants to open to. It seems to be a later with a case of self-isolation however as her

grandmother told me that Lillian has not complained about bullying.

Lillian also mentioned to me who she really likes to spend time with is Mika, Jynx, and

Scoobert. Her cat, moms' cat, and stepfather's dog respectfully. I did not get many excited

reactions out of Lillian during all the times we talked but when it came to talk about her pets

she lit up. She told me likes to watch tv with them, read books with them, and play all her

games with them. I asked her who she thinks is the favorite human in the house for the pets

and Lillian proudly pointed at herself. Although it might not be considered an ideal social

interaction for most Lillian is still learning a lot by being so close to her pets. In an article by

Exploring Your Mind they expand on the benefits of a child and pet relationship. Such as:

Responsibility, Generosity, Sharing, and learning to respect others and surroundings. So,

although Lillian would rather spend most of her time with pets, she is still learning about care

and respect for others.

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Intellectual

When I asked Lillian what her favorite subjects are, she told me mainly math, but she

also likes reading. When I asked her why she enjoys math so much she said it's fun and she

must work hard. I asked her how she felt about the other subjects and she simply said that they

are boring. When I asked what makes them boring, she had no answer for me just giving a

shrug. I had an idea but to confirm this I asked her father a few things. He explained to me that

its often difficult to get Lillian to do her homework over the weekend. She will complete the

work fast if he sits down with her and has her do it however if he leaves her alone, she will not

do it and try to find something else to do. It was also difficult for me to communicate with

Lillian about school, it was a challenge in general, but she always had very low energy answers

towards her education. Oxford learning says that common signs of a child not being challenged
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is lack of motivation to work, not wanting to communicate about school and of course being

bored.

Lillians favorite subject next to Math is reading. She usually has books with her when

she is visiting her father and they are thick books. She often has more than one also. Lillians

grandmother said that Lillian was starting to try and communicate from an early age and as she

got older, she was quickly picking up how words sound and what they look like. She could

identify words and begin piecing them together she found it easy to find rhymes also. Although

it's all simple Lillian would be labeled what is called a Preocious Reader. Which has also

described that these children although gifted are not often vocal.

Intelligence is not always measured in terms of school and studies. Lillian plays

instruments with her favorite being piano and knowing how to play guitar a little bit. There has

been many arguments and studies about correlation between music aptitude and cognitive

function. However, one study in 2011 has said the gap is clearly closing and has shown true

mostly in language ability. Lillian often carrying books around her above her reading level,

comprehending it is one form of backing up this claim.

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Recommendations

Lillian is not getting enough exercise. Although it is a pandemic, so it is understandable

that she is not playing in the park or having physical outings she seems to show no interest in

these activates anyways. Lillian should explore different ways of getting physical exercise that

she might find fun, such as dancing, yoga, or joining a sporting team. She also needs to start

adding more fruit and vegetables to her diet to balance it out. The tenders and fries should be

applying sparingly or she should opt for a healthy alternative like grilled chicken and sweet

potato.

Lillian has expressed that she has an understanding on her emotions. She understands

basic empathy by expressing kindness and instead of having an outburst will remove herself

from a situation. However, when Lillian does remove herself and come back, I suggest that the

parent she is with at the time sit down with her and walk through what happened and why.

This will help both parties understand each other better and help Lillian with navigating her

emotions even better than she already does.

Lillian is surrounded by good examples for morality and doing what's right even when

no one is looking. However, she is often using barging to attempt to gain things she desires or

to weasel herself out of a situation. Bargaining although good and showing fairness should be

reduced or regulated so Lillian does not attempt to barging with other authority figures at the

wrong time, such as teachers, counselors, and other school staff.

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Coming from a generation of people who are picky on who and when they talk to, I am

not too worried on her communication skills in the future as she has expressed understanding

respect and kindness. However, I do think Lillian should use more words when communicating

with others. Simple answers and nonverbal ques could upset someone down the line if she

does not express herself better and lead to a situation that could be avoided.

With a clear expression with her joy of math and how it's what she works the hardest in

I think this should be nurtured. Lillians parents should consider putting her into a program that

will challenge her more with math, however she also needs to be challenged with other

subjects as she has expressed that although she likes school she is bored at times. I also suggest

that her parents see about testing her for G.A.T.E when schools are opened back up. G.A.T.E

being aimed at children with gifted abilities and challenging them Lillian should have a more

enjoyable time in school.

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References

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empathy.html
The Bond Between Children and Pets. (2017, May 29). Retrieved November 25, 2020, from
https://exploringyourmind.com/bond-children-pets/
Carrie Shrier, M. (2018, September 20). Young children learn by copying you! Retrieved
November 24, 2020, from
https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/young_children_learn_by_copying_you
Cognitive and Social Skills to Expect From 6 to 8 Years. (n.d.). Retrieved November 24, 2020,
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9.aspx
Hille, K., Gust, K., Bitz, U., & Kammer, T. (2011). Associations between music education,
intelligence, and spelling ability in elementary school. Retrieved November 29, 2020, from
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Middle Childhood (6-8 years old). (2020, March 06). Retrieved November 23, 2020, from
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Morin, A. (2020, October 29). Coordination and Motor Skills: What to Expect at Different Ages.
Retrieved November 23, 2020, from https://www.understood.org/en/learning-thinking-
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differences/signs-symptoms/age-by-age-learning-skills/coordination-and-motor-skills-
what-to-expect-at-different-ages
Precocious Reading. (2017, November 04). Retrieved November 29, 2020, from
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manners/5-stages-moral-growth-children
Team, C. (2020, June 16). Is Your Child Just Shy - Or Is It Selective Mutism? Retrieved November
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