Developmental delay
Every child develops differently, which means that "normal" development, when it comes to the period of early childhood, is very widely understood. We are concerned about developmental delays if we notice that children's communication, speech, motor or social skills do not develop at the same rate as their peers over several months.
A developmental delay can occur in individual areas or multiple areas. It is also called a general developmental delay when it occurs in multiple areas.
Developmental delays may be transient and present in a specific development period or, sometimes, the first sign of a longer-term developmental problem. Developmental delays that are present for an extended period of time (or permanently) are sometimes called developmental disabilities. Examples of such conditions are learning difficulties, cerebral palsy, intellectual development difficulties, autism spectrum disorder.
Experts most commonly use the term developmental delay while determining the possible causes of the delay. If and when the cause is determined, then the name of the appropriate condition is used, which explains the child's condition in more detail.
Signs of a developmental delay
You are concerned about a possible delay in your child's development - what to do?
- As a parent, you know your child best.
- If you are concerned about your child's development, consult your paediatrician.
- Health professionals and services can perform the necessary examinations to assess the presence of developmental delays. Sometimes a referral to other services for additional examinations may be required.
Professionals who help children with developmental delays
In addition to health services (paediatricians and doctors of other specialities, nurses), many other professions conduct the necessary assessments and provide assistance to children with developmental delays and their families: special educator, speech therapist, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, psychologist, social worker.
Types of assistance are informed by delay characteristics.
- It is always necessary for the assistance to take place through the partnership of parents and professionals.
- In addition to working directly with the child, the professional's role is always to help you better understand your child and/or improve your development stimulation skills.
The needs of children whose development takes place differently
Like all other children, children with developmental delays progress in development and learning. It takes more time to acquire new skills. The way they learn something new maybe a little different and require additional support.
- Most children learn new skills easily and by example. Children with developmental delays often need a more gradual approach and learning through handling smaller demands. This would mean that new demands sometimes need to be divided into several smaller steps, which are mastered one by one.
- It often takes more time for new skills to be fully adopted. It is, therefore, very important that the child has enough opportunities to apply these skills in different situations.
- At preschool or school age, additional assistance may be needed as well. It is best to talk about this with professional service providers to agree on support measures.
- In case of some conditions involving more pronounced difficulties, other types of support (e.g. financial support) may be available as well.
When a child has a developmental delay, providing assistance may often require a lot of extra effort on your part and lead to exhaustion. Remember that taking care of yourself, your health and well-being and finding personal support are just as important as taking care of your child. If you are well, you will be able to take better care of your child.
Causes of developmental delays:
Many different causes can lead to developmental delays.
- Some causes are genetic, sometimes they are complications during pregnancy or childbirth. Regarding developmental delays of shorter duration, the causes can be physical illnesses, a long stay in the hospital, and stress in the family. Sometimes developmental delays result from insufficient stimulation and neglect of the child's needs.
- In many cases, the causes of developmental delays are unknown.
- In each case, it is necessary to perform the necessary examinations of the child to try to discover the causes of developmental delays.
