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Pepsi Screening for Maylee Sutphin

Karen M. Sutphin

College of Southern Nevada

EDU-220: Psychology for the Classroom

Dr. Vincent Richardson

March 05, 2022

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Pepsi Screening for Maylee Sutphin

This paper is a Pepsi screening being done to better understand where Maylee Sutphin’s

developmental markers are compared to average children her age. We will take a look at her

physical, emotional, philosophical, social, and intellectual levels and from this information, we

will be able to better understand the development of the entire child.

Biography

Maylee Sutphin is a healthy seven-year-old girl. Maylee is in second grade and attends

school at Grant M. Bowler Elementary School in Logandale, Nevada. Maylee was born on June

15, 2014, at Mesa View Regional Hospital in Mesquite, Nevada. She weighed 6lbs 5oz and

measured 21 inches. Maylee’s birth was unremarkable and she was delivered at full term, forty

weeks.

Maylee Sutphin’s mother, Char was 20 years old when she gave birth. The pregnancy

was unremarkable and Char reported having no illness or problems during pregnancy. Char did

report that she used marijuana throughout her pregnancy. She firmly believes that cannabis

causes no harm to the fetus. Char also reported that she smoked cigarettes throughout her

pregnancy. She did acknowledge that she knew the risks associated with smoking while being

pregnant. There was no alcohol use during pregnancy. Char dropped out of school when she was

fifteen and has not continued her education to this point.

Maylee’s father, Jim was 17 years old when she was born. Jim dropped out of school

when he was 16 and has not continued his education to this point. He has reported using

marijuana and smoking cigarettes. Maylee lived with her mother, father, two uncles, grandma,

and grandpa in a five-bedroom home belonging to her paternal grandparents from the time of her

birth until her parents split up at the age of two. Both parents shared time raising Maylee till she
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was three. Char became homeless so Maylee stayed with her father and his girlfriend till she was

four. From four years old until she was six, Maylee was raised by her paternal grandmother and

an uncle. Her father was working out of state and could only be home for weekend visits. Maylee

returned to live with her father and his girlfriend when she was six and this is where she lives

currently. Living in the home with Maylee is her father, father’s girlfriend, 3-year-old half

brother, and the girlfriend’s other three children, a 9-year-old boy, 7-year-old girl, and a

5-year-old girl.

Maylee’s mother, Char, has married and recently gave birth to a baby girl. Maylee has not

had much interaction with her mother since her mother became homeless. The grandma more

than encouraged Char to be involved in Maylee’s life but met great resistance. Maylee only sees

her mother a few times a year.

Physical

Maylee’s height is 51 inches and her weight is 65 pounds. The CDC’s BMI (Body Mass

Index) percentile calculator results stated that “Based on the height and weight entered, the BMI

is 17.6, placing the BMI-for-age at the 80 percentile for 7 9 months-year-old girls. This falls in

the BMI category healthy weight” (Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 2021). Maylee is active

at school and home. She loves to ride her bicycle, run, swim, and skate.

Maylee demonstrates a lack of fine motor skills. Her handwriting is poor and this inhibits

her ability to finish assignments in a timely manner. According to the website, (Kid Sense,

2022), a 7-8 year-old child should be demonstrating good control in finger movement when

writing. More finger movement than wrist movement. Maylee still uses her wrist more than her

fingers. The site has suggestions for improving this problem that we will have to try.
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Emotional
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Maylee has demonstrated average emotional maturity. Wendy Wisner’s article (2022)

suggests that a 7-year-old will demonstrate a desire to have friends but will also become more

attached to one parent. Maylee gets along with peers and is able to have a conversation with

people that is easy to follow and at an age-appropriate level. Maylee displays empathy for others

and has true remorse when she is the cause of someone getting hurt. Maylee has good control of

her emotions and is able to keep them private when in public. She has asked questions about

where babies come from and why women have menses. I answered with an age-appropriate reply

and she was satisfied. Maylee fights with her siblings but nothing that is not expected. She is

accepting of rules and consequences and tries not to argue her point just to argue. Maylee is

polite and well-mannered. She is a joy to take out in public and to spend time home alone with.

Maylee is learning to entertain herself more and not require others to reassure her. Maylee has

shown improvement in her constant need for reassurance. This has been a group effort by her

teacher, parents, and grandmother. Maylee has experienced a lot of pain from feeling

abandoned by her mother. She has often referred to me as mom. I have been her mother figure

for most of her life and she struggles with understanding why she cannot live with me. We have

had many conversations about her mother and why she is so distant and uninvolved in Maylee’s

life. I have reassured her that her mother loves her very much and that her mother is not able to

give any more than she does because for some reason she is kind of broken. Maylee has accepted

that it is not her fault and that her mother does love her and that she is being raised in the best

place for her to be. Maylee has a great attachment to me and I to her. She has bonded with me

since her mother is unavailable and seeks the emotional support and guidance that she needs

from me. I work hard to provide her with all the support and love that she needs because she is

my world. She is a strong girl and has a very kind heart.

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Philosophical

Maylee is at her average benchmark with philosophical development. She has developed

a sense of what is correct and wrong. Maylee will say, “Grandma, you don’t have your seatbelt

on.” so she notices that I am breaking a rule. She has a clear understanding of behavior that is

acceptable in school but does not always have the ability to control herself when no one is

looking. This is an indicator that she is on track with average children in her age.

Social

Maylee is very social. I call her a social butterfly all the time. She thinks that everyone in

the world is her friend. She interacts well with her peers at school and in her community. She is

well-liked by most adults and has a great ability to interact with people of all ages.

Maylee has been taught about stranger danger but I don’t believe that she really grasped

the concept that some people are not her friend until this past year. I have explained to her the

dangers of being cute and friendly and that she could easily be silenced, picked up, and disappear

so quickly. I want to keep her as innocent as possible for as long as possible so I have not gone

into great detail about the horrors that can happen to a child taken from their family. Her love of

socializing scares me very much. We live in a pretty safe community but I don’t like her to play

outside of the yard even if she is with a friend. She asks to ride her bicycle around the block.

Maybe when she is old enough for a concealed carry permit I will allow it.

Intellectual

Maylee is smart and loves school. She has a problem staying focussed and on task but has

shown improvement this year. She is doing well in reading but struggles with math. Maylee has

received an intervention to help her catch up.

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References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, September 28). Healthy Weight, Nutrition, and

Physical Activity ,,

https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/bmi/calculator.html

https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/bmi/result.html?&method=english&gender=f&age_y

=7&age_m=9&hinches=51&twp=65

Kid Sense. (2022). Fine Motor Development Chart. Kid Sense.

https://childdevelopment.com.au/resources/child-development-charts/fine-motor-develop

mental-chart/

Wisner, W. (2022, February 03). Verywell Family 7-Year-Old Child Development Milestones.
.

Child Development Guide.

https://www.verywellfamily.com/7-year-old-developmental-milestones-620704#toc-7-ye

ar-old-emotional-and-social-milestones